GTX 770 + i5-4690K = True?

SHATORR

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I've been planning to build my first gaming rig for almost two months now and I'm learning something new each day.. Still, I need help deciding if the GTX 770 would go well with the i5-4690K or if one of them greatly outperforms the other.

If I were to go with a i5-4690K and it would be a bit better than the GTX 770, could I possibly add another 770 at a later time or would that bottleneck?
Oh and would a 650W Gold Certificate PSU be enough power?

Thanks in advance /Tor.
 
Solution
No the FX-6300 would not be more compatible. The card is compatible with either processor. If you mean less overkill, that's up to you. But I'd rather have my dual GTX 770s backed up by the Intel processor rather than the AMD.
You don't need a 1K PSU for those two cards. A high quality 750W will be fine.

SHATORR

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Nice. Going for Gigabyte GA-990FXA-UD3, which will give me 4x PCI Express 16X, (2x @X16 and 2x @X4). So if I were to get two graphics cards, I should go for a stronger PSU? Like 1k? Perhaps I should just get a new one later :p

Oh and if you're saying the CPU can handle 2x GPU's, wouldn't a FX-6300 or something similar be "more compatible" as in better for the money?
 

clutchc

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No the FX-6300 would not be more compatible. The card is compatible with either processor. If you mean less overkill, that's up to you. But I'd rather have my dual GTX 770s backed up by the Intel processor rather than the AMD.
You don't need a 1K PSU for those two cards. A high quality 750W will be fine.
 
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SHATORR

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Alright so since 750W+ PSU's are quite expensive, I'd rather buy a new one later on.. I might just go with the i5-4690K anyway, while it's true I save $150 buying the FX-6300, the i5 is a better investment for the future, no?
 


Exactly.The i5 is more future proofed than the 6300. :)
 

SHATORR

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Alright, thank you all for your help :)
 

mdocod

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GPU workload is effected by the resolution and visual quality settings of the game.
CPU workload is effected by the game engine and conditions in the game, not by the visual quality settings or by the GPU itself (at least not significantly).

Any consideration of whether or not the GTX770 pairs well with a particular CPU depends on the games in question, the desired FPS performance, and desired visual quality settings. Any consideration of CPU/GPU balance that does not address these issues is simply shooting from the hip with conjecture and or "gut feelings."

The GTX650Ti/750, GTX680/770, and GTX780Ti/Titan are all similarly well suited to pairing with CPU X at 720P, 1080P, and 1440P respectively (equal FPS goals in each case). Here, the compute workload remains relatively constant from one configuration to the next, but the GPU render workload doubles at each step, thus, the size of the GPU must double with it to accommodate the changes in render workload.

An FX-4100(stock), i3-4150, and i5-4690K@~4.8ghz are all similarly well suited to pairing with GPU X at 1440P@30FPS, 1080P@60FPS, and 720P@120FPS respectively. Here, the GPU workload has remained nearly constant in each configuration, but the compute workload has increased significantly at each step to calculate the additional data for the contents of the additional frames to be rendered.

After considering the above, it should become apparent that the CPU should be sized to the compute workload presented by the game engine at the desired FPS. The GPU should then be sized to the visual quality and resolution desired at that goal FPS. Any approach to the selection of the CPU and GPU that attempts to size these components magically to each-other without consideration of the vastly variable render workload is fundamentally flawed.

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Performance (FPS) originates with the CPU. The cpu workload is not vastly adjustable like the render workload. The only way to adjust the hard bounding limits of performance paced by the CPU in compute intensive games (multi-player) is to change the compute performance of the machine, thus, the i5-4690K, offering some of the highest available execution throughput to existing real-time workloads is certainly one of the best choices in gaming CPUs, regardless of the GPU and visual quality/resolution you want to run. You can pick anything from a GTX750 on a 720P display or a pair of GTX780Ti's on a 4K display, the i5 is a good CPU choice for compute intensive games in either configuration. The FX-6300 is better suited to builds that have as a goal to maximize on visual quality at the expensive of FPS within a particular budget.

An FX-6300 paired with for instance, an R9 290, would have similar implementation costs as an i5-4690K paired to a GTX760. The i5+GTX combo would be better for playing compute intensive multiplayer games at ~60FPS@1080P, while the FX-6300+R9 290 would be better suited to playing those same games at ~30FPS@4K. In games with very little compute workload (single player, first person, story line games, for example), the FX+290 can wind up offering both better FPS AND better visual quality than the i5+760 build, because the games in question do not get hung up on CPU performance regardless of which CPU is chosen. Is one of these configurations better? That depends on the goals and preferences of the end user and the intended use of the machine. In my experience, most gamers seem more interested in playing the latest multi-player battle/war simulations, strategy games, and MMORPGs, which tend to be very dependent on compute performance for smooth game-play (again, regardless of which GPU you choose).
 

mdocod

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Thanks guys ;)

Cool thing is all I have to do is articulate a concept a few times really well, and it will "catch on" and spread. Something I know today, becomes something the rest of the forum and any new visitors with questions can know tomorrow.

This stuff isn't all that complicated, but in my experience I see a lot of "from the hip" work on computer hardware enthusiast forums. There really isn't any need for this from-the-hip stuff, as we have lots of resources to discover the nature of the hardware we are discussing and how it works. We can lift the veil of mysticism regarding computer hardware any time we are ready ;)
 

DubbleClick

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Totally agreed, I can't ever seem to get myself into writing a detailed explanation of why things are the way they are. I sometimes try, end up saying the same thing three times, abandon the idea and stick to a simple, short answer. But you're way better at explaining this stuff anyway? so no shame to me :p