When we want to build a computer system for work or gaming purposes, there are some important factors we need to consider. Insufficiently compatible or inadequately supported hardware components can make the system inefficient. So, what is a bottleneck? How can we resolve bottlenecks in a computer?

What is a bottleneck in computers and how to resolve it?

Let’s start by answering the question of what a bottleneck is. A bottleneck is when at least one electronic component in a computer system fails to adequately support other components, thus preventing the system from achieving its full performance potential.

We can provide an example based on the most common mistakes. Let’s say you want to build a gaming computer, and as a result, you allocate a large portion of your budget to the graphics card. You might even buy one of the most powerful cards available. Then you spend the remaining budget on the processor, RAM, and storage units.

In this scenario, even if your graphics card is capable of running all games at the highest resolution and graphic settings, the performance of the graphics card will be limited due to the constrained processing power of the CPU. This won’t necessarily prevent you from playing the game, but it will lead to issues such as decreased FPS (frames per second) and other problems.

Similarly, let’s imagine you have purchased the best processor and graphics card but only have 4 GB or 8 GB of RAM. In this case, when you try to increase the graphics settings in a game, you will notice an increase in RAM usage, and your available memory will not be sufficient.

As a result, the game may not allow you to increase the settings, and even if you can, you may not be able to play with stable and high performance because you are not using enough memory. You might experience freezing, crashes, and the need to restart your computer.

So, how can we resolve bottlenecks? There is only one way to solve the bottleneck issue. In the first step, you need to identify the component that is limiting your computer’s performance. It could be anything from the graphics card to the processor, or from the memory modules to the HDD or SSD you are using.

If you are experiencing a limitation in memory, you can solve the problem by adding more memory. However, if other components are causing this issue, you should replace them with more powerful ones. Alternatively, if you have installed a high-performance graphics card on an entry-level system, you can downgrade your graphics card instead of upgrading the entire system, which would be more cost-effective.

Of course, in general, having components that are better than what the system requires does not pose a problem. For example, even if we don’t need it, we can install 64 GB of RAM if our motherboard supports it. However, in an entry-level gaming setup with an i3 processor and GTX 1050, these memory modules will not provide more than 30% performance gain. Therefore, when building a system, we should not allocate the entire budget to a single component.

What are your thoughts on this? Don’t forget to share your opinions in the comments!