Best gpu to pair with a phenom II 940?

[Troika]

I want to setup a backup computer/alternate gaming machine/guest computer when my main computer is down or occupied with something else. I want to oc the cpu to something around 4Ghz if its stable there. I know its pretty dated but I already have the parts laying around so why not put them to work. I don't want to go with something ultra high end cause it'll just get bottlenecked and waste performance and money but too low and it won't really be worth it. I know that the gtx 295/Radeon 4870/4870x2 were top end when the 940be came around but that's not to say those the best it can handle. I'm thinking maybe something equivalent to a 950/1050 or is that too powerful for the 940 even if it was oc'd?

[Crunchy Dragon]

I think a 1050 would be bottlenecked by a 940. I personally wouldn't pair it with any GPU later than PCIe Gen 2, as anything on PCIe Gen 3 will be bottlenecked just by being newer.

 

Look around for a used 7000-series Radeon HD card, those are usually pretty cheap if you can get them fresh off the mining rigs.

[Theguywhobea]

A 9800GT

[Troika]

3 minutes ago, Crunchy Dragon said:

I think a 1050 would be bottlenecked by a 940. I personally wouldn't pair it with any GPU later than PCIe Gen 2, as anything on PCIe Gen 3 will be bottlenecked just by being newer.

 

Look around for a used 7000-series Radeon HD card, those are usually pretty cheap if you can get them fresh off the mining rigs.

I've used a few 7000 series radeon cards, they're pretty good. Any model in particular you'd recommend?

[Troika]

2 minutes ago, Theguywhobea said:

A 9800GT

Are you being silly or serious?

[Crunchy Dragon]

Just now, Troika said:

I've used a few 7000 series radeon cards, they're pretty good. Any model in particular you'd recommend?

I personally wouldn't use anything lower than a 7700 for gaming. Then again, it depends on the games.

 

Not too high on the spectrum, but should be able to get the job done.

1 minute ago, Troika said:

Are you being silly or serious?

I would guess he's being serious, those aren't actually that bad...

 

I was actually looking at getting one from around that era for my retro gaming build but was able to get a GTS 250, a Radeon HD 4850, and a GeForce 6200 off a friend so that put a stop to that fairly quickly.

[LienusLateTips]

9 minutes ago, Crunchy Dragon said:

I think a 1050 would be bottlenecked by a 940. I personally wouldn't pair it with any GPU later than PCIe Gen 2, as anything on PCIe Gen 3 will be bottlenecked just by being newer.

https://www.geforce.com/hardware/desktop-gpus/geforce-gt640

 

So it would bottleneck this?

 

 

 

A 1050 might be a bit bunch; I would get something used like the 7950/7970.

[Crunchy Dragon]

Just now, JDE said:

https://www.geforce.com/hardware/desktop-gpus/geforce-gt640

 

So it would bottleneck this?

 

 

 

A 1050 might be a bit bunch; I would get something used like the 7950/7970.

Anything higher than PCIe Gen3 will have a bottleneck due to the lower bandwidth of PCIe Gen2. It wouldn't be a very noticeable bottleneck to my knowledge, but I prefer not to have it personally.

[Ryujin2003]

4 minutes ago, Crunchy Dragon said:

 

 

I would guess he's being serious, those aren't actually that bad...

 

"That bad" is a scientific measurement of accuracy?

[LienusLateTips]

Just now, Crunchy Dragon said:

Anything higher than PCIe Gen3 will have a bottleneck due to the lower bandwidth of PCIe Gen2. It wouldn't be a very noticeable bottleneck to my knowledge, but I prefer not to have it personally.

A GTX 1070 wouldn't bottleneck on PCIE 2.0. Where are you getting this info from? If that were true SLI on consumer CPUs would bottleneck the graphics cards since it's effectively running at PCIE 2.0 16x/PCIE 3.0 8x.

[Troika]

Just now, Crunchy Dragon said:

Anything higher than PCIe Gen3 will have a bottleneck due to the lower bandwidth of PCIe Gen2. It wouldn't be a very noticeable bottleneck to my knowledge, but I prefer not to have it personally.

The bottleneck might depend on the overall performance of the actual card. I think I remember seeing a pci-e x.0 performance comparison and it was something about 2~6%

[aisle9]

42 minutes ago, Troika said:

I want to setup a backup computer/alternate gaming machine/guest computer when my main computer is down or occupied with something else. I want to oc the cpu to something around 4Ghz if its stable there. I know its pretty dated but I already have the parts laying around so why not put them to work. I don't want to go with something ultra high end cause it'll just get bottlenecked and waste performance and money but too low and it won't really be worth it. I know that the gtx 295/Radeon 4870/4870x2 were top end when the 940be came around but that's not to say those the best it can handle. I'm thinking maybe something equivalent to a 950/1050 or is that too powerful for the 940 even if it was oc'd?

