At 1440p for gaming the Ryzen 5 7500F could feed about 155 fps, but the Radeon RX 9060 XT 16GB tops out near 90 fps, so the card is the limiting part. That is the normal and preferable situation in a gaming PC.
Free CPU & GPU Bottleneck Calculator
See whether your CPU or your GPU is the bottleneck.
Pick your processor, your graphics card and the resolution you actually play at. The performance bars show how many frames each part can handle on its own. Whichever one runs out first is the bottleneck limiting your FPS.
Bottleneck calculator
Processor
Graphics card
Resolution
Memory (RAM)
Verdict at 1440p ·
Gaming
The graphics card is the bottleneck
CPU
Ryzen 5 7500F
155 fps
GPU
Radeon RX 9060 XT 16GB
90 fps
0
matched output
unused headroom
41.9%
160 fps
- Memory 32 GB
- Storage SSD (SATA) −1.2%
- Video memory 16 GB
- This is the normal state for a gaming PC. The graphics card should be the part working hardest.
- Lower shadow, reflection and ray tracing settings first. They cost the most frames for the least visual difference.
- Turn on DLSS, FSR or XeSS in quality mode. It raises frame rate specifically when the card is the limit.
- If you want a real jump, a faster graphics card is the upgrade that will actually show up. The Ryzen 5 7500F has room to feed a quicker card.
Four steps
How to use the bottleneck calculator
It takes about a minute, and you do not need to know a single benchmark number. Follow these four steps to get an answer you can act on.
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Step
01
Pick the processor and graphics card
Start typing and the lists narrow as you go. Checking a PC you already own? Put in what is inside it. Planning a build? Put in the parts you are thinking of buying and try a couple of combinations.
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Step
02
Set the resolution you really play at
This is the input people get wrong most often. A pair that looks lopsided at 1080p can be perfectly sensible at 4K, so pick the resolution on your monitor today, not the one you are saving up for.
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Step
03
Add memory, storage and what you use the PC for
Gaming, streaming, editing and rendering lean on the parts differently, and 8GB of RAM or a mechanical hard drive changes the picture. These extras keep the estimate closer to your machine.
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Step
04
Read the bars, not only the percentage
Each bar is how many frames that part could push on its own. The shorter bar is the limiter and the gap between the two is the percentage. The verdict underneath tells you whether it is worth spending money on.
Written up in detail
Popular pairings
Each of these has its own page with the numbers, the games where it shows up, and whether an upgrade is worth the money.
Ryzen 5 7500F + Radeon RX 9060 XT 16GB
Bottleneck
23.9%
~118 FPS
GPU limited, which is optimal for gaming
Core i5-12400F + GeForce RTX 5060 Ti 16GB
Bottleneck
9.1%
~120 FPS
GPU limited, barely
Ryzen 7 7700 + GeForce RTX 5070
Bottleneck
36.9%
~106 FPS
The graphics card is the bottleneck
Ryzen 7 7800X3D + Radeon RX 9070 XT
Bottleneck
32.8%
~125 FPS
The graphics card is the bottleneck
Core Ultra 7 265K + GeForce RTX 5080
Bottleneck
41.4%
~99 FPS
The graphics card is the bottleneck
Ryzen 7 9800X3D + GeForce RTX 5090
Bottleneck
29.8%
~139 FPS
GPU limited, which is optimal for gaming
Core Ultra 5 245K + GeForce RTX 5060 Ti 16GB
Bottleneck
25%
~120 FPS
GPU limited, which is optimal for gaming
Ryzen 5 9600X + Radeon RX 9060 XT 16GB
Bottleneck
30.2%
~118 FPS
The graphics card is the bottleneck
Reading
Blogs
Plain-English guides to what is limiting your frame rate, when it is worth fixing, and which upgrade actually moves the number.
Why Resolution Changes the Bottleneck Answer Completely
The same two parts can be CPU limited at 1080p and GPU limited at 4K. Here is the mechanism, and why any calculator that ignores resolution is guessing.
