[SOLVED] Gpu/cpu bound..good or bad.

[paca5]

Hi. I have seen/read so much information about gpu/cpu bound that it leaves me confused. If someone could tell me definitively and exactly what they mean I would appreciate it. I'm asking because even though I have no problems with my system, it still leaves me curious as to what they mean. My system: MSI Z370 sli plus (I used to run 970 sli); i5 8600-non K (don't want to oc); Aorus gtx 1660Ti; 750 psu; 16 ram; Corsair H60; I don't use my EVO 860 ssd for games. My games are played from a
Seagate FireCuda 2TB SATA6GB/s 64MB 3.5'' Gaming SSHD (Solid State Hybrid Drive)

(I think that's all). In any game, the GPU and CPU are rarely over 50C but mid to high 50's max. So no problems/worries to this point, everything is outstanding, playing any and all the latest pc games. So I opened Gears 5 today and ran their benchmark, When the benchmark was done, part of it reads thusly: <Average CPU Framerate (game) 278.7 FPS (3.6ms)>: <Average CPU Framerate (render) 233,0 FPS (4.3)>: <Average Minimum Framerate (bottom 5% ) 58.3 FPS (17.2ms). And here's the reason for this query. The last blue line of this side of the benchmark reads; GPU Bound 100.00% and 0.00% CPU Bound. I hope that this has question has been posted according to Hoyle and it's all good. Thanks much for any information. Paca
If there's too much information, I apologize as I was trying to include al that may be pertinent.

 

[bmockeg]

Your CPU and GPU are both used to run video games and affect the FPS. At lower resolutions the CPU does more work and at higher resolutions the GPU does more work.

If you run games at 1080p it is more important to have a strong CPU and a decent GPU. At 1440p you can have less CPU power but will want more GPU power. At 2160p(4K) you want a high end GPU but do not need a very strong CPU. Having a strong GPU and CPU is always the best case scenario but that’s why it’s best to build your system based on what you will use it for.

In your situation, you are set well for 1080p gaming. You have a higher end CPU and a very good mid level GPU. This is going to leave you GPU bound which means that you could benefit from having a better graphics card but a better CPU wouldn’t do any good. Most people will be bound in one of the two.

I play at 1440p and run a 9900k and 1080ti. I am GPU bound because my GPU runs at 100% but my CPU usually runs around 40-50%.

 

[paca5]

Great helpful & informative answer, thanks bmockeg, much obliged for the great information.