Phenom II X3 720BE unlocked and 3.5GHz O.C worth GPU upgrade?

Kevin_628 · Oct 23, 2015

Hi all

My first ever post on Tomshardware despite having read dozens of threads. =)

I'm considering whether it is worth doing a GPU upgrade. My rig is pretty aged but since I don't game much anymore due to work [85 hrs work week kind of turns you off everything aside from sleeping. =)] it serves me nicely so far. Thing is, Fallout 4 is just a few weeks away and the Fallout series is one of my favourite so it's hard to say no.

I have unlocked the 4th core as well as overclocked to 3.5 GHz with stable 48 hours prime95 blends [tad overkill in hours I know but, just in case =)]. System details is as below, though I am writing this thread while at work so can't remember every exact details.

I'm looking at the Gigabyte 3GB GTX 780 Ti to replace the 4890. I have a feeling this will bottleneck the cpu a little but I am ok with that as I need to minimise budget and time. Also, there's something about maxing out the system before having to full system upgrade that excites me. =)

Thanks heaps in advance for helping guys/gals!

Full Spec:

Phenom II X3 720BE Unlocked, O.C 3.5GHz
Noctua NH-U14
Gigabyte Radeon 4890
Asus M4A78T-E
8GB Kingston HyperX Fury 1600MHz
Lamptron FC5v2 Fan Controller
Cooler Master Extreme Power Plus 650W
Gigabyte 3D Aurora (twin cooler master silent 120mm inlet fans mounted on custom cut side panel, replaced rear twin 120mm to twin silent 140mm fans)

clutchc · Oct 23, 2015

First, congrats on getting the old Ph II X3 up to 3.5 GHz. I love those old K10 chips. My 965BE is happy at 4.0GHz and keeps up with a Evga GTX 960 FTW+ @ 1480MHz nicely. But that is about the max card for it w/o bottleneck.

So... using that as a guide, I would say the GTX 780 Ti will see major CPU bottleneck in almost all modern games with your triple core. Especially gaming online on a busy server. But I guess you can always take the card with you to your next build. But if you want to avoid bottleneck, the GTX 960 or R9-380 would be tops. Even then, there'd be some bottleneck.

Here's a comparison (on paper) of the 960 and your 4890: http://www.hwcompare.com/18528/geforce-gtx-960-vs-radeon-hd-4890-2gb/
Another: http://gpu.userbenchmark.com/Compare/ATI-HD-4890-vs-Nvidia-GTX-960/m7789vs3165

wa1 · Oct 23, 2015

^+1
Totally agree with clutchc opinions above. GTX960 will suffice for you and GTX 780 Ti is more future proof, but for now I think GTX960 is the best card for you.

Kevin_628 · Oct 25, 2015

clutchc :

Thanks for the prompt reply clutchc. Good stuff getting the 965BE to 4.0GHz! There chips was alot of to play with. =)

I was afraid my 720 would bottleneck more than just a little, but was hoping that the unlocked 4th core would help squeeze that last ounce of the cpu and allow me to use the 780 ti. In a way it's good to know I won't have to spend unnecessarily on the GTX 780 Ti and go for the GTX 960 instead.

I can get my hands on a 2GB GTX960 STRIX OC or G1 Gaming for exactly AUS$300 or for AUS$350 the 4GB version of either one. Alternatively, if the 4th unlocked core helps, a $450 GTX780 Ti will offer some future proofing as wa1 mentioned?

Kevin_628 · Oct 25, 2015

wa1 :

Thanks wa1, do you of my reply to clutchc?

pete_101 · Oct 25, 2015

Kevin_628 :

What currency? Because you can find it much cheaper than that http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125777&cm_re=gtx_960-_-14-125-777-_-Product

Kevin_628 · Oct 25, 2015

pete_101 :

Hi Pete, I'm in AUS and buying from a local store. Including shipping, total price from Newegg would be AUS$395 for me which is around US$285.

clutchc · Oct 25, 2015

Kevin_628 :

clutchc :

Thanks for the prompt reply clutchc. Good stuff getting the 965BE to 4.0GHz! There chips was alot of to play with. =)

I was afraid my 720 would bottleneck more than just a little, but was hoping that the unlocked 4th core would help squeeze that last ounce of the cpu and allow me to use the 780 ti. In a way it's good to know I won't have to spend unnecessarily on the GTX 780 Ti and go for the GTX 960 instead.

I can get my hands on a 2GB GTX960 STRIX OC or G1 Gaming for exactly AUS$300 or for AUS$350 the 4GB version of either one. Alternatively, if the 4th unlocked core helps, a $450 GTX780 Ti will offer some future proofing as wa1 mentioned?

There's no CPU you can get for that AM3 socket board that will not bottleneck the GTX 780 Ti. So 'future proof' is meaningless. You'll always have spent more on a GPU than your CPU can make use of. Now... if by future proof you mean in case you upgrade to a newer, faster platform, that's different. Then it might make sense to go with the GTX 780 Ti.

Kevin_628 · Oct 26, 2015

clutchc :

Kevin_628 :

There's no CPU you can get for that AM3 socket board that will not bottleneck the GTX 780 Ti. So 'future proof' is meaningless. You'll always have spent more on a GPU than your CPU can make use of. Now... if by future proof you mean in case you upgrade to a newer, faster platform, that's different. Then it might make sense to go with the GTX 780 Ti.

Yes I did mean future proof by being able to move the card to a complete newer platform at a later date. Anyway, thanks for the input . =)

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