A 750 Ti would be a beautiful companion for that processor.

[Crunchy Dragon]

27 minutes ago, Ryujin2003 said:

"That bad" is a scientific measurement of accuracy?

Going by the standards we seem to be using in this thread. I wasn't saying anything scientific or even remotely close to it.

 

It wouldn't be a bad GPU to use with the OP's CPU is all I was saying.

[Damascus]

51 minutes ago, Troika said:

The bottleneck might depend on the overall performance of the actual card. I think I remember seeing a pci-e x.0 performance comparison and it was something about 2~6%

The only gpu capable of bottlenecking pcie 3.0 8x is the titan v, a 1080 ti bottlenecks at 4x (ie pcie 2.0 x16)

[Ryujin2003]

35 minutes ago, Crunchy Dragon said:

Going by the standards we seem to be using in this thread. I wasn't saying anything scientific or even remotely close to it.

 

It wouldn't be a bad GPU to use with the OP's CPU is all I was saying.

I know, I was just sassing you.

[Princess Luna]

the cheapest your PSU can hold... a GTX 650 Ti or a GTX 560 is not a bad pick.

[Troika]

ok, so based on my local used gpu offerings (craigslist/letgo/etc) and estimated average performance benchmark scores of 50 different graphics cards, I've come up with a relatively short list of possible options that give the best average performance (estimated) for the price I found them at. I'll list them from best to worst value, at least my opinion of that. I also found a gtx 1050ti but its value for performance average was actually pretty bad. As a note, I'll probably get the 690 but not for this build, it'll be for another project I have in mind. For the motherboard, I have an Asus Crosshair II so it does support SLI but I'm not sure if it's worth it, despite the estimate I did for the pair of 460s show its the best value.

Thoughts?

1. EVGA Geforce GTX 460 (in SLI config, assuming at least 60% scaling), Found for $60 as a bundle
2. Nvidia Geforce GTX 690 (Not local to be but local to a friend of mine who'd be able to grab it for me), found for $170
3. Diamond Radeon HD 4890, $15
4. XFX Radeon HD 6850, $30
5. Power Color Radeon HD 7850 OC, $50
6. EVGA Geforce GTX 570, $60
7. EVGA Geforce GTX 760, $75
8. EVGA Geforce GTX 780, $100

9. EVGA Geforce GTX 560ti, $60
10. EVGA Geforce GTX 750ti SC, $80
11. EVGA Geforce GTX 760 SC (SLI Config, assuming 60% scaling), bundled for $200
12. PNY Geforce GTX 1050ti, $150

Edit: The prices listed are asking prices before haggling, I can probably knock down anywhere from $5 to maybe $20 depending on how long the listings have been up.

[Troika]

1 hour ago, Princess Cadence said:

the cheapest your PSU can hold... a GTX 650 Ti or a GTX 560 is not a bad pick.

I don't have a PSU for this build yet. I've been using the EVGA psu from my gaming machine that I've listed to sell to test the board's functionality. I also need an ATX sized case for the crosshair II. I had my eyes on this one but I'm gonna look around if I can find a good used one that's local to me if its cheaper.

[wonderforest]

Grab the 1050 Ti for 150 it's really not a bad deal considering the current gpu prices, if not the 7850 can be a decent card for 50$.

[Troika]

8 hours ago, wonderforest said:

Grab the 1050 Ti for 150 it's really not a bad deal considering the current gpu prices, if not the 7850 can be a decent card for 50$.

If I wanted to go straight to the most powerful card that I listed, I'd rather go for the $100  gtx 780. Its average performance is higher that the 1050ti but that being said, I'm still expecting some cpu bottlenecking according to what everyone else has said. That's why both those cards are at the bottom, the price for performance isn't that great.

 

Yes, I want this system to perform as best as it can. No I don't want to spend a huge amount of cash for the highest level of performance since this isn't going to be a primary computer for me. I just want to get the most out of what I spend.

[dragonhart6505]

You're going to bottleneck both of those cards pretty hard. My Phenom II 955 overclocked to 4ghz (a better chip than your 940 by far) holds back my RX 460 with the unlocked shaders bios mod, which makes it perform well like a 1050ti/RX 560. CPU usage in most games at 1080p high/normal is usually above GPU usage, if it's not sitting at 100%. Thing is if I drop quality down any further it hurts performance more because the GPU is then doing even less work (title depending of course). Average FPS in demanding titles is above 30fps but not normally near 60.