Read more1% Lows vs Average FPS: Why the Number Nobody Quotes Matters More
Two PCs can both average 120 frames a second and feel completely different. The number that explains the difference is the one nobody quotes.
Read moreAre Bottleneck Calculators Accurate?
An honest account of what our number is built from, where it is reliable, and the four situations where you should ignore it entirely.
Read moreShould You Upgrade Your CPU or GPU? How to Pick the Right One
One of the two purchases will raise your frame rate and the other will do almost nothing. Here is how to work out which is which before you spend the money.
Read more
Reading the result
How to read your bottleneck result
The number on its own does not tell you much. These three things do.
A bottleneck is not a fault
In every gaming PC one part reaches its limit before the other. Ideally that part is the graphics card. If your GPU sits close to 99% usage while you play, you are getting your money out of it.
Lost frames matter more than the percentage
What counts is how much FPS you are actually giving up at the resolution you play at. A gap that bites at 1080p can barely register at 1440p, because the graphics card takes on far more work as the resolution climbs.
It is an estimate, not a measurement
These figures come from published benchmark averages rather than from your machine. Use them to compare parts and plan an upgrade, not as an exact reading of your own PC.
For the formula itself and every assumption behind it, read the methodology.
The short guide
What your bottleneck percentage actually means
It is not a score and it is not a fault. It is the share of the faster part's performance that goes unused because the other part cannot keep up. Every PC ever built has a number here. The only question is whether yours is big enough to be worth money.
Well matched
You would never notice it in a game.
Nothing. Go and play something.
Minor
Visible in a benchmark, invisible on a monitor.
Not worth spending on. Free tuning covers it.
Noticeable
Shows up in busy scenes and CPU-heavy games rather than everywhere.
Worth planning around at your next upgrade.
Significant
The faster part spends a lot of its time waiting.
Upgrade the limiting part, not the one you fancy.
How to tell a CPU bottleneck from a GPU bottleneck
The calculator gives you the estimate. Your own machine gives you the proof. Turn on the performance overlay in your graphics driver or in Steam, load a demanding game, and watch the GPU usage figure while you play.
Signs the processor is the limiter
- GPU usage sits well under 100%, often in the 60–80% range, while the frame rate is lower than you expected.
- Frames drop in crowded places, big battles and city centres, but hold up fine when you stare at a wall.
- Lowering the graphics settings barely helps, because the pressure was never on the graphics card.
- The average FPS looks acceptable, yet the game feels rough. That is usually the 1% lows falling apart.
Signs the graphics card is the limiter
- GPU usage pins at 97–100% for most of the session. In a gaming PC this is the state you want.
- Dropping from ultra to high, or turning down ray tracing, gives you an immediate and obvious jump in frames.
- The frame rate scales cleanly with resolution: a good chunk faster at 1080p than at 4K.
- Your CPU cores are busy but nowhere near maxed out. Here is the longer version of that check .
How to fix a bottleneck
Work through the free options before you open your wallet. Most people get back a useful slice of performance without buying anything.
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01
Push the load onto the part with room to spare
If the CPU is the limiter, raise the resolution or the graphics settings. The graphics card takes on more work, the gap closes, and the picture looks better for free.
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02
Switch on your memory profile
RAM runs at a slow default speed until you enable XMP or EXPO in the BIOS. It is the most common few-minute fix there is, and it lands squarely on CPU-limited performance.
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03
Clear the decks
Update the graphics driver, close browsers and overlays, set the Windows power plan to high performance, and check that the game is installed on an SSD.
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04
Then upgrade the limiter, and only the limiter
A faster graphics card does nothing for a CPU-limited PC, and the reverse is just as true. Our guides on which part to upgrade and splitting a budget walk through the trade-offs.
1080p, 1440p and 4K change the answer
Resolution is the biggest single lever on the result, because it changes the graphics card's workload enormously and the processor's hardly at all. The same two parts can produce three different verdicts.
