PC Bottleneck Calculator
Find out if your CPU or GPU is limiting your gaming performance. Get an instant bottleneck score, detailed analysis, and personalised upgrade recommendations — free, no sign-up.
Enter your PC specs
What is a PC bottleneck and how does it affect gaming?
A bottleneck happens when one component in your PC is significantly weaker than the others, preventing your system from reaching its full potential. The most common type is between your CPU and GPU — when your processor cannot keep up with your graphics card, your GPU sits partially idle and you lose frames per second.
Our calculator compares real benchmark scores from thousands of hardware combinations to give you an accurate bottleneck percentage at your chosen resolution. The higher the resolution, the more work your GPU does — which is why a GPU bottleneck is normal and even preferred at 4K.
CPU bottleneck
Your processor cannot keep up with your GPU. Common in CPU-heavy games like strategy, simulation, and open world titles with many NPCs.
GPU bottleneck
Your graphics card is the limiting factor. Typical at high resolutions like 1440p and 4K. Usually the preferred bottleneck for gaming builds.
Balanced system
Both components are well matched. Under 10% bottleneck means your build is optimised and you are getting near-maximum performance.
How to reduce a PC bottleneck
For a CPU bottleneck — upgrade your processor, lower CPU-heavy settings like draw distance and NPC density, or overclock your CPU. For a GPU bottleneck — increase your resolution or graphics quality to keep the GPU busier, or upgrade your graphics card. A small bottleneck under 10% is completely normal and not worth addressing.
How to use this tool
Select your CPU and GPU
Choose your exact processor and graphics card from the dropdowns. If your specific model is not listed, select the closest equivalent.
Set your resolution and use case
Select the resolution you game at — 1080p, 1440p, or 4K. Choose your primary use case as gaming or streaming, since streaming adds extra CPU load.
Read your bottleneck result
Under 10% is excellent and not worth worrying about. 10–20% is moderate — consider an upgrade. Above 20% is significant and upgrading the bottlenecking component will noticeably improve your gaming performance.