The GPU I had in my system before was an HD 5770 1gb. I'm not sure on the Nvidia side of things because I never owned an Nvidia card, but from constantly checking reviews and performance metrics I'd say your probably best off somewhere in the 500/600 brand range for price/performance on Phenom II 940.

For comparison to a build I'm looking at going into shortly, a 3rd gen i7 pairs nicely with a GTX 680 and that i7 is far superior to our lowly Phenoms.

[Troika]

28 minutes ago, dragonhart6505 said:

You're going to bottleneck both of those cards pretty hard. My Phenom II 955 overclocked to 4ghz (a better chip than your 940 by far) holds back my RX 460 with the unlocked shaders bios mod, which makes it perform well like a 1050ti/RX 560. CPU usage in most games at 1080p high/normal is usually above GPU usage, if it's not sitting at 100%. Thing is if I drop quality down any further it hurts performance more because the GPU is then doing even less work (title depending of course). Average FPS in demanding titles is above 30fps but not normally near 60.

The GPU I had in my system before was an HD 5770 1gb. I'm not sure on the Nvidia side of things because I never owned an Nvidia card, but from constantly checking reviews and performance metrics I'd say your probably best off somewhere in the 500/600 brand range for price/performance on Phenom II 940.

For comparison to a build I'm looking at going into shortly, a 3rd gen i7 pairs nicely with a GTX 680 and that i7 is far superior to our lowly Phenoms.

Oh yeah, no doubt. Any i7 would probably cream our phenom IIs without breaking a sweat. That being said, I found a computer recycler not too far from me and I scored some pretty sweet toys. I got these for just $20. Not each, total.  If they both work, and I think they do, they'd cream everything at price per performance in sli and I'd be able to just switch to one if its not good for a particular game. I think I'm on to something pretty good, I can't wait to test these.

[dragonhart6505]

9 minutes ago, Troika said:

Oh yeah, no doubt. Any i7 would probably cream our phenom IIs without breaking a sweat. That being said, I found a computer recycler not too far from me and I scored some pretty sweet toys. I got these for just $20. Not each, total.  If they both work, and I think they do, they'd cream everything at price per performance in sli and I'd be able to just switch to one if its not good for a particular game. I think I'm on to something pretty good, I can't wait to test these.

Exactly what I was thinking of mate.

 

Not just those i7s, they were an example of a decent price/performance combo with something like a 680. Even 3rd gen i3s tear us a new one. Phenoms just don't have the horsepower to compete against even the lowliest of Intel's from the past 6-7 years anymore. Granted while I am building an i5 3470/i7 3770k sometime in the next few months to pair properly with my modded RX 460 (maybe a GPU upgrade as well if prices drop a bit) my Phenom isn't going to waste by a long shot. Whole system is getting passed to the wife and kids because they enjoy the HD Mario experience I've introduced to them over the past year XD. These things just don't quit!

[Darkseth]

I think a GTX 1050 ti is a save bet.

Should work on most games without a big CPU bottleneck.

 

Depends on the game + settings what bottlenecks^^ You will ALWAYS have a bottleneck.

 

1050 ti is fine, probably even RX 470/570 (if they weren't this expensive). Don't mind if anything bottlenecks something for a few % or 2% more or less.

Just play, have fun. In Case your CPU bottlenecks your GPU by a bit, just increase Graphic settings.

[Troika]

8 minutes ago, dragonhart6505 said:

Exactly what I was thinking of mate.

 

Not just those i7s, they were an example of a decent price/performance combo with something like a 680. Even 3rd gen i3s tear us a new one. Phenoms just don't have the horsepower to compete against even the lowliest of Intel's from the past 6-7 years anymore. Granted while I am building an i5 3470/i7 3770k sometime in the next few months to pair properly with my modded RX 460 (maybe a GPU upgrade as well if prices drop a bit) my Phenom isn't going to waste by a long shot. Whole system is getting passed to the wife and kids because they enjoy the HD Mario experience I've introduced to them over the past year XD. These things just don't quit!

Hey, if AMD knows how do make anything, its a tough cpu. I'm not picking sides but both intel and AMD have their moments in the sun at various points. For example, the phenom IIs main competition stuff like core2 quads, which benchmarks still show that even the 940 still outperforms all but the extreme versions of the core2 quads and even some first gen i5s but a first gen i7 920, which sell for less than $50 usually, gives a black eye. That said, good lga 1366/x58 mobos aren't particularly cheap to come by (i.e. non propriatary dell/hp stuff).