4590 enough for dual 970s or should I get 4690k?

[Frostbitebby]

Hi, about to upgrade my CPU/mobo from a 760k and I plan on getting a 970 shortly after, and another 970 down the road.

 

Currently looking at 4590 or 4690k, and no I don't really mind whether or not I can OC, it's more the cherry on top than the icing for me.

 

Please stick to the question of whether or not 4590 would bottleneck dual 970s.

[don_svetlio]

4460 + R9 390 CF is optimal

[thenotoriousone]

Why 970? I'd rather go with 390's.

[Aniallation]

Do dual 390s instead (given that your PSU can support it), and use the money you save towards a 4690K that you can overclock if you feel like it.

[runit3]

Hi, about to upgrade my CPU/mobo from a 760k and I plan on getting a 970 shortly after, and another 970 down the road.

 

Currently looking at 4590 or 4690k, and no I don't really mind whether or not I can OC, it's more the cherry on top than the icing for me.

If you're already paying for a Z97 board an extra $20 for the 4690k, so you can actually use its main differentiating feature, is well worth it.

[KemoKa]

Dual 390s, they're cheaper, not to mention that Radeon cards scale better than Geforce cards across the board.

 

Then you can afford the 4690K

 

Isn't price-to-performance a wonderful concept?

[Shoob]

Instead of dual 970s, I'd suggest getting a single and more powerful card, like the 980 Ti. SLI and CF setups are not really worth it, seeing even less games that properly support dual gpus.

The 4690k is a pretty solid CPU for gaming after you OC it, but if you are going to stream or render videos too, going with a cheaper MB and Xeon E3-1231V3 would be best.

[Frostbitebby]

4460 + R9 390 CF is optimal

Trying not to be rude but that's not what I asked

Why 970? I'd rather go with 390's.

Again...

Do dual 390s instead, and use the money you save towards a 4690K that you can overclock if you feel like it.

And again.

 

 

Dual 390s, they're cheaper, not to mention that Radeon cards scale better than Geforce cards across the board.

 

Then you can afford the 4690K

 

Isn't price-to-performance a wonderful concept?

One last time just for good measure, I guess.

 

390s are over 10% more expensive for me, so there's 50 pounds. 290/390 series don't fit in my case. Another 70+. My power supply can't handle AMDs power draw, another 100 pounds. I'm on team red myself but it's just not economical for me to go with them this time. Oh and I have a friend lined up to give me his old 970 for 100 pounds, saving me 150 pounds. 320 pounds extra total. No thanks guys.

 

 

Instead of dual 970s, I'd suggest getting a single and more powerful card, like the 980 Ti. SLI and CF setups are not really worth it, seeing even less games that properly support dual gpus.

The 4690k is a pretty solid CPU for gaming after you OC it, but if you are going to stream or render videos too, going with a cheaper MB and Xeon E3-1231V3 would be best.

I can't afford to get a 980ti in one go. I'm getting the first 970, barely used at a massive discount, and it'll be a while before I can get the second.

 

 

If you're already paying for a Z97 board an extra $20 for the 4690k, so you can actually use its main differentiating feature, is well worth it.

At least this actually pertains to my question, though I was really asking if 4590 would bottlneck dual 970s.

[don_svetlio]

Trying not to be rude but that's not what I asked

Again...

And again.

 

 

One last time just for good measure, I guess.

 

390s are over 10% more expensive for me, so there's 50 pounds. 290/390 series don't fit in my case. Another 70+. My power supply can't handle AMDs power draw, another 100 pounds. I'm on team red myself but it's just not economical for me to go with them this time. Oh and I have a friend lined up to give me his old 970 for 100 pounds, saving me 150 pounds. 320 pounds extra total. No thanks guys.

 

 

I can't afford to get a 980ti in one go. I'm getting the first 970, barely used at a massive discount, and it'll be a while before I can get the second.

 

 

At least this actually pertains to my question, though I was really asking if 4590 would bottlneck dual 970s.

if your PSU is not 700W or more dual 970s is pushing it HARD - chances are that if the PSU can't handle a 390, it will have issues with a 970 since the difference between the 2 is around 60W

[Frostbitebby]

if your PSU is not 700W or more dual 970s is pushing it HARD - chances are that if the PSU can't handle a 390, it will have issues with a 970 since the difference between the 2 is around 60W

Making for a 120w difference once I get the 2nd card.

[don_svetlio]

Making for a 120w difference once I get the 2nd card.

Don't forget heat - dual GPU setups result in MUCH higher case temperatures and a poor quality PSU is unlikely to survive at close to max load under those conditions

[UnlimitedTMD]

they won't really bottleneck the 4590, but it`s just that GPU intensive tasks are doable, but CPU intensive tasks will just be significantly slower. Also the case with games

[Frostbitebby]

Don't forget heat - dual GPU setups result in MUCH higher case temperatures and a poor quality PSU is unlikely to survive at close to max load under those conditions

I'm confident in my case's cooling ability. I currently have 5 case fans installed(just for the fuck of it) and I can add another 2 whenever I feel like it.

