Besides the graphics card, the CPU is the most exciting component of a build. Whether you're a gamer, power user, or professional, the CPU plays a pivotal role in your system. Many people, however, are still prone to believing some CPU myths that were busted a long time ago. Be it about the most important CPU specs, the dangers of modifying voltage and power settings, or the fear of bottlenecks, these myths might be keeping you from using your CPU to the fullest, or pushing you to overspend on the CPU.
7 myths about PC performance that are still surprisingly common
You might believe in some of these yourself
CPU overclocking is dangerous
Outdated, maybe, but not really risky
Messing with your CPU's frequency, voltage, and power settings might sound risky, but it's nothing more than a simple hit-and-trial. Overclocking your CPU involves finding the right combination of settings that squeezes extra performance from your silicon without making everything unstable and keeping the spike in power consumption to a minimum. As long as you stick to one of the many CPU overclocking guides on the internet, the risk of taking things too far is negligible.
The worst that can happen is your system shutting down due to an unstable overclock, post which you can just revert to less aggressive settings. Overclocking will not damage your CPU or reduce its lifespan to any significant degree, as long as you have adequate cooling hardware to keep things comfortable. Most CPUs these days don't have a lot to gain from overclocking; factory settings and automated boost algorithms already run the chips at near-100%. Still, if you want to experiment with overclocking, you can do so without worrying about killing your CPU.
Undervolting reduces CPU performance
On the contrary...
Unlike overclocking, undervolting your CPU is focused on reducing temperature and power consumption instead of maximizing performance. However, a neat little bonus of the process is that your CPU can actually perform better with an undervolt. This works because undervolting reduces the voltage and, thereby, the heat dissipated by the processor. Lower temperatures mean the CPU can maintain boost clocks for longer, improving overall performance.
You stand to benefit from not just higher 1% low FPS, but also average FPS in gaming. By modifying the voltage-frequency curve for your CPU, you effectively allow it to deliver the same performance at a lower voltage and power level. The mileage will obviously vary for different users, but assuming that undervolting will always reduce performance is outright false. Many people regularly undervolt their CPU, and enjoy a performant, cool, and silent system.
4 mistakes people make while undervolting their CPU or GPU
You can't just lower the voltage and expect your desired results
Air coolers can't handle modern CPUs
You'd be surprised
Despite overwhelming evidence in favor of air coolers, many PC builders choose liquid coolers out of habit, believing air cooling just can't keep up with their power-hungry CPUs. While it's true that you absolutely need AIO coolers to tame top-tier chips like the Core i9-14900K, Core Ultra 9 285K, Core Ultra 7 265K, or Ryzen 9 9950X, most people aren't using these monsters. Modern 6-core and 8-core CPUs can be easily cooled with budget and mid-range air coolers.
Economical air coolers like the Thermalright Phantom Spirit 120 are renowned for their cooling performance. For less than $40, you can realistically cool almost all mainstream CPUs. And if you invest a bit more in a Noctua cooler, you could even manage to cool the highest-end processors. Unless you're overclocking a high-end CPU or running extreme workloads, you'll have no problem running an air cooler on your PC.
Thermalright Phantom Spirit 120 SE
Thermalright's Phantom Spirit 120 SE is a bigger version of its acclaimed Peerless Assassin 120 cooler. It has seven heatpipes compared to the six on the Peerless Assassin and is a bit bigger, which means better cooling capacity.
Air coolers can handle almost everything, so who are AIO coolers really for?
Air coolers aren't the useless cousins of AIOs anymore, so why are liquid coolers still relevant?
High CPU usage means a CPU bottleneck
Not always
A CPU bottleneck sounds scary to most people. After all, if your CPU is stopping your system, specifically the GPU, from achieving maximum performance, you'd be worried too. However, many users see unusually high CPU usage and incorrectly conclude that their CPU is bottlenecking their PC. While a CPU bottleneck is one possible explanation behind high CPU usage, it can't be looked at in isolation.
You might be playing CPU-demanding titles or gaming at 1080p, both of which can contribute to higher CPU usage than you'd usually expect. As the resolution increases, games become more GPU-bound, and you start seeing the load shift toward the graphics card. If you're noticing simultaneously high utilization of both the CPU and GPU, you might not have anything to worry about. Your system is well-matched, and is using the CPU and GPU to the fullest.
3 reasons for high CPU usage that aren't bottlenecks
High CPU usage alone doesn't mean you have a CPU bottleneck
High-end gaming requires high-end CPUs
Law of diminishing returns
Pairing a high-end CPU with other high-end components sounds natural, but you don't need an expensive CPU for high-end gaming. If your graphics card and the overall system are capable of high-refresh-rate 1440p and 4K gaming, you don't really need to shell out the big bucks for a high-core-count CPU or one of the Ryzen X3D chips. At higher resolutions like 4K, you'll almost always be GPU-bound, and the CPU will become mostly irrelevant.
It's not that the CPU isn't important at 4K, especially when rendering the game at a lower resolution during upscaling. The difference between different CPUs, however, can be highlighted only when they're paired with the most powerful graphics cards. If you aren't using an RTX 5090 or RTX 5080, you'll struggle to see any major difference between, say, a Ryzen 5 7600X and Ryzen 7 9800X3D. This leaves most people with little incentive to invest in anything more than a 6-core chip for gaming.
AMD Ryzen 5 7600X
- Brand
- AMD
- CPU Model
- 5 7600X
- Cores
- 6
- Threads
- 12
- Architecture
- Zen 4
- Process
- TSMC 5nm
AMD's slightly older 6-core chip is all you need for gaming, thanks to its incredible single-core performance, thermal effiiciency, and an attractive price tag to boot.
5 reasons high-end gaming doesn't need high-end GPUs anymore
Budget and mid-range GPUs are finally enough for everyone
CPU myth-busting is never-ending
Most of the myths I listed above aren't new, but they still persist in the minds of consumers. Some of them might be harmless, but others can force you to make poor purchase decisions or prevent you from extracting more performance out of your CPU. The best way to keep yourself informed is to consume content from multiple sources, and only then form your opinions. Real-world testing can dispel many long-held, but incorrect beliefs. Ensure you're consulting reliable publications when consuming PC hardware content.