can a 2.60 ghz processor support GTX 660?

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youngdesktop

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Jan 26, 2014
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Hello so i plan on buying a gtx 660 2GB with 500W power supply and on my desktop i have 6GB of ram and i was wondering if i need to get a new processor thanks
-Desktop Newbie
 
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geofelt
I certainly would try out the GTX660 before I bought a new cpu/motherboard.
500w is ok for a GTX660. I think you will be very pleased.
For gaming, the graphics card is all important.

To help clarify your options, run these two tests:

a) Run your games, but lower your resolution and eye candy.
If your FPS increases, it indicates that your cpu is strong enough to drive a better graphics configuration.
If your FPS stays the same, you are likely more cpu limited.

b) Limit your cpu, either by reducing the OC, or, in windows power management, limit the maximum cpu% to something like 50%.
This will simulate what a lack of cpu power will do.


Go to control panel/power options/change plan settings/change advanced power...
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youngdesktop

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the power supply i have right now i have no idea about because i have not opend up the desktop yet and the processor is pentium dual core 2.70GHz and the graphics i have right now is intel g41 Express Chipset thanks for the help
 
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geofelt

geofelt

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Oct 9, 2006
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I certainly would try out the GTX660 before I bought a new cpu/motherboard.
500w is ok for a GTX660. I think you will be very pleased.
For gaming, the graphics card is all important.

To help clarify your options, run these two tests:

a) Run your games, but lower your resolution and eye candy.
If your FPS increases, it indicates that your cpu is strong enough to drive a better graphics configuration.
If your FPS stays the same, you are likely more cpu limited.

b) Limit your cpu, either by reducing the OC, or, in windows power management, limit the maximum cpu% to something like 50%.
This will simulate what a lack of cpu power will do.


Go to control panel/power options/change plan settings/change advanced power settings/processor power management/maximum processor state/
set to 50% and see how you do.


You could also experiment with removing one core in the bios. This will tell you how sensitive your games are to the benefits of many cores.

If your FPS drops significantly, it is an indicator that your cpu is the limiting factor, and a cpu upgrade is in order.

It is possible that both tests are positive, indicating that you have a well balanced system, and both cpu and gpu need to be upgraded to get better gaming FPS.
 
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Solution
photonboy

photonboy

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Jun 20, 2006
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Power Supply:
The easiest rule of thumb is whether it has the proper 6-pin or 8-pin PCIe power connectors for the graphics card. It's not just about the total power listed. If for example, you need 2x6-pin and have 1x6-pin you should get a different power supply.

CPU:
The CPU you mention will bottleneck many games with that graphics card. You don't really need to run a lot of tests though you can if you'd like, and it will VARY between games.

Your system will be capable of running many games well by adding a GTX660 provided you spend some time tweaking them to maintain a good frame rate (60FPS VSYNC ON, or 40FPS VSYNC OFF for example), you just won't get the same performance when compared to something like an i5-4570 + GTX660.
 
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photonboy

photonboy

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Jun 20, 2006
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Useful benchmark (Yours will run at lower frame rate due to CPU bottleneck but this is for determining relative graphics VALUE):
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/ASUS/R9_270X_Direct_Cu_II_TOP/26.html

Recommended graphics cards:

Asus GTX660 2GB: http://pcpartpicker.com/part/asus-video-card-gtx660dc2o2gd5
or
Asus R9-270X 2GB: http://pcpartpicker.com/part/asus-video-card-r9270xdc2t2gd5

There are PROS and CONS to both AMD vs NVIDIA. In your case, the R9-270X I list here is an interesting option as upcoming games using MANTLE might run a lot better. Since Mantle should see CPU improvements as well, it might alleviate some of the CPU bottleneck.

I would bet that BF4 with Mantle would run much better on your system with the R9-270X, rather than with the GTX660 due to optimizations for both the CPU and the GPU. In fact, I'd guess between 25% and 50% better. There aren't a lot of games in the works, but there are a few.

Nvidia has PhysX but I tend to disable that if it hinders performance. SHADOWPLAY for game recording is nice, but unless you care about recording gameplay video it's a non-issue as well. If you do however, the GTX660 is a better choice.

Recommended card:
Asus R9-270X

*POWER requirement is a 2x6-pin, however this card has a 4-pin MOLEX to 6-pin adapter which would probably work with a 500W PSU even if it had only a 1x6-pin. http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/ASUS/R9_270X_Direct_Cu_II_TOP/2.html
 
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