My PSU is of at least high-mediocre quality, not poor at all.

 

If you happen to have input on the original question I'd appreciate that.

[don_svetlio]

I'm confident in my case's cooling ability. I currently have 5 case fans installed(just for the fuck of it) and I can add another 2 whenever I feel like it.

My PSU is of at least high-mediocre quality, not poor at all.

 

If you happen to have input on the original question I'd appreciate that.

What exact PSU is it?

You don't have experience with multi-GPU - 5 fans are NOT enough - @App4that has 10 fans and still has the case reach 40-50*C

[Frostbitebby]

What exact PSU is it?

You don't have experience with multi-GPU - 5 fans are NOT enough - @App4that has 10 fans and still has the case reach 40-50*C

He also happens to be running 290s which are extremely hot cards, and more often than not I'm running my PC at night with an ambient temp of 10 degrees and never above 20.

 

Again not trying to be rude, but I made this topic to discuss bottlenecking of a specific config, not my current hardware.

[runit3]

He also happens to be running 290s which are extremely hot cards, and more often than not I'm running my PC at night with an ambient temp of 10 degrees and never above 20.

 

Again not trying to be rude, but I made this topic to discuss bottlenecking of a specific config, not my current hardware.

All of the previous answers are based on the foregone conclusion that any gen (Sandy OC'd on) Intel chip will not bottleneck any GPU on the market. This is of course assuming you play at 1080p 60Hz, or a higher resolution. You will see bottlenecking on any chip available if you plan on running sub 720p at over ~120Hz, and that is assuming the GPU(s) can feed the chip fast enough.

 

Can you neck a 4590 with 970's in SLI? yes, of course, but only if you like playing at a deprecated res with a monitor that supports well over the standard 60Hz. The higher the res the more load is placed on the GPU, lower the res and you can make the CPU chug to keep up.

 

Without context to the question the question itself is meaningless, the context here being the resolution and refresh you play at.

[Suika]

if your PSU is not 700W or more dual 970s is pushing it HARD - chances are that if the PSU can't handle a 390, it will have issues with a 970 since the difference between the 2 is around 60W

Dual 970s don't even consume 500W. With an overclock it would definitely go over but it at stock it would be fine.

[don_svetlio]

Dual 970s don't even consume 500W. With an overclock it would definitely go over but it at stock it would be fine.

stock means 1100MHz core - GPU Boost doesn't like to play nice

[Suika]

stock means 1100MHz core - GPU Boost doesn't like to play nice

I'll get back to you on that, I'm going to run 970 SLI on my 650W PSU and tell you what happens.

[Starelementpoke]

He also happens to be running 290s which are extremely hot cards, and more often than not I'm running my PC at night with an ambient temp of 10 degrees and never above 20.

 

Again not trying to be rude, but I made this topic to discuss bottlenecking of a specific config, not my current hardware.

Only the reference 290's were that hot.

[don_svetlio]

I'll get back to you on that, I'm going to run 970 SLI on my 650W PSU and tell you what happens.

A good 650W will likely handle it - but a PSU that is "unlikely to handle a single R9 390" will NOT handle 970 SLI

[don_svetlio]

He also happens to be running 290s which are extremely hot cards, and more often than not I'm running my PC at night with an ambient temp of 10 degrees and never above 20.

 

Again not trying to be rude, but I made this topic to discuss bottlenecking of a specific config, not my current hardware.

Have you heard of "Zero Core" tech? No? let me educate you. You see, unlike Nvidia cards, AMD cards turn off COMPLETELY at idle using 0W of power and outputting 0W of heat.

[Frostbitebby]

A good 650W will likely handle it - but a PSU that is "unlikely to handle a single R9 390" will NOT handle 970 SLI

If you'd bothered to read anything I said you'd notice I never claimed it wouldn't handle a single 390, I was talking about dual 390s.

[don_svetlio]

If you'd bothered to read anything I said you'd notice I never claimed it wouldn't handle a single 390, I was talking about dual 390s.

same thing applies - a 650W is borderline for 970 SLI - if it's a cheapo PSU it will crash and burn

[TheCaptain53]

-snip-

OH MY GOD I WAS WAITING FOR THIS RESPONSE.

OP, bottlenecking is a difficult topic. Some games are not that CPU intensive, such as Tomb Raider; some hammer the CPU, like Cities: Skyline.

If you're talking about something like CS:GO, GTA V, Crysis 3 and running them all at 60 fps, then you should be okay. However, as the refresh rate increases, the load on the CPU increases.

So to answer your question: will it bottleneck? It mainly depends, but you should be good most of the time if you're running at 60 fps.

Now, why are you going for the SLI route? I would drop the 970s, pick up an R9 390X (or an R9 Fury, they have come waaaayyyy down in price) and use an i5-4690K. If you need the extra horsepower afforded by multiple graphics cards, then at least you have the possibility to overclock if you don't have enough CPU overhead.

Just my two cents.

EDIT: Almost forgot, AMD's offerings are looking better for DX12, so it's something to consider.