CPU vs. GPU Bottleneck

[Nyanino]

My friend wants to upgrade his graphics card so he can run some games at good settings. I wanted to get him a 980 because he has the budget for one, but my main concern is that there will be a bottleneck. He currently has a Intel® Core™ i5-2500K Processor overclocked to 3.6GHz and 4GB of DDR3 running at TBD. We should also throw in a RAM upgrade since 4GB isn't really anything too special.

[Samppa221]

i would say get a 970 and 4gb more ram. The 2500k shouldn't be a bottleneck

[Nyanino]

i would say get a 970 and 4gb more ram. The 2500k shouldn't be a bottleneck

What's your thinking behind that.

[Comessy]

What resolution will he be playing?

[thatguyyouknow75]

he should be fine upgrading his gpu

[Luke4efc]

The processor doesn't do a whole lot when gaming anyway tbh. That core i5 should be fine with a 980. I'd also get another 4gb of RAM just to be safe.

Getting a better upgrade now means you do not have to upgrade it again in a few months time.

For example, if you get a GTX 960, you will have to upgrade it in a few months. A 980 should mean you are fine for a good year or so

[Nyanino]

What resolution will he be playing?

1920 x 1080p @ 144Hz

[Kyuubixchidori]

His CPU is fine. with a 980 he might BARELY get bottlenecks in some cases. most games he will be 100% fine, he need more ram to game well. ram is dirt cheap right now. id recommend picking up a 8 gig stick, so he has 12. I run with 12 and it's a good compromise. 8 holds you back in a few situations. 

 

upgrading cpu+mobo+gpu+ram will be to costly, and not net the same benefit of just picking up a 290x/970/980+ram

[thatguyyouknow75]

What's your thinking behind that.

the 970 is a great graphics card that is very capable of even 1440p resolution and it will likely stay relevant for a long time. The added 4gb of ram will allow him to run more games as 8 is the current sweetspot as far as requirements go

[Comessy]

1920 x 1080p @ 144Hz

Get a 980 and some more ram. That CPU is fine for now

[SkilledRebuilds]

Another 4GB of Ram would do nicely, and another bump up in the overclock only IF the GPU is not maxing out its usage in most if not all games.

That CPU is no doubt good for a 24/7 4.2Ghz-4.5Ghz OC and a possible 4.6Ghz-5.0Ghz topend OC.

[incarnate]

1920 x 1080p @ 144Hz

 

first, turn all the settings and resolutions down to the absolute minimum in the games he wants to play and check the framerate and make sure the gpu usage is lower than 90%. if you get 144 fps or higher then the cpu will be just fine and won't bottleneck the graphics card. this seems counter intuitive but the bottlenecks come up when graphics card can provide a faster frame rate than the cpu can allow. minimizing the settings creates a bottleneck and lets you see what that limit is at.

[Speakerator]

I got a similar setup going. I have a 2500 non-k and a 970 (albeit with 12 Gigs of RAM) at 1440p and it runs just fine. Under FarCry4, the CPU sits at around 70 to 80 % with peaks into the 90's.

 

 

However, definitely go for more RAM

[sgloux3470]

There may be a slight bottleneck (slightly low max FPS) but that's not really a show stopper.

 

I think you'd struggle with a 5960x to get a constant 120+ FPS gaming experience, regardless of GPU solution.  

[Nena Trinity]

Why not a R9 290 or a 300 series GPU?

 

Unless your buddy plays alot of OpenGL based games then there is no reason to pay so much for a GPU for 1080p

[dougdangger]

For example, if you get a GTX 960, you will have to upgrade it in a few months. A 980 should mean you are fine for a good year or so

GTX 960 = $200

GTX 980 = $560

 

That's nearly triple the cost.  I think a 970 is the sweet spot.  That's why Nvidia isn't budging with their pricing despite the "4gb" fiasco.

[Nena Trinity]

GTX 960 = $200

GTX 980 = $560

 

That's nearly triple the cost.  I think a 970 is the sweet spot.  That's why Nvidia isn't budging with their pricing despite the "4gb" fiasco.

GTX 970 should just say 3.5GB on the box cause there are many games that simply refuse to use tha last 0.5GB...

[dougdangger]

GTX 970 should just say 3.5GB on the box cause there are many games that simply refuse to use tha last 0.5GB...

Nobody would want to use that last 0.5gb of ram anyways since it's as slow as f*.

 

Nvidia isn't lowering the price and not giving a bleep since it's only competitor now is the 290 which is slower in performance, runs hotter and eats more power.

 

I'm not a fan of AMD cards but I do hope they make a kick ass version soon to give Nvidia a reality check.  Competition helps the consumer win.

[Nena Trinity]

Nobody would want to use that last 0.5gb of ram anyways since it's as slow as f*.

 

Nvidia isn't lowering the price and not giving a bleep since it's only competitor now is the 290 which is slower in performance, runs hotter and eats more power.

 

I'm not a fan of AMD cards but I do hope they make a kick ass version soon to give Nvidia a reality check.  Competition helps the consumer win.

390X may but we gotta wait and see. =)