Do you have a bottleneck in your gaming PC? CPU and GPU bottlenecks explored

Prawn here, in this video I'm talking to you about CPU and GPU bottlenecks. I recently had a discussion with someone who told me about how they had upgraded to a 2080Ti but were still running a really old Intel CPU. It got me thinking about bottlenecks. Upgrading a GPU is one of the easiest things you can do as a PC gamer. I've talked before about how to upgrade your GPU and move to a new one. The problem is, if you've done that several times but kept the base components the same (e.g. the same CPU, SSD and RAM) then you might not be making the most of your new GPU. So I wanted to show what could happen if you did that.

To do this, I used two new CPUs:

The Intel Core i9-12900K and the Intel Core i3-13100. These are very different CPUs. One is the top end of the 12th generation CPUs and the other is a newer 13th generation budget CPU.

The specs were mostly the same otherwise though:
Specs of this build: (note this includes affiliate links that earn me a commission at no extra cost to you)
Motherboard - ASUS ROG MAXIMUS Z690 FORMULA    • ASUS ROG MAXIMUS Z690 FORMULA Unboxin...  
Case - Lian Li Dynamic Evo XL    • In-depth look at the Lian Li Dynamic ...  
Fans - Lian Li SL120 V2    • Lian Li SL120 V2 fans feature some ni...  
CPU cooler - Lian Li Galahad 2 Performance Edition    • Lian Li Galahad 2 Trinity Performance...  
RAM - Corsair Vengeance RGB DDR5 16GB x 2 6200MHz (https://go.corsair.com/eKAL3Z)
NVME - WD Black SN850    • How to install WD_Black SN850 and che...  
PSU - Corsair RM Shift Series 1000X Shift (   • Corsair RMX shift PSU setup and insta...  )
GPU - Gigabyte RTX 3090 OC Vision


I also dug out my brothers old PC, which is an ancient thing that includes an Intel Core i54670 Processor (https://ark.intel.com/content/www/us/.... I thought I could foolishly combine that with my RTX 3090 to see what a difference this made and the impact on performance, but of course it wouldn't run the latest games - though it did run Windows 10 which surprised me frankly.

Other related videos:
How to upgrade your CPU easily    • How to upgrade your CPU easily - esse...  
How to install Intel 12 and 13th gen CPUs    • How to install Intel 12th, 13th and 1...  
Don't make these thermal paste mistakes (how not to apply thermal paste)    • Don't make these thermal paste mistak...  
Tips to Optimize Your PC for More FPS and Better Gaming    • Tips to Optimize Your PC for More FPS...  
Essential things to do when you first build your PC    • Essential things to do when you first...  
How to improve the performance of your gaming PC - simple tips for more FPS    • How to improve the performance of you...  
How to install a new graphics card    • How to install a new graphics card - ...  
Essential things to do with your RAM before and after installing    • Essential things to do with your RAM ...  

Disclosure: Shopping links within the description of this video generate a commission at no extra cost to you. These are added for your convenience but other retailers are available. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Products:
Products featured may also have been sent for free for review/testing purposes. Often these have to be returned by me, but not always. I endeavour to avoid bias in my videos wherever possible and try to give honest, subjective opinions. Unless otherwise stated, the videos are not sponsored financially.



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