How much of a bottleneck will I get if I upgrade to a Gtx 970?

yomanx1 · Oct 30, 2015

Pc specs -
Windows 7 64 bit
i3-2120 CPU
8 gb ram
Kingston 120 gb SSD
R9 270x Gpu
550W PSU

Should I get the 970?

hackingman · Oct 30, 2015

is very dependent on the game.

you will benefit of a great increase in performance , but you need to change that psu and still you will experience unstable framerates and stutter in many games that are cpu intensive.

TheDankMemer · Oct 30, 2015

On single core games not much, but on multi-threaded games like GTA V you will experience bottlenecks

pete_101 · Oct 30, 2015

hackingman :

I have to disagree on the PSU. If it's a good make, 550W is more than enough for an i3 and GTX 970. If it's a cheap crappy PSU, then it definitely needs replaced.

hackingman · Oct 30, 2015

pete_101 :

you should always have double the efective power if you want to stay safe

madmatt30 · Oct 30, 2015

^ double the power ?? Never
100w spare yes I'd agree with & with a decent quality 550w & those components there's a good 200w overhead.

A factory over clocked 970 only pulls 40w more than a 270x.

pete_101 · Oct 30, 2015

hackingman :

If it's a cheap PSU, then I agree. However, when someone already has a PSU which is larger than required, I'm not going to tell them to get an even larger one if I don't know the quality of the unit they already have.....especially when they list their current GPU as an R9 270X, which requires more power than the GTX 970 they are looking at getting.

hackingman · Oct 30, 2015

pete_101 :

it will serve him for a longer time and will give him the chance to upgrade to a more power consuming cpu and maybe an sli in the future.
For experience i have seen that a good psu is forever

cst1992 · Oct 30, 2015

No offense, but are you a PSU salesman or something?
A card that consumes less power won't need a beefier PSU. To recommend something like that is asking to waste money.

hackingman · Oct 30, 2015

cst1992 :

he want's to upgrade , so is better for him to make a little investment now and do it for good so he never has to worry about it again.

it is my opinion given from personal experience, i do not mean to say any of you are wrong , just what i think.

yomanx1 · Oct 30, 2015

hackingman :

I want to upgrade the gpu so I could play Fallout 4.

yomanx1 · Oct 30, 2015

I've got a XFX Pro 550w PSU. Is that of quality make?..And i accidentally picked Pete_101's answer as the best answer haha

cst1992 · Oct 31, 2015

Why don't you upgrade the CPU first? Games will benefit greatly from a 4 core i5 that's fast. You could go for even a used i5 2500K/3570K.

If you ask in the Deals section, you might get a used one for a good price.
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/forum-8.html

madmatt30 · Oct 31, 2015

The xfx pro 550 is a very good PSU mate - ignore hackingman , changing the PSU would just be wasting money .

maxalge · Oct 31, 2015

yomanx1 :

get the gtx 970

get an i5 compatible with your motherboard

if the last fallout was any indication you are going to need a good cpu

cst1992 · Oct 31, 2015

hackingman :

That's true, but that's when you're in the market for a whole new system. It doesn't fit this scenario.

yomanx1 · Oct 31, 2015

madmatt30 :

Ok.

yomanx1 · Oct 31, 2015

maxalge :

yomanx1 :

get the gtx 970

get an i5 compatible with your motherboard

if the last fallout was any indication you are going to need a good cpu

I can actually run modded Fallout 3/NV except for enbs at 60 fps. Is there anywhere I can buy a nice/cheap LGA 1155 i5 CPU?

yomanx1 · Oct 31, 2015

cst1992 :

I really should. Though to me it seems difficult installing one with the heatsink and thermal paste and whatnot. I'm worried that I'll mess up and screw my motherboard up or something lol.

TheDankMemer · Oct 31, 2015

The XFX 550W PSU is more than capable of powering his system with or without the GPU, THERE IS NO NEED TO BUY ANOTHER PSU the PSU will power his future CPUs just fine

cst1992 · Oct 31, 2015

yomanx1 :

It's really easy. You'll find many tutorials on the web(I personally use Carey Holzman's videos on Youtube, you should check him out).
Tom's also has tutorials on how to go about it. In the CPU's forum, select Type -> Tutorial.

I have changed the thermal paste on my own CPU multiple times. Just remember to NOT use water at all. And make sure to tighten all four screws on your heatsink after installing the CPU.

cst1992 · Oct 31, 2015

yomanx1 :

Use the Deals forum.

madmatt30 · Nov 1, 2015

You've never stated your board model ??
Hopefully its a h61 which means your option are open to ivy & sandy bridge.

Anything from a 2400 up on sandy & a 3350 on ivy would be a good buy.

There are normally some excellent deals on eBay BUT always buy from a respected seller with good rep.

How much of a bottleneck will I get if I upgrade to a Gtx 970?

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