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Last Post Before Purchase...AMD Phenom II 955....720p Gaming...Please Help!

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  • Gaming
  • GPUs
  • Graphics Cards
  • CPUs
  • Phenom
Last response: in Graphics & Displays
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September 17, 2014 12:31:00 AM

Okay, So I've been lurking around these forums for about a year and I've gotten a ton of help with my CPU Overclocking...One thing that I'm still undecided on is what to upgrade my GPU to....Everyone talks about gaming on 1080p, well my Screen is a Vizio 720p.......

Anyways, I would like some feedback about some cards that I've been mulling over in my head.....I keep going back and fourth with 3. Currently, I don't really game so my PC does everything I want it too.....However, I've been looking at some newer games and I want to be able to jump right in....

Here is my Computer:
-Phenom IIx4 955 (OC'd To 3.8ghz Stable....However, I much rather keep it at Stock speed for heat reasons)
-Evo 212 Cooler (Artic 5 Paste) <-----Temps are around 35c Idle (Think I got a hot CPU)
-Chaser A31 Case (6 Fans)
-Corsair XM3 1333 8Gb
-Gtx 460

So the cards I've been looking at for the last few months are:

    Gtx 760
    Gtx 750Ti
    Gtx 660
    Amd HD 7950



Obviously, I'm not looking for neck breaking graphics, but I would like to be able to play on High etc....I also want to avoid the dreaded bottleneck....What I've read is that as long as I can keep a stable overclock, I can go as high as the 760 and my CPU still has some fight left in it.

There are soooo many choices and I don't want to regret my 200.00 investment.

More about : post purchase amd phenom 955 720p gaming

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a c 249 à CPUs
September 17, 2014 12:39:43 AM

Well your CPU can support 760 or 7950 without much of a bottleneck, and on 720p you can expect good results from the build with either GPU on high/ultra. Or you can safely go with 750 Ti and still be good for comfortable high settings. Don't opt for 660 its old tech. Also, how about waiting a couple days for Nvidia to release 900 series?
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September 17, 2014 1:05:25 AM

I don't think you got a hot cpu. I think you got a bad mount or a super cheap board (Can't call it on the board since you didn't post the model). With the clearly capable 212 EVO you should have lower idle temps than that. There might be several reasons for this. Or you could be right but I'd check all of these first.

1. The 212 EVO has a center thumb screw that many people neglect to tighten down. It should be loosened a bit at first while getting the four outer hold down screws started, then tightened all the way down followed by then tightening the outer screws to specs. Not having the center screw tightened properly will cause a bad mount, improper TIM bond and temps higher than normal with rapidly spiking temps under load.

2. Bad paste job with not enough or too much TIM. Regardless of what some folks and some tutorials say, a pea sized amount is more than needed. A rice sized amount of TIM is plenty for any cpu.

3. Poor case cooling. If you're not getting enough cool air into the case and getting the hot air out of the case fast enough, no amount of cpu cooling is going to keep temps reasonable much less good. If you're only using the two case fans that came with the case, it's not enough. I'd add another front intake and at least one, if not two, top exhaust fans. I'd use 140mm on the top exhausts since it supports them and they'll cool well at lower RPM's so noise will be less than with 120mm's. The fronts have to be 120mm I believe so no choice there. Get PWM fans from somebody decent like Cougar or Noctua.

I'd also double check my cpu fan settings in the bios to make sure it's not on the low or quiet settings. Normal or standard should be fine.
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September 17, 2014 1:44:38 AM

darkbreeze said:
I don't think you got a hot cpu. I think you got a bad mount or a super cheap board (Can't call it on the board since you didn't post the model). With the clearly capable 212 EVO you should have lower idle temps than that. There might be several reasons for this. Or you could be right but I'd check all of these first.

1. The 212 EVO has a center thumb screw that many people neglect to tighten down. It should be loosened a bit at first while getting the four outer hold down screws started, then tightened all the way down followed by then tightening the outer screws to specs. Not having the center screw tightened properly will cause a bad mount, improper TIM bond and temps higher than normal with rapidly spiking temps under load.

2. Bad paste job with not enough or too much TIM. Regardless of what some folks and some tutorials say, a pea sized amount is more than needed. A rice sized amount of TIM is plenty for any cpu.

