Will my phenom II x4 965 3.4Ghz bottleneck the new gtx 970?

jake_larkee · Sep 23, 2014

I want to upgrade my graphics card but I'm not sure if I'll need to upgrade my cpu as well in order to get the most out of the graphics card. Any help will be greatly appreciated.

i7Baby · Sep 23, 2014

It's the same as a FX4300 - http://cpuboss.com/cpus/AMD-Phenom-II-X4-965-vs-AMD-FX-4300

It sure would bottleneck a gtx970. Probably only let it run at 50% at best.

swifty_morgan · Sep 23, 2014

it'll bottleneck a 6950.

Tormidal · Sep 23, 2014

Unfortunately, it will bottleneck the GPU.

jake_larkee · Sep 23, 2014

i7Baby :

Can you recommend an am3+ cpu that would cover it?

caqde · Sep 23, 2014

i7Baby :

It isn't that bad.... Yes it will cause SOME bottlenecking but not that severe you might lose 10-15% performance in some games. Although it might be worse on CPU limited games. CPU limitations show up more on multi-GPU systems as you can see from the latest tomshardware FX-8370E review where the 295x2 got the best performance out of a 4790K especially in BF4.

i7Baby · Sep 23, 2014

For AM3+, I'd go with a FX8320 and 990fx mobo eg ASRock 990fx Extreme 4. I'd also put a Coolermaster Hyper 212 evo cpu cooler on it. And get 2 x 4gb 1866 1.5v cl9 ram

jake_larkee · Sep 23, 2014

caqde :

i7Baby :

It isn't that bad.... Yes it will cause SOME bottlenecking but not that severe you might lose 10-15% performance in some games. Although it might be worse on CPU limited games. CPU limitations show up more on multi-GPU systems as you can see from the latest tomshardware FX-8370E review where the 295x2 got the best performance out of a 4790K especially in BF4.

10-15% is still unacceptable for me. So looks like I'll be upgrading. Thanks all

exroofer · Sep 23, 2014

If you want to get your card now, and the rest later, performance will not suffer horribly with a 965. OC it up a bit, Northbridge at least since that gives the most performance on that chip with the least heat/voltage penalty.

This let's you do one step at a time so you don't need gigantic wads of cash all in one shot.
I did one step at a time. Video card, (prior 7870), then psu/case, (from crappy original), then mobo to the current Sabertooth, putting my 975BE in it, since it fits in AM3+ sockets just fine, played that for 8 months or so, then 8350/R290x of the current build.

And never stopped playing at any time for longer than it took to drop the parts in. Had steady improvements all along the way.

*doing this kind of thing means having a clear end goal in mind, to keep all parts usable and compatible at every step.

photonboy · Sep 23, 2014

Only 15% is completely incorrect.

As i7Baby said, the number of getting HALF the performance at times is closer as I've seen both Skyrim and Starcraft 2 get 45% better frame rates with a GTX680 when comparing the FX-8350 and i5-4670K.

There will be games that see little bottlenecking. It varies significantly between games but the estimate of no more than 15% at most is way off.

MOST games will see at least 20% loss likely.

jake_larkee · Sep 23, 2014

photonboy :

Which one had the higher frames?

caqde · Sep 23, 2014

photonboy :

Skyrim and Starcraft 2 are fringe cases. Most games are likely to be well under 20%. Starcraft 2's game engine is horribly optimized the game is fun no doubt but the engine behind the game is pathetic. Skyrim is similar in this manner. But again this is a game by game issue and depends on what games jake_larkee plays.

Gam3r01 · Sep 23, 2014

Speaking from experience here.
The Phenom II 965 @4.0-4.2GHz will bottleneck anything over a 760. It can run the 760 with no bottleneck, but anything more it will.

Source: 965@ 4.2 GHz and a 760.

antilluminati · Sep 24, 2014

i have in 2011 phenom II x4 955 oc 4ghz + gtx580 & i update cpu too fx8350 stock 10-15fps + in all games with 580gtx, 970 = 2x580.

scirishman76 · Nov 19, 2014

jake_larkee :

Most of these threads are a bit misleading. Will a Phenom II bottleneck a 970 yes but will you still see a big gain over a 570 yes also. I upgraded from a 570 to a 770 and saw a huge improvement even though I was technically a bit bottlenecked and my brother just put in a 970 in place of his old 580 with a phenom II quad pushing it and also saw a big jump in performance. Is it bottlenecked compared to a fast haswell hell yes but its not like you wont see a nice improvement anyway. I have built and set up tons of Phenom II setups and one thing I think alot of people don't do that makes a huge difference on the Phenom II is OC that Northbridge it makes a really big difference. May be the reason my bro and I have had good luck is our CPU's are heavily OCed as well as the NB.

Gam3r01 · Nov 19, 2014

Is there a reason you are just copy pasting that on several threads, that are several months old?

jake_larkee · Nov 20, 2014

Gam3r01 :

He's Illuminati m8.

scirishman76 · Nov 20, 2014

Gam3r01 :

Ummm It was two threads talking about exactly the same thing. So first off your definition of several is a bit off and second yes a very good reason the reply I had on both threads was the same so why should I type the whole thing twice.

scirishman76 · Nov 20, 2014

Gam3r01 :

Furthermore your definition of Bottleneck is a bit off also it seems. Bottleneck means that you would see little or no benefit from upgrading to a better gpu and this simply isn't the case. A Phenom II and a 770 is gonna cream a similar clocked Phenom II and a 760 in almost every game you throw at it. Just like a 780 or a 970 will see a nice boost over the 770 with similarly clocked Phenom II's. So while the Phenom II may not be Ideal for high end cards it continues to see nice performance boosts all the way up to a single 970. Haven't tested one with a 980 yet so I can't speak beyond the 970.

But your claims of seeing minimal or no performance gains(def. of bottleneck) beyond a 760 are totally false. From what I've seen a Phenom II at 3.8Ghz sees roughly a 30-40% increase in FPS in almost all games when switching from a GTX 760 to a GTX 970. While you may be correct about about a more powerful CPU being beneficial that should be common sense and wasn't the OP's question. So like I said to begin with alot of your answers are misleading.

Will my phenom II x4 965 3.4Ghz bottleneck the new gtx 970?

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