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does GPU bottleneck cause input lag ?
Posted: 22 Sep 2026, 17:17
by apachenikov
TLDR : Can severe GPU bottleneck cause input delay ?
Hello, hardware newbie here !
I recently upgraded my setup with a new CPU and RAM but not my GPU as I usually run games on low res low graphics so figured it would be useless, and on my new config I have very good frametime and no stutters, but noticable input lag (more appropriate to call it input delay)
only Nvidia low latency mode on ultra makes a HUGE improvement, and maybe even more when I cap my frames in game.
BUT there is still input lag remaining, tried windows resets and multiple windows power settings and nvidia scaling settings but nothing make my aim feel the same, its not as snappy as it used to be.
Can a Hardware connoisseur tell me if severe GPU bottleneck can cause input delay ?
specs :
-Asus Dual RTX 4060 Ti
-ryzen 7 7800x3D
-32 gb ram 6000mhz
-B650 MSI
-corsair PSU 850W
just for reference in cs2 with low res low graphics my CPU is barely at 30% and GPU can reach 100% if I dont cap fps
Thank you for your help !
Re: does GPU bottleneck cause input lag ?
Posted: 22 Sep 2026, 23:36
by soul4kills
apachenikov wrote: āYesterday, 17:17
TLDR : Can severe GPU bottleneck cause input delay ?
Hello, hardware newbie here !
I recently upgraded my setup with a new CPU and RAM but not my GPU as I usually run games on low res low graphics so figured it would be useless, and on my new config I have very good frametime and no stutters, but noticable input lag (more appropriate to call it input delay)
only Nvidia low latency mode on ultra makes a HUGE improvement, and maybe even more when I cap my frames in game.
BUT there is still input lag remaining, tried windows resets and multiple windows power settings and nvidia scaling settings but nothing make my aim feel the same, its not as snappy as it used to be.
Can a Hardware connoisseur tell me if severe GPU bottleneck can cause input delay ?
specs :
-Asus Dual RTX 4060 Ti
-ryzen 7 7800x3D
-32 gb ram 6000mhz
-B650 MSI
-corsair PSU 850W
just for reference in cs2 with low res low graphics my CPU is barely at 30% and GPU can reach 100% if I dont cap fps
Thank you for your help !
It's always a CPU bottleneck that causes input latency or stability issues. Now that multicore CPU's are the norm, CPU usage percentage is a bit deceiving. Total multicore usage is not the percent you want to pay attention to. It's the single core usage that is important. Ideally it shouldn't be more than 50%-70% usage. So when you have the game running, you should look at the core with the most usage and look at that percentage, because that's the core the game is running on.
Here's a thread where the user is CPU bound.
viewtopic.php?t=15693
edit: Also wanted to add that your GPU is the limiting factor of your best achievable latency and the CPU's capability can hurt your ability to get the best latency from your GPU.
Re: does GPU bottleneck cause input lag ?
Posted: 23 Sep 2026, 03:06
by apachenikov
soul4kills wrote: āYesterday, 23:36
apachenikov wrote: āYesterday, 17:17
TLDR : Can severe GPU bottleneck cause input delay ?
Hello, hardware newbie here !
I recently upgraded my setup with a new CPU and RAM but not my GPU as I usually run games on low res low graphics so figured it would be useless, and on my new config I have very good frametime and no stutters, but noticable input lag (more appropriate to call it input delay)
only Nvidia low latency mode on ultra makes a HUGE improvement, and maybe even more when I cap my frames in game.
BUT there is still input lag remaining, tried windows resets and multiple windows power settings and nvidia scaling settings but nothing make my aim feel the same, its not as snappy as it used to be.
Can a Hardware connoisseur tell me if severe GPU bottleneck can cause input delay ?
specs :
-Asus Dual RTX 4060 Ti
-ryzen 7 7800x3D
-32 gb ram 6000mhz
-B650 MSI
-corsair PSU 850W
just for reference in cs2 with low res low graphics my CPU is barely at 30% and GPU can reach 100% if I dont cap fps
Thank you for your help !
It's always a CPU bottleneck that causes input latency or stability issues. Now that multicore CPU's are the norm, CPU usage percentage is a bit deceiving. Total multicore usage is not the percent you want to pay attention to. It's the single core usage that is important. Ideally it shouldn't be more than 50%-70% usage. So when you have the game running, you should look at the core with the most usage and look at that percentage, because that's the core the game is running on.
Here's a thread where the user is CPU bound.
viewtopic.php?t=15693
edit: Also wanted to add that your GPU is the limiting factor of your best achievable latency and the CPU's capability can hurt your ability to get the best latency from your GPU.
Thank you for your input its very valuable, especially this last sentence "Also wanted to add that your GPU is the limiting factor of your best achievable latency and the CPU's capability can hurt your ability to get the best latency from your GPU"
after testing for a while none of my cores go over 70% in game, so my GPU seems to be the limiting factor,
but my cursor used to be more reactive on a config with this same GPU and a worse CPU when my I was CPU bound, do you think this makes sense or I am looking in the wrong place ? thank you
ps : for the record my old config was with this same RTX 4060 ti and a ryzen 7 3700X
Re: does GPU bottleneck cause input lag ?
Posted: 23 Sep 2026, 12:56
by donger
yes both CPU and GPU bottleneck will cause additional input lag, that's why you should overkill your PC(9800x3d + 5070Ti is good enough) and then put an FPS cap on ur games