Bottlenecking Theory - It does Exist in 2017 !

RoadBlaster · 07 Jan 2017

Here is my opening thoughts on Bottlenecking

This is a definition of a Bottleneck
Bottleneck is a kind of hardware limitation in your computer. A bottleneck occurs when the capacity of an application or a computer system is severely limited by a single component. Components that often bottleneck are graphic card, processor and HDD. Bottlenecks affect microprocessor performance by slowing down the flow of information back and forth from the CPU and the memory. If all of the components of a system are not able to feed the same amount of data at the same speed, a delay is created.
eg, a 2GB processor will be severely bottlenecked by an 800MB memory bandwidth.

Bottlenecking really affects Gaming rigs but applies to all rigs

The main culprits of jerky game play is mis-matched components like CPU to GPU & should be obsolete to use mechanical hard drives for os system.

I have experienced GPU bottle necking when I use an FX-6350 CPU with a GT 730 GPU, the CPU averaged at 50% the GPU wanted more than 100% causing too much stutter so had to change the CPU back to a FX-4170.

Amdahl's law
In computer architecture, Amdahl's law (or Amdahl's argument[1]) gives the theoretical speedup in latency of the execution of a task at fixed workload that can be expected of a system whose resources are improved. It is named after computer scientist Gene Amdahl, and was presented at the AFIPS Spring Joint Computer Conference in 1967.

? Does anyone understand this formula & know how to apply it to a PC config

So what I would like to discuss with any of you is how do we work a formula out to ensure all components talk to each other at the same speed so not to bottleneck our systems from the start, there is no point in buying a top end GPU if your CPU (mid range type) can not communicate with it fast enough which in reality means the GPU purchase is a waste of money for the processor you already have ???

You would definately get better drawing from a GPU to match the aforementioned CPU giving you a much better gameplay.

People take what is said as a bottleneck as an insult but I would just be quoting the theory on Bottlenecking.

If you have had a bad time with a graphics card find the bottleneck calculator & you may find your GPU or CPU was bottlenecking giving proof of theory...

Please feel free to think about this & reply with your thoughts on this matter :)

VanoRazbor · 07 Jan 2017

What really sucks is a proper BIOS tdp unlocker for Pascal. But most people will not get it until it actually comes out, as it always happens.

Archie123 · 13 Jan 2017

here is an old man explaining it

Understanding Parallel Computing: Amdahl's Law - YouTube

Its odd you say bottlenecking should be obsolete? its alive and well

Cliff S · 13 Jan 2017

LMiller7 · 13 Jan 2017

Bottlenecking is very much alive and well. And more so than most people imagine.

A bottleneck is some computer component that limits performance more than any other at a specific time. All computers have them. With technology anything like we have today this is inevitable. This is due to the nature of computer components for as long as we have had computers. And the bottleneck moves around depending on what applications you are running and what they are doing.

Since the 1980's system memory has been unable to keep up with the CPU. And in the years since then the gap has widened greatly. Memory that could do so would be prohibitively expensive. Even the fastest SSD is dreadfully slow compared to the slowest memory even when doing what it does best. These differences are not small but orders of magnitude apart.

Computers designers have developed techniques that attempt to minimize these differences. In the CPU we have the Level 1, Level 2, and Level 3 caches that contain the most frequently accessed portions of data in RAM and these improve performance immensely. There all kinds of caching systems to minimize the impact of a slow hard drive. In fact most of non-free RAM is in some way a cache.

But how much caching helps depends very much on the situation. In some situations it helps immensely while in others hardly at all. Some applications are very much CPU bound while memory and disk performance are only of minor importance. Others are disk bound with CPU and memory performance being of little importance. Still others are primarily dependent on memory or video performance. Many applications will be all of these at different times.

The only way we can meaningfully speak of a specific component being a bottleneck is if we average it's impact on performance for the normal use of the computer. And it is often difficult to determine.

Cliff S · 14 Jan 2017

At TechNet there is a whole section on bottlenecking(pertains to servers, but the troubleshooting will work for all PCs):
Processes in a Bottleneck

Examining and Tuning Disk Performance

Optimizing Your Memory Configuration

Resolving Network Bottlenecks

RoadBlaster · 14 Jan 2017

We are still no closer on making a formula or a chart to match CPU to GPU - so they talk to each other within a 10% tolerance !

Vellinious · 14 Jan 2017

I see it all the time with my rig. With DX11 and single/dual threading still really prevalent, low clock speeds and/or poor IPC on the CPU are the devil, especially with higher end GPUs.

solarstarshines · 14 Jan 2017

Vellinious said:

I see it all the time with my rig. With DX11 and single/dual threading still really prevalent, low clock speeds and/or poor IPC on the CPU are the devil, especially with higher end GPUs.

lmao