Hello community! This guide is dedicated solely to the explanation and details of what electronic bottlenecking is, and which CPUs bottleneck the all new GTX 1000 series GPUs and all new RX 400 series GPUs.
Calling ALL GTX 1080 Ti owners!!
For those of you who have a 1080 Ti, it would mean a lot to me if you guys could give me your estimates on how much you would consider your systems are being bottlenecked by the 1080 TI, if at all. Basically, I consider 90% GPU usage or lower to be a legitimate CPU bottleneck. 90% is pink. 75% is blue, 60% is red. These are all AVERAGE GPU usages.
Unfortunately, I can't just call up Nvidia and tell them to send me a 1080 Ti for me to use. So I need users like you guys to help out.
What is Bottlenecking?
Bottlenecking is where one component is hindering another components performance/efficency.
Truth be told, there is ALWAYS a bottleneck in a computer. Like a CPU being bottlenecked by a GPU -- yeah that’s legit -- but that isn't always a bad thing. When one component is not at 100% utilization, that means it’s being bottlenecked by something whether it’s temps, fans, software utilization etc.
Why Do GPUs Get Bottlenecked by CPUs (When Gaming)?
In a gaming oriented computer, the CPU is the 2nd most important component in your system. The CPU’s job is to send pre-rendered frames to the GPU.
The contents of pre-rendered frames are basically anything not related to what the GPU will render. A good example of this is the positioning/location of AI and the positions of your teammates and enemies.
While pre-rendered frames aren’t as hard to render as fully rendered frames, it still takes quite a bit of power from the CPU to render them out --of course this depends on the game engine--. This is why you still need a powerful central processing unit for any kind of modern or advanced game you want to play.
Bottlenecking is Also Affected by Frame Rate:
Supahos, another member here at TH, describes this subject very accurately:
Supahos :
Every CPU is capable of only a certain number of frames in every game. The resolution and settings have very little effect on CPU sided FPS limitations. This is why if you drop graphical settings in simple games your FPS doesn't go up. The CPU was the hold up and the lowered settings don't help your CPU.
As an example, if you are playing League of legends at 720P with a GTX Titan XP, your CPU is holding you back from more frames. (I don't care if you're running a 7700K overclocked at 5.2GHz, it's still the weakest link.) That same system playing Battlefield 1 at 4K ultra settings would make the Titan "bottleneck" the 7700K.
Every GPU has a maximum number of frames it can render at any given setting/resolution. Higher the settings or resolution the less FPS it can possibly render.
Okay so where does the bottleneck come in?
In any given game and setting whichever is lower for maximum possible frames (CPU or GPU) is the fps you'll get roughly.
A GTX 1070 at 1080P in League of Legends will most likely get the same FPS as a GTX Titan XP, since the CPU was the hold up to begin with.
Conversely, a 7600K at 4K max settings paired with a GTX 1070 will have the same FPS as a 6950X paired with a 1070. Because the GPU is the bottleneck in that instance.
Difficulties In Measuring Bottlenecks:
The reason why bottlenecking is so confusing is because it's
on a game to game basis and a frame rate basis. Games A, B and C bottleneck, but X,Y and Z don't but if you have a FPS of 200fps or more on those games, the results could be the complete opposite. This is why narrowing down which CPUs bottleneck which GPUs can get extremely difficult.
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Here are the charts of CPUs that will, and will not, bottleneck the GTX 1080, 1070, 1060 and RX 480/470. (This is just a general estimate, again, your mileage may vary according to the games you play, what graphical settings you play at, and what resolution you use.)
I’ve broken down the type of bottlenecking in 4 colors:
Black = No bottlenecking issues.
Magenta = CPU bottlenecking GPU
only in a worst case scenario.
Blue = CPU bottlenecking GPU only in more advanced/CPU intensive games (like Crysis 3).
Red = CPU bottlenecking GPU
in all gaming applications.
Disclamer: These charts only apply to the latest games that have come out this year. Assumption is a resolution of 1080P-1440P with a frame rate of 60fps average.
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GTX 1080 Bottlenecking Chart: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/17VRKPjyiTBx9Ewc2xkmaMZD2tA3gSOG3rNtH4OEiz3g/edit?usp=sharing
GTX 1070 Bottlenecking Chart: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1EQOWVLxk0DOFXKfzCmz9lEZ-qpMb7mIvt8KUYek69A8/edit?usp=sharing
GTX 1060 Bottlenecking Chart: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Q7lIYRK5T0ABLvAkgbM_2jJGvbhlep27mR-eRcCy4FA/edit?usp=sharing
GTX 1050 Ti Bottlenecking Chart: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1OCSzTslVki32BDSlEneeH3zJrTgD5iHe6IsWgbceHcQ/edit?usp=sharing
RX 480 Bottlenecking Chart: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1qSkGtqIXpBBFwidUxl2LlWpIh3CQQGTrfc4WySMe14o/edit?usp=sharing
Maxwell Bottlenecking Chart:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/14LcYGkqVqaHUK_qwS_6N9s1vp-TH7AyHzn7OrNittag/edit?usp=sharing
If you have any other advice or thoughts for my purchase of the Asus 1080ti strix oc running with my system specs of: i5 4690k (not over clocked yet) // 16gb 1600 ram // 1Tb ssd z97p mobo // corsair 750m psu // then it would be much appreciated Thanks again.
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