Bottleneck
CPU/GPU Detector.
Select your processor and graphics card to instantly detect which component is limiting your gaming performance and what you should upgrade first.
Select both components
Select your processor and graphics card to instantly detect which component is limiting your gaming performance and what you should upgrade first.
Select your CPU
Select your GPU
Frequently asked questions
addWhat is a bottleneck, exactly?
It is the part that finishes its work first and then waits. In a game, if the processor cannot prepare frames as fast as the graphics card can draw them, the card idles and your frame rate is capped by the processor — and the reverse happens just as often. Every system has one; the question is how large it is.
addMy GPU sits at 100% usage. Is something wrong?
No — that is the healthy state. It means the graphics card is the limit, which is what you paid for. The situation worth investigating is a card sitting at 60% while frame rates are low, because that means something else is holding it back.
addDoes the resolution I play at change the answer?
Substantially. The processor does close to the same work at every resolution, while the graphics card does far more at 4K than at 1080p. The same pair of parts can be processor-limited at 1080p and graphics-limited at 4K, so always judge the balance at the resolution you actually use.
addHow much imbalance is acceptable?
Under about 10% is not worth acting on — you would not feel it. Beyond roughly 25% you are paying for performance you cannot reach, and the money would be better spent on whichever part is behind.
addShould I upgrade the processor or the graphics card first?
Whichever the tool names as the limit at your resolution. If they are close, the graphics card is usually the better first move: it can be swapped on its own, whereas a new processor often drags a new motherboard and new memory along with it.
Keep going
Other tools and reference pages that pick up where this one leaves off.