Bottleneck Calculator: What Is It? A Complete Guide

Bottleneck calculator is software that helps identify which components in the pc are limiting the overall capacity of the computer.

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25 September 2024 4:52 PM
Average Reading Time: 7 Minutes
Bottleneck Calculator: What Is It? A Complete Guide

If you are a gamer then you know nothing is more fulfilling that making your very own gaming computer. Yet there is one thing that is even better and that is making your gaming PC yourself, however, people who make their PC themselves often run into the age-old problem of bottleneck. For these people, we recommend a bottleneck calculator.

Just imagine, you spending months or even years, saving up money to buy your dream gaming PC and when you have finally saved up, you buy the best parts and spend hours assembling them, yet when you run your computer, it does not give the full performance it should be giving.

More often than not, it is because of bottleneck issues and a great way to fix it is to use pc bottleneck calculator. If you don’t know what it is then this is the perfect guide for you as we will not only explain to you what it is and how it works, but will also recommend the best bottleneck calculators.

What is a Bottleneck?

Bottleneck essentially means that one or more components in your pc are limiting the overall capacity of your computer. Meaning if those components are replaced with better ones the performance of your computer will increase. Classic examples of this are, a really good CPU and the rest of the pc but a really bad GPU.

What is a Bottleneck Calculator?

Bottleneck PC calculator is software that helps identify which components in the pc are limiting the overall capacity of the computer. You can either input the information of individual components into the software or the software can analyze the computer.

There are online bottleneck calculators as well as those that you can download and install on your computer and all the good ones are paid but you can still find free ones that can do decent evaluations.

How to Calculate Bottleneck?

The Bottleneck calculator takes into account information about specific components like your CPU, GPU, RAM, etc., and analyzes their performance individually and collectively to see if they are working to their maximum capacity when in sync with each other. Here are the exact steps of a CPU GPU bottleneck calculator etc.

Enter Component Specifics: Step one involves collecting information about all the components installed in the pc, i.e. your RAM, GPU, CPU, SSDs, etc.

Evaluate Components: Then the bottleneck calculator checks through a database and finds the exact specs and benchmarks for each of the components and evaluates their performance in relation to each other.

Output Results: After evaluation, it will summarize all the results into a report indicating which component is causing the bottleneck and might even suggest a replacement or a workaround.

Why is it a good idea to use a Bottleneck Calculator?

It is always recommended to use a bottleneck calculator before buying the components. It is always good practice to create a list of the components you want to purchase and then input their information into a bottleneck calculator to check if they work well together. Overall, here are a few benefits of using a calculator.

  • Ensures Optical Performance: Bottleneck calculators ensure that you get the best possible components in your price range, this ensures that your final pc build is running at its optimal settings and with the best possible efficiency.
  • Cost Saving: By running your components through the bottleneck calculator first you make sure that you don’t buy any component that is less efficient and you save money by buying only the right components.
  • Long Lasting Build: It is not easy to make a new gaming pc or replace components as they can be very costly. So, by having the best possible build, you ensure that you have a computer that will last you a long time and run most of the games and software in the foreseeable future.

Is there a difference between a CPU Bottleneck Calculator and a GPU Bottleneck Calculator?

No not only is there no difference between the two, but these two do not even separately exist as a bottleneck calculator on its own can evaluate both these components, as well as others like RAM, SSDs, etc. and it is by evaluating all these components together that it can tell which component is causing the bottleneck.

Bottleneck Calculator

However, there are specific software to stress test and individually benchmark your CPU or GPU, if you want to, but most people just use the bottleneck calculators as they provide you with all the necessary information about all the components.

How to Calculate Bottleneck Time?

Calculating bottleneck time is a bit complicated but it essentially means that you are measuring the time of the delay in performance being caused by a specific component that is causing the bottleneck. Its formula is as follows.

Bottleneck Time=Number of Units Produced / Processing Time​

Where processing time is the time taken by every component to complete the task it is assigned, while the number of units produced means the number of tasks assigned to be completed in a particular time frame. You do not need to calculate it yourself as your bottleneck calculator will do this for you.

Are Bottleneck Calculators Accurate?

Bottleneck Calculators may not be a hundred percent accurate but they give you a really good idea of how your potential build will perform. One of the limitations that account for their inaccuracy is that they cannot predict what the pc will be used for i.e. running games or specific software.

The accuracy of bottleneck calculators also depends on how specific information they are using and how good is the software, meaning are you using a random free online calculator or a purpose-built paid software to do your calculations?

Our Recommendations for Bottleneck Calculators

There are many great bottleneck calculators out there that you can use and here are a few suggestions for you to look at.

  • PC Builds Bottleneck Calculator: It has a very simple and user-friendly interface, making it easy for anyone to use. It not only evaluates the entire pc build, along with individual components but also makes recommendations and suggestions.
  • CPU Agent’s FPS and Bottleneck Calculator: Perfect for bottleneck identification in CPU, GPU and Ram etc. and for stress testing and FPS calculation. It is very easy to use and gives a detailed report.
  • The Bottlenecker: Known for its visual representation of the results, it can easily evaluate your pc build, however its accuracy is dependent on the level of details you input, as the software itself is not very intuitive.
  • GamersNexus Bottleneck Calculator: This software is the creation of the famous gaming and tech channel GamerNexus and is great for evaluating gaming computers. However, it lacks the comprehensive database of components and as such not every component may be available.
  • MSI Afterburner: Not exactly a bottleneck calculator but MSI Afterburnder is a very reliable and reputable bench mark finder and can be used as a bottleneck calculator with stress testing.

Conclusion

To conclude even though bottleneck calculators may not be the most accurate, they are still useful and deeply recommended as they can provide a detailed overview of all the individual components you are using and can help you save cost and help you get the best possible build in your price range.