What role does the CPU, GPU, and RAM play during gaming?

I'm going to break this up a little more. A GPU has two more key components within it; VRAM and a processor. This distinction is important for properly describing what a GPU does. read more

The GPU relieves the CPU of heavily tasked graphical tasks; however, some coordination is needed between the CPU and GPU though this is not a mitigating factor to prevent using a GPU. The more RAM, the less virtual memory swapping. All of which increases the response to game commands. read more

Therefore, if the CPU isn't processing the information fast enough, the GPU never has a chance to do it's magic as well as it should. That's what they call a"bottleneck." The way that I think of it is this- The CPU provides your system's"baseline" performance, and the GPU can only go as fast as the CPU allows it to. read more

The GPU is very important for gaming, but without a solid CPU and RAM to back it up, the system will bog and bottle neck. Still, the CPU should not be the most expensive part in a gaming machine. Usually a lower end i5 will be plenty for the majority of games. read more