I understand that CPU can affect GPU performance. But how much?

[Reyntime]

I know that a slower and/or out-dated cpu can affect the performance of a GPU. But I can't really determine the extent to which it will do so.

Will a nice 'n spiffy 980ti become hobbled after being paired with a slower i5 or even older?

Or is this one of those things that, as long as your within the relative modern cpu era, the performance differences are going to be merely 2-5% on the gpu?

 

[Mr Kagouris]

With an i5 not really. Even a 1st gen i5 should not bottleneck anything short of an R9 295X2 or Titan X, however a lot of games are CPU dependent as well. If you've got even a decent 2nd-3rd generation i5 you'll be fine.

 

[joex444]

Most discussions of bottlenecks are terribly misguided and don't fundamentally understand the situation. Typically if the CPU is the bottleneck it means that upgrading the GPU doesn't improve gaming performance and the GPU that's in place is not being utilized. If both the CPU and GPU run at 90%+ utilization in games, there's no bottleneck - you're maxing the system. If the CPU is upgraded so that the CPU runs at 75% tops but the GPU is hitting 100% this is technically a GPU bottleneck -- your system would produce more performance if you upgraded the GPU, though you are getting absolutely everything your GPU can deliver.

 

[Redneck5439]

CPU usage for games varies by game to game. Usually poorly coded games (ex: GTA V) and MMORPGs are CPU dependent and will bottleneck weaker processors with DX 11. Most AAA titles these days tend to be GPU dependent and won't bottleneck the vast majority of processors (especially overclocked processors). With DX 12 on the horizon now talks of bottlenecks will be fewer and fewer as DX 12 will allow weaker processors to game much better. With an i5 you should be fine processor wise through the lifespan of the current console systems (PS4 and Xbone) as developers have to scale down games to allow them to run on the weaker hardware of the console systems.