Intel Core i5 4590: How good a card can I get before processor bottleneck?

snitzle · Feb 5, 2015

I am going to be building a (admittedly modest) game machine using an i5 4590 processor (already have) and probably an MSI Gaming Z87 MB. As I'm building in an EVGA Hadron Air case (miniITX), most of the Radeon cards are out due to length and power issues (267 mm max length and limited to 500 W PS). So for the first time I'll be going with an NVidia card. :??:

My questions are:

1) How high up on the GTX 9xx product line can I go before this processor starts to be a significant bottleneck? I assume the 960 would not present an issue, but what about the 970 or 980? Or even the older GTX 770?

2) If I do decide to scrap the mITX form factor and just go microATX instead (enabling use of the longer Radeon cards), then same question regarding the R9 285, 280X or 290?

(BTW, is there some kind of chart or resource out there anywhere that can help someone pair graphics cards with CPUs? Wishful thinking maybe, but just thought I'd ask.)

Thanks for any help!

i7Baby · Feb 5, 2015

All CPUs add some bottleneck - http://www.anandtech.com/show/8426/the-intel-haswell-e-cpu-review-core-i7-5960x-i7-5930k-i7-5820k-tested/6

The i5 4590 won't bottleneck a high end card much. You could get a gtx980 or a r9 295x2 or 2 x980s in SLI and you'd still be OK.

DarkSable · Feb 5, 2015

snitzle :

Nothing wrong with nvidia cards, especially in SFF applications. No, they might not have quite as good bang-for-buck, but they do have better driver support and they DO run cooler, quieter, and with less energy... three very big pluses for a tiny rig.

So...

1) You don't have to worry about bottlenecking with an i5. Yeah, it's a little bit older... so what? Sandy bridge CPUS are still just as capable for gaming as the day they were released, so your i5 has nothing to worry about. A single 980 would be handled just fine, though myself and many others would recommend the 970 instead.

2) MicroATX has a lot of compromises over the mini ITX form factor if you're looking for small size and silence. It's obviously your call, since you've only ever known the red side of the force, but I find that Radeon cards are designed for LARGE cases that could have three of them without even noticing -- and that's mostly because they do put out a lot of heat and often are just relying on case airflow to move that hot air effectively, so in a stuffy, smaller case, they don't perform as well and are a lot louder.

As for the bottom bit... The rule of thumb used to be that you should spend twice on your graphics card what you do on your CPU, so a (roughly) $200 CPU makes sense when paired with a $400 graphics card. That ratio is lowered now that we're seeing more cost-efficient graphics cards, but it's also JUST a rule of thumb and should be ignored. It's only to prevent idiots from making the mistake that the "professional" gaming PCs do and going just by what sounds impressive... i.e. keeping people away from buying a $300 i7 and a $150 gtx 750ti and thinking they've made the leet-est gaming computer ever.

Seriously, bottlenecking isn't something to worry much about, since there isn't anything you can do about it. It's also not a huge issue until we're talking a serious mismatch, like a slow i3 with a 780 ti.

11sphere92 · Feb 5, 2015

No need to worry,
Your CPU is kinda high end also. It won't bottleneck even Radeon R9 295x2

TH3K7NGZ · Jun 26, 2015

DarkSable :

snitzle :

Nothing wrong with nvidia cards, especially in SFF applications. No, they might not have quite as good bang-for-buck, but they do have better driver support and they DO run cooler, quieter, and with less energy... three very big pluses for a tiny rig.

So...

1) You don't have to worry about bottlenecking with an i5. Yeah, it's a little bit older... so what? Sandy bridge CPUS are still just as capable for gaming as the day they were released, so your i5 has nothing to worry about. A single 980 would be handled just fine, though myself and many others would recommend the 970 instead.

2) MicroATX has a lot of compromises over the mini ITX form factor if you're looking for small size and silence. It's obviously your call, since you've only ever known the red side of the force, but I find that Radeon cards are designed for LARGE cases that could have three of them without even noticing -- and that's mostly because they do put out a lot of heat and often are just relying on case airflow to move that hot air effectively, so in a stuffy, smaller case, they don't perform as well and are a lot louder.

As for the bottom bit... The rule of thumb used to be that you should spend twice on your graphics card what you do on your CPU, so a (roughly) $200 CPU makes sense when paired with a $400 graphics card. That ratio is lowered now that we're seeing more cost-efficient graphics cards, but it's also JUST a rule of thumb and should be ignored. It's only to prevent idiots from making the mistake that the "professional" gaming PCs do and going just by what sounds impressive... i.e. keeping people away from buying a $300 i7 and a $150 gtx 750ti and thinking they've made the leet-est gaming computer ever.

Seriously, bottlenecking isn't something to worry much about, since there isn't anything you can do about it. It's also not a huge issue until we're talking a serious mismatch, like a slow i3 with a 780 ti.

is there any sources like websites or other forum posts you give me, im trying to convince my dad the i5 will the gtx 970 smoothly.

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Intel Core i5 4590: How good a card can I get before processor bottleneck?

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