All computers wear out over time. After a period of about five years, you see that your computer is no longer at its old performance, at least you may want to change some hardware so that it gets a little stronger. However, if there is no compatibility between the new hardware and your existing old hardware, you will be wasting money. The method of analyzing the compatibility between these two hardware is called the bottleneck test.
The bottleneck test generally analyzes the compatibility between the graphics card and the processor and gives a certain ratio. Because even if your new hardware offers the highest performance, it is useless if it does not work in harmony with your existing hardware. That’s why you should do the bottleneck test before buying new hardware. Let’s take a closer look at what is the bottleneck test, how it is done, and see the online and programmed methods you can apply.
How is the bottleneck test done?
- Method #1: Bottleneck testing via the GPU Check website
- Method #2: Bottleneck testing via the PC Builds website
- Method #3: Bottleneck testing with MSI Afterburner
- Method #4: Bottleneck check via Task Manager
First of all, what is a bottleneck test?
The bottleneck test is a kind of algorithm that analyzes the compatibility between two different hardware and shows the performance ratio when they work together. It is generally used to reveal the performance loss situation called the bottleneck due to incompatibility between the graphics card and the processor. There are websites where you can do a bottleneck test online and programs that you can download and use on your computer.
What should the bottleneck ratio be?
Even if the performance status varies depending on the software you want to use on your computer and the games you want to play, a bottleneck of 10 percent, up to 15 percent can be considered. But when it’s more than that, your computer will bottleneck noticeably, which will never deliver the performance you want.
How is the bottleneck test done? Online and programmatic methods:
Method #1: Bottleneck testing via the GPU Check website:
- Step #1: Open the GPU Check website via the link here.
- Step #2: Find the First Combination section.
- Step #3: Select the video card you are using.
- Step #4: Select the processor you are using.
- Step #5: Edit the Desired Quality Settings options.
- Step #6: Find the Second Combination section.
- Step #7: Select the graphics card you plan to buy.
- Step #8: Select the processor you are using or plan to purchase.
- Step #9: Click the Compare button.
To apply the bottleneck test method on the GPU Check website, simply follow the steps above. After entering the requested information, the system will perform a bottleneck test within a few seconds and present the results to you in detail.
Method #2: Bottleneck testing via the PC Builds website:
- Step #1: Open the PC Builds website via the link here.
- Step #2: Select the type of processor you have or want to test.
- Step #3: Select the current or the graphics card model you want to test.
- Step #4: Select the RAM capacity available or you want to test.
- Step #5: Click the Calculate button.
To implement the bottleneck test method on the PC Builds website, simply follow the steps above. Since the PC Builds website makes an evaluation on the RAM capacity as well as the processor and graphics card, the results you get will be much healthier. After entering the requested information, the system will perform a bottleneck test within a few seconds and present the results to you in detail.
Method #3: Bottleneck testing with MSI Afterburner:
- Step #1: Download MSI Afterburner from the link here.
- Step #2: Run the installation file and complete the installation.
- Step #3: Open a software or game that will make your computer run at full performance.
- Step #4: MSI Afterburner will analyze CPU and video card performance at this time.
- Step #5: You can see the analysis results through the program.
To apply the bottleneck test method through the MSI Afterburner program, simply follow the steps above. Unlike online bottleneck tests, MSI Afterburner only analyzes compatibility between your existing hardware. According to the results of this analysis, you can see whether you should buy a new hardware or not.
Method #4: Bottleneck check via Task Manager:
- Step #1: Open the Task Manager page on your Windows computer.
- Step #2: Expand the Performance tab.
- Step #3: Open a software or game that will make your computer run at full performance.
- Step #4: You can check for bottlenecks through the Performance tab on the Task Manager page.
To apply the bottleneck control method via Task Manager, just follow the steps above. By applying this method, even if it is not very detailed, you can see whether your existing hardware is experiencing bottlenecks during the operations you perform.
How to tell if there is a bottleneck, what do the results mean?
Keep in mind that 10-15% is ideal, even though the bottleneck test results will vary depending on the method you use. The CPU Impact on FPS value you see in the bottleneck test results on the GPU Check website is very important. The effects of the processor on the graphics card and the effects of the FPS value in the game are seen in these results.
Not every test result gives a bottleneck percentage. Instead, it shares the memory used by the processor and graphics card. For example, it is a negative situation that the processor uses 85 percent or more memory over the video card. It can be considered normal for the video card to use between 40 and 60 percent of the processor’s memory.
A similar situation applies to the use of RAM. The more RAM a processor or video card uses, the more it will affect performance. When all these come together, it is easy to experience great performance losses, especially in games and software that actively uses the video card.
We talked about the methods you can apply to perform a bottleneck test by answering questions such as what is the bottleneck test, which analyzes the compatibility between computer hardware, and how is it done. You can contact the manufacturers for the most accurate information about the hardware, and you can make sure that you get the best results by performing a bottleneck test in more than one system.
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