how bad is to have a bottleneck

[Noulo]

If my cpu bottlenecks my gpu, will the gpu work to the max level it can or it will perform even worst than a gpu that wont be bottlenecked by the cpu (lets use for example an i3 and a gtx 1080 and the same cpu but with a gtx 750ti)?

 

[Gam3r01]

You had it partially right.
It wont perform to its full potential, however, it wont perform worse than any other card. It will perform at the level the processor can run it, no matter the card. You will reach a point where downgrading cards would result in less performance.

 

[geofelt]

Some games are graphics limited like fast action shooters.
Others are cpu core speed limited like strategy, sims, and mmo.
Multiplayer with many participants tend to like many threads.

There will always be a limiting factor.

It is a matter of balance.
One rule of thumb is to budget 2x the cpu cost for a gaming build.

 

[boosted1g]

A bottleneck iin general is not a bad thing and in reality every system has a bottleneck. Until the uprsing of SSDs the hard drive had become the biggest bottleneck. There will always be one component that is slowing down the rest.
Think of it this way, if everyone is driving 80mph and one guy is driving 79.5 mph (assuming there is no way to pass) then everyone gets slowed down to 79.5. Marginaly annoying but no big deal.
Now lets assume that someone is going 45, now everyone is slowed down to 45mph and it makes a huge deal.


For your specific example it completely depends on what is being stressed, the CPU or the GPU.
If the game uses 80% GPU and 20% CPU to run then the higher end the GPU the better.
If it is say 60% CPU and 40% GPU like on a CPU heavy game like BF1, then that i3 is going to choke and you will actually get the exact same frame rate with the 1080 vs say a 1060, thus the $400 difference is a huge waste of money.

 

[jwcrellin]

A bottleneck iin general is not a bad thing and in reality every system has a bottleneck. Until the uprsing of SSDs the hard drive had become the biggest bottleneck. There will always be one component that is slowing down the rest.
Think of it this way, if everyone is driving 80mph and one guy is driving 79.5 mph (assuming there is no way to pass) then everyone gets slowed down to 79.5. Marginaly annoying but no big deal.
Now lets assume that someone is going 45, now everyone is slowed down to 45mph and it makes a huge deal.


For your specific example it completely depends on what is being stressed, the CPU or the GPU.
If the game uses 80% GPU and 20% CPU to run then the higher end the GPU the better.
If it is say 60% CPU and 40% GPU like on a CPU heavy game like BF1, then that i3 is going to choke and you will actually get the exact same frame rate with the 1080 vs say a 1060, thus the $400 difference is a huge waste of money.

Kinda, I still think its nice to have a 1080 in your build. Future proofing and it pressures you to upgrade other parts to match your best piece of hardware.

 

[boosted1g]

A bottleneck iin general is not a bad thing and in reality every system has a bottleneck. Until the uprsing of SSDs the hard drive had become the biggest bottleneck. There will always be one component that is slowing down the rest.
Think of it this way, if everyone is driving 80mph and one guy is driving 79.5 mph (assuming there is no way to pass) then everyone gets slowed down to 79.5. Marginaly annoying but no big deal.
Now lets assume that someone is going 45, now everyone is slowed down to 45mph and it makes a huge deal.


For your specific example it completely depends on what is being stressed, the CPU or the GPU.
If the game uses 80% GPU and 20% CPU to run then the higher end the GPU the better.
If it is say 60% CPU and 40% GPU like on a CPU heavy game like BF1, then that i3 is going to choke and you will actually get the exact same frame rate with the 1080 vs say a 1060, thus the $400 difference is a huge waste of money.

Kinda, I still think its nice to have a 1080 in your build. Future proofing and it pressures you to upgrade other parts to match your best piece of hardware.

Depends on what you are doing.
If you are only running 1080p, even at 144hz then the 1080 is really not going to give you anything that the 1070 cant already do. Thus the extra $200 spent on a 1080 over a 1070 would be a complete and utter waste, while that money would be MUCH better spent in getting a better CPU.
Under your line of thinking grandma also needs a high end graphics card and should settle fornothing less then a 400hp V8 engine to drive 2 miles through the school zone to the grocery store.