The processor, most often
Frames arrive quickly, so the CPU has to prepare a lot of them every second.
The middle ground
Where most modern pairs sit close to even, with neither part waiting long.
The graphics card, nearly always
A modest processor can look perfectly capable at this resolution.
A high refresh rate monitor moves the goalposts the same way. Aim for 240 FPS at 1080p and the processor matters far more than it does at 60 FPS. There is a full write-up on resolution if you want the reasoning.
What this calculator will not tell you
Being straight about the limits is more useful than pretending there are none. The estimate is built from published benchmark averages across recent AAA games, which makes it a solid guide for comparing parts and a poor substitute for measuring your own machine.
- It cannot see the game you actually play. Simulation and strategy titles lean on the processor far harder than a corridor shooter does.
- It does not model running out of VRAM, which shows up as stutter rather than a lower average frame rate.
- It assumes sensible cooling and power. A laptop chip on battery, or a card cooking in a sealed case, will fall short of these figures.
- It ignores upscaling and frame generation, which shift the balance again the moment you switch them on.
The methodology page has the formula and every assumption behind it, and this post covers the honest limits in more depth.
Keep going
Where to go next
Processors
Every CPU in the database, each with its own page and matching suggestions.
Graphics cards
Every GPU, with the pairings it suits and the resolutions it is built for.
GPU vs GPU
Put two graphics cards head to head and see which one earns the money.
Written verdicts
A full write-up for a specific pairing, with the games where the gap shows.
Questions
Frequently asked questions
What is a CPU and GPU bottleneck?
A bottleneck occurs when one component of your PC, such as the graphics card or processor, is limited in performance compared to the other. The slower part then waits for the faster one, and your frame rate is limited by the slower part.
How is the bottleneck percentage calculated?
We simulate the maximum FPS that each part can achieve at your resolution and then compare them. The percentage represents the amount of headroom that is unused when the faster part is paired with the slower part. For the complete formula, read the methodology page.
Does a Bottleneck always have a negative effect?
No. In a gaming PC, you want the graphics card to be the limiting factor, because if it's running close to its maximum, then you're getting your money's worth. The only one to worry about is a CPU bottleneck, and only when it becomes a significant size.
Does the resolution I play at change the answer?
Yes, substantially. A processor that can only handle 1080p may not be seen at 4K, as the graphics card's workload increases at a much higher rate than the CPU's. Always test the result at the resolution you play at.
What is a good or bad bottleneck percentage?
Less than 5% is balanced and should not be considered. 5-15% is minor. 15-30% is perceptible and typically evident in benchmarks. If it is more than 30% then the faster part is being held back sufficiently and it is worth fixing.
Which should I upgrade, the CPU or the graphics card?
The calculator will tell you which one is the limiter. If the CPU is the limiting factor, a faster CPU will increase your frame rate, and if the GPU is the limiting factor, a faster GPU will increase your frame rate. The number will not move if the part is not the limiter.
How accurate are these estimates for my exact PC?
They are based on published benchmark averages from recent AAA titles, not on your machine, so use the number as a good approximation, not a promise. The actual figure will vary slightly depending on the driver, background software and the difficulty of the game.
Can I fix a bottleneck without buying new parts?
Sometimes. If your CPU is the limiter, increasing resolution or graphics settings can put more load on the GPU and balance performance. Enabling XMP/EXPO, closing background apps, and updating drivers can also help improve FPS — all without spending money.
Do RAM and storage cause bottlenecks too?
Yes, but in different ways. Slow or insufficient RAM can cause stuttering, while a slow hard drive mainly affects loading times and texture pop-in rather than average FPS. For a smooth gaming experience, 16GB or 32GB of RAM at its rated speed and an SSD are a good baseline. Our bottleneck calculator focuses on the CPU and GPU because they have the biggest impact on gaming FPS.