Will my CPU bottleneck this GPU?

I've been meaning to upgrade my computer for quite a long time but money's a bit short and I can't do it all at once, I want to upgrade my GPU first because it's not up to par with most newer games but I'm afraid my CPU will bottleneck it too much and I won't get any advantage from upgrading it.

Is there a way to check if a CPU X will bottleneck a GPU Y (or vice versa)?

Solution 1:

Quite a few websites have actually tried this. There's actually two elements I'd consider here - whether the task you are doing is processor bound, and whether the PCIe bus has enough bandwidth for what you are trying to do.

Both hot hardware and toms hardware did tests on older CPUs and newer GPUs - specifically core 2s. Tom's hardware covered more CPUs... and when they tried borderlands 2

Each processor delivers a nice playable experience at Medium settings. However, a couple of those downward spikes near the beginning of the run corresponded to a brief, yet still noticeable stutter.

Hot hardware also found that you could push graphics settings higher with a new GPU and an older CPU. If you can run a game, the new GPU will definately improve your experience. These tests indicate that unless you're throwing in a seriously high end video card, you shouldn't be getting bitten in the rear by either CPU usage or PCIe Bandwidth, and you should be seeing better performance. In the context of a longer term build, it makes sense to do this.

Solution 2:

It heavily depends on WHAT you are going to run.

Most recent games are a lot GPU-bound, but some still heavily depend on the CPU(Arma series are good examples of CPU-bound games). Some others don't really need a lot of APU computing and depends on how much computing power your GPU has.

Basically here if you have a Dual-core 2.0GHz+, less than 5 years old CPU, it should be OK while you save for a later upgrade. [Personnal estimation here]