3. Poor case cooling. If you're not getting enough cool air into the case and getting the hot air out of the case fast enough, no amount of cpu cooling is going to keep temps reasonable much less good. If you're only using the two case fans that came with the case, it's not enough. I'd add another front intake and at least one, if not two, top exhaust fans. I'd use 140mm on the top exhausts since it supports them and they'll cool well at lower RPM's so noise will be less than with 120mm's. The fronts have to be 120mm I believe so no choice there. Get PWM fans from somebody decent like Cougar or Noctua.

I'd also double check my cpu fan settings in the bios to make sure it's not on the low or quiet settings. Normal or standard should be fine.


-Asrock 870 Extreme 3

-2 Front Intake (Cooler Master Silent)
-2 Exaust Top (Noctua NS12)
-1 Exhaust Rear (Thermaltake)
-1 Intake Bottom (Cooler Master)

Thermal Paste went on fine....Used Grain of rice in the middle of the CPU. The Center Screw is tight, but if anything I will recheck it. My office ambient temp is usually 80f (26c)....
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September 17, 2014 1:51:38 AM

Well then, paste should be good, plenty of fans, that just leaves voltage and the fan itself. Have you tried to undervolt it a bit to bring the temps down or did you have stability problems?
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September 17, 2014 2:04:16 AM

darkbreeze said:
Well then, paste should be good, plenty of fans, that just leaves voltage and the fan itself. Have you tried to undervolt it a bit to bring the temps down or did you have stability problems?


Yeah, I've been playing with the voltage and overclocking....I can get it 3.8ghz Stable but than my temps go higher 40c to 37ish.........Since I don't currently game, I keep it at the stock clock of 3.2ghz and I believe the voltahe is 1.3v......You think I could drop it down more......

I've done a lot of reading in these forums and it seems like my temps are right in the middle of where they should be.....I just want to make sure I'm okay for my next video card........

Lol.....Which is why I posted this originally.....So easy to get distracted here =)

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September 17, 2014 2:07:11 AM

See already I have 2 different answers.....Yes I can get a 760, and no my CPU is weak........
I cant afford a whole new rig but I can def get a new GPU and the GTX 460 is ancient.....

Ahhhhh....Going crazy
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September 17, 2014 2:39:44 AM

Well - get the 760. See how much it gets bottlenecked by the CPU. Then take it from there.
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September 17, 2014 3:59:49 AM

TBH if you can afford the GTX760 you should go for the R9 280, it's cheaper and faster, the extra speed isn't much of an issue here, both should dominate games at 720p and either be held back by the CPU to a greater of lesser extent, but the AMD card DOES carry that extra 1Gb of memory, not an issue at 720 rez, but then again you may decide to upgrade to a 1080 display a little later on, or it may just die and force your hand, either way the performance will be there, ready and waiting.
If you're going to stay at 720 rez then I'd either go for the GTX750Ti or R9 270 (not the 'X' variant), they're both decent upgrades, won't be restricted by the CPU and a whole lot cheaper that the GTX760 or R9 280/R9 270X.
The high idle may just be the sensors, my brand new i5 4690K idles at abut 33C, same cooler, in cool, damp (yet not raining today ;)  ) England. And yes, my case also has enough fans to propel a light aircraft.
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September 17, 2014 4:04:27 AM

I used to have a Phenom II 955. The Phenom IIs overclock well, but at stock clocks it'll bottleneck any modern card in various games. You'll need to keep that thing overclocked and hope it stays cool and stable.

May as well get the GTX 760 though. Even if your overclocked CPU bottlenecks it in some games, getting a strong video card now is one less thing to replace later.
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September 17, 2014 4:07:35 AM

Did anyone mention raining? :) 
Well IMO, it won't be an extremely serious bottleneck, you sure won't take all the potential out of card, but will surely manage comfortable enough fps on high ultra to enjoy all games with great graphics. I'd actually wait and see what gtx 900 series is bringing :) 
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September 17, 2014 3:34:12 PM

Simply put, I'd get the 280. Its faster then the 760 by about 10fps in nearly all titles.

If you overclock the 280, you can take it into 280x territory.
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