Best non K chip for gaming on a H61 motherboard with GTX 970?

Toggle sidebar Toggle sidebar
D

Dumbass_Too

Reputable
Sep 28, 2014
33
0
4,530
I currently have a $400 store bought mATX HP desktop computer with:
i3-2120
H61 mobo
W7 64
used GTX 560 sc 2GB

To improve my gaming resolution I ordered a GTX 970 (still on back order since Monday).
If the i3 bottlenecks the 970, then what's the best chip for the H61 that I can get without having to do a new build.

Also the W7 64 is a builder's pack and I have the disc, but will I be able to change the chip without having to buy another copy of Windows?
Thanks
 
Solution
clutchc
You won't have any problem with changing the processor and keeping Win7 activated. The license is tied to the motherboard.

I doubt the i3 2120 will be a major bottleneck, but in well threaded modern games, the HT i3 may not be able to get the best performance from the 970. You should first visit the HP site for the exact system you have to check their CPU support list. Many times, it will depend on whether or not HP requested a proprietary MB from the manufacturer. But I suspect you will be fine with any Sandy Bridge i5, unless a BIOS update is required. You could also use the newer Ivy Bridge i5 CPUs if your board has a new enough BIOS.
Sort by date Sort by votes
clutchc

clutchc

Titan
Ambassador
Apr 22, 2009
43,150
411
131,790
You won't have any problem with changing the processor and keeping Win7 activated. The license is tied to the motherboard.

I doubt the i3 2120 will be a major bottleneck, but in well threaded modern games, the HT i3 may not be able to get the best performance from the 970. You should first visit the HP site for the exact system you have to check their CPU support list. Many times, it will depend on whether or not HP requested a proprietary MB from the manufacturer. But I suspect you will be fine with any Sandy Bridge i5, unless a BIOS update is required. You could also use the newer Ivy Bridge i5 CPUs if your board has a new enough BIOS.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Solution
TechCIDLC

TechCIDLC

Honorable
Dec 2, 2013
1,902
0
12,960

Your motherboard's chipset was not going to let you overclock, anyways. But don't worry, overclocking is not mandatory at all. The processor can still be extremely fast at its stock frequency.

 
Upvote 0 Downvote
D

Dumbass_Too

Reputable
Sep 28, 2014
33
0
4,530


ClutchC, I hope you are right about the bottleneck, how do I update the BIOS?
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
clutchc

clutchc

Titan
Ambassador
Apr 22, 2009
43,150
411
131,790


Find your PC's support page at HP and see what they recommend. Being as how it isn't a retail build, I wouldn't want to give out the wrong info if they have a specific method they recommend and others they want you to avoid. Modern MB's come with a Win based pgm that will auto check and update the BIOS for you. Not sure about HP and other proprietary builds.

They may tell you to download the BIOS to a flash drive and then use the proprietary feature in the MB BIOS to do the update.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
D

Dumbass_Too

Reputable
Sep 28, 2014
33
0
4,530


OK the board is listed as a H61 Cupertino2 and I found it can handle a SandyBridge i5 and i7 chip. This is good news and I will start looking for either one that has the best price. I was looking for a low power gaming gpu and the 970 checks all the boxes. So this is good news and an early Xmas gift that will save me big bucks. Thanks
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
TechCIDLC

TechCIDLC

Honorable
Dec 2, 2013
1,902
0
12,960

Then get the i5-2500K. It is Sandy Bridge's best gaming processor. You will not regret it. :)

 
Upvote 0 Downvote
clutchc

clutchc

Titan
Ambassador
Apr 22, 2009
43,150
411
131,790


I'll assume this is your board: http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/document?docname=c02978278&cc=us&dlc=en&lc=en#N129

Finding a new Core i5-2xxx quad core processor almost means a trip to eBay. Here are some new ones for sale. Just about any Sandy Bridge i5 processor with its fast IPC will be able to keep up with the GTX 970. The faster ones above 3GHz will of course be better. If you don't see yourself OC'ing (on that board probably not), you won't need to pay a premium price for a "K" model.
http://www.ebay.com/sch/CPUs-Processors-/164/i.html?Socket%2520Type=LGA%25201155%252FSocket%2520H2&Processor%2520Manufacturer=Intel&LH_ItemCondition=1000&_dcat=164&Processor%2520Type=Core%2520i5%25202nd%2520Gen%252E&_sop=15
Look for a seller with a rating in the high 90% range and several sales under his belt.

If it were possible to update the BIOS to a new enough one, you could even look at 3rd gen Ivy Bridge i5's. But let's not press out luck ;-)
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

Latest posts

Moderators online

Share this page

COMPANY
RESOURCES
FOLLOW
Top Bottom