i3-2100 + GTX 660 upgrade options?

ChillyPenguin · Jul 22, 2016

Current system: Core i3-2100 processor wth a GTX 660 graphics card. Asus P8P67LE mobo with 8 Gig RAM.

So this system is struggling with more recent games like Arkham Knight, which is hardly surprising as the processor is below the minimum spec for that game (Core i5-750). Assuming for the moment that I don't have a huge wedge of cash to blow on the new rig that I really need, is there any meaningful upgrade that I can make it would help with games like this?

I'm guessing that the processor is throttling the graphics card, so I think an i5 processor upgrade might help, but which i5? Core i5-2500Ks seem quite reasonably priced on eBay etc at the moment. But would that processor make an appreciable difference over my current i3? If not, what spec of i5 is likely to make a difference?

Note: the processor would have to be LGA1155 compatible.

clutchc · Jul 22, 2016

First you need to verify that the CPU is the weak link. Check your CPU usage against the GPU usage when the game is struggling. If the CPU is at or near 100%, it is the bottleneck. if the GPU is, then it is the bottleneck. I'm more inclined to believe it is the GPU that needs upgrading.

ChillyPenguin · Jul 23, 2016

clutchc :

Thanks for that.

After reading your reply, I found my way to this thread http://www.overclock.net/t/1229915/how-to-cpu-and-gpu-usage-along-with-fps-in-game and followed the instructions there (RivaTuner OSD Server + HWinfo).

Running Arkham Knight's in-built PC Performance Test feature with game resolution at 720p and every other bit of graphical frippery turned off or set to "Low", I got an average FPS of 50. During that time the GPU Core Load was in the 90s, whereas the CPU's four threads fluctuated between 50% and 80%.

Repeating the same test at 1080p, the average FPS dropped to 33. The GPU was pretty much maxed out again with the CPU readings about the same.

So it looks like the GPU is the weak link, as you said. The 2 Gig memory on the GTX 660 already precludes anything other than "Low" Texture Mappings in Arkham Knight.

So, any recommendations for a graphics card that's going to look okay in Arkham Knight? Oh, and just to complicate matters even further, this PC does double time as a Hackintosh, so any Graphics card has to work natively with OS X as well. Not much to ask, is it? ;-)

Update

I'm thinking a 4Gig GTX 960 is probably the best combination or price & performance at the moment. See: http://www.tomshardware.com/answers/id-2797337/gpu-2100.html. And yes, it's OS X compatible too.

clutchc · Jul 23, 2016

The GTX 960 will be a somewhat worthwhile upgrade over the GTX 660, yes. http://www.anandtech.com/bench/product/1597?vs=1654
But if it were me and I wasn't afraid of a tiny bit CPU bottleneck in a few games, I would opt for the GTX 970: http://www.anandtech.com/bench/product/1597?vs=1595
With the release of the 1000 series and the new AMD cards, the GTX 970 is dropping rapidly in price. I picked up this Zotac for my Xeon build pretty cheap compared to what my Evga FTW+ cost me over a year ago: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814500362

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i3-2100 + GTX 660 upgrade options?

ChillyPenguin

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ChillyPenguin

Commendable

clutchc

Titan

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