Will an i5 3550k bottleneck a GTX 970?

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Uraken

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Jan 1, 2013
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Looking to upgrade my GPU from a GTX 670 to a GTX 970. My CPU is a i5 3550k, and I'm wondering if I need to upgrade my CPU? I'd rather not, but if it's necessary, which CPU should I be looking to upgrade to?

Thank you awesome people of Tom's Hardware!
 
Solution
envy14tpe
Impossible. The only way your i5 could hold you back with a 970 would be if you had 3 or 4 970s. Since we are talking about one GPU and a new enough CPU there is no worries here. That CPU is great. Have you overclocked it?
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Uraken

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Jan 1, 2013
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Thanks for the speedy reply Envy, and no I'm not sure how to overclock this CPU, any advice for a total beginner?
 
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envy14tpe

envy14tpe

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Mar 3, 2012
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Can you overclock? Depends, do you have the i5-3550 or i5-3570k? Also, what is your mobo (Z77, H77,...) and PSU (550W, 620W,...)?
 
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envy14tpe

envy14tpe

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Mar 3, 2012
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Oh, in that case you gotta learn how to overclock. You have plenty of power and a mobo designed for overclocking. You should be able to hit 4.2ghz with a simple $35 aftermarket cooler. How to overclock? Search for guides. You can find them online and watch some youtube videos. The overclock will help you a lot in other tasks too.
 
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austzorro

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Jul 8, 2014
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Then yes, you can overclock it.

I have an i5-2500K and I have mine overclocked to 4.6 Ghz. The first time I did it I watched a YouTube video of someone using the same Motherboard and showing step-by-step what to do. Most are pretty straight forward these days. Before startup enter your BIOS (F2) and inside CPU settings you should see clock settings. I know my Asrock has a single 'overclock' ability where I can just tell it how much I want to overclock and apply additional power.

I'd recommend seeing if someone else has done it using the i5-3570K with the same board on a video - that should give you some help.
 
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