 

[jwcrellin]

Yep, lol. No but I think it's nice to have the 1080 already in your build when you go to upgrade cpu's, that's my point. An i7 7700k with a 1050 will be just as strangled until the lower performing part is upgraded.

 

[boosted1g]

Yep, lol. No but I think it's nice to have the 1080 already in your build when you go to upgrade cpu's, that's my point. An i7 7700k with a 1050 will be just as strangled until the lower performing part is upgraded.

Dont get me wrong, I understand your point. When I advise power supplies I never say get the 450w model because $15-20 more usually gets you the 550-600w model which will support almost any modern GPU so why limit yourself when the difference is $20 or less.
But the 1080 is not like a 550w PSU, it is more like a 900w 80+platinum PSU that most users will never utilize and thus just a big waste of money.

 

[jwcrellin]

If my cpu bottlenecks my gpu, will the gpu work to the max level it can or it will perform even worst than a gpu that wont be bottlenecked by the cpu (lets use for example an i3 and a gtx 1080 and the same cpu but with a gtx 750ti)?

If the gpu is better than the cpu it won't run at full potential and the cpu will be maxed all the time trying to provide the graphics with enough data.

 

[Noulo]

Yep, lol. No but I think it's nice to have the 1080 already in your build when you go to upgrade cpu's, that's my point. An i7 7700k with a 1050 will be just as strangled until the lower performing part is upgraded.

that´s my point. I have a Pentium g3250 with no graphics card so i'm going to buy one, but my budget is tight and the only thing I can buy is a gpu. I was going to buy a rx460 for 120$, but for 140$ i can buy a gtx 1050ti or maybe a new vega when they're released, and no, I can't upgrade the graphics card in one or two years, it is just not posible, what I buy now will have to last at least 3 years, but with a gtx 1050ti i can buy a better cpu in like a year.

 

[Ecky]

The 1050Ti would be a fine choice for your system, and is easily worth $20 over a 460.

 

[justinwitter31]

I am buying an rtx 2080 for the simple fact that it's going to bother me not getting full performance. It will finally force me to upgrade from my I7 2600k OC 5.1 Asus z77 1155 ddr 3 @2133 Intel m.2 1tb SSD.. I currently have a gigabyte Rx 580 8gb installed and it's ok for a 1080p gamer. I recently upgraded to a 2k 144mhz monitor and would like to use it. I could get the 1070ti and continue my original game plan of holding off until next gen consoles arrive (ice lake is my target CPU upgrade) but Im not sure I can stand mediocre gaming that long. I'm gonna throw a 2080 in knowing full well I'll bottle neck it and I'll probably finally just say goodbye to 2012 and put old Sandy out to pasture. It's all about what type of gamer/builder you are. There's absolutely nothing wrong with running more GPU than your CPU can push except for wasted money. I personally had zero troubles unloading my 980ti after gaming with it for 2 years. Selling this Rx 580 I'm gonna lose a huge part of my initial investment. High end game cards are allot easier to resell than mid-range. So it goes both ways. It's your money spend it however you want. But ideally a 1070ti is probably the perfect card for my system and I should buy one. Still knowing all that im getting a 2080. It's your money, your PC , do what you want.
Oh and AMD cards need to come with 3 free games, I at least gave them a shot.tried should of got a 1060instead #fanboy

 

[xravenxdota]

Well i am in between gpu's right now.As my new pc's only a 2600 i was thinking to get a rx 580 as they are on special right now and they are good enough for 1080p gaming.Now i saw on youtube than the 1 tech tuber recommend at least A 1070 for a 2600 but i personally feel it's gonna be an overkill.

 

[justinwitter31]

Well i am in between gpu's right now.As my new pc's only a 2600 i was thinking to get a rx 580 as they are on special right now and they are good enough for 1080p gaming.Now i saw on youtube than the 1 tech tuber recommend at least A 1070 for a 2600 but i personally feel it's gonna be an overkill.

 

[justinwitter31]

The Rx 580 and the i7 - 2600k is like a .013% bottle neck.. which means it's extremely balanced. The bottle neck on the 1070ti is around 8or 9% for my overclocked 2600k. The 580 or 1060 is your best bet for 1080p gaming and value. My kid has a locked 3770 and a rx 570 and he can play battlefield V , fallout 76 and Oddessy 1080p. If that's what your looking to do that's the right card for your CPU.