What CPU to upgrade to?

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speirs3333

speirs3333

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Jun 13, 2015
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Hi I'm currently running a gtx 970 with a amd fx 6300 and feeling the 6300 is bottlenecking my gtx card I want to play the latest games at max settings 1080p but some games such as squad need a better CPU what's a good CPU to upgrade to? Preferably Intel
 
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n0ns3ns3
I'm just saying what you can do :) If I were you, I'd wait and upgrade both CPU and GPU next year. You already have a decent system that can run any game on high-ultra settings with decent FPS.
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n0ns3ns3

n0ns3ns3

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May 25, 2016
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It depends on how much you are ready to spend.
Ideally, i7-6700K (can be found for 320$ on amazon)
That will give you some headroom to grow.
Even the best i5 (6600K) will bottleneck cards slightly better than yours in some games.
To check that you really need an upgrade, use MSI Afterburner to check CPU and GPU utilization in games.
If your GPU is utilized 90% or more while CPU is not at 100% - you don't really need to upgrade the CPU right now.
 
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Hawkshot

Hawkshot

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Aug 19, 2014
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Unless you are looking at streamlining while gaming or doing a lot of rendering the I5-6600k will be the best choice for a cpu, give it a nice CPU cooler and overclock it a bit and you're laughing, I haven't found a game yet I cant play on ultra at 1080p with my i5-6600k and R9 290x.
 
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n0ns3ns3

n0ns3ns3

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May 25, 2016
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Any i5 will start "bottlenecking" cards like GTX 980 and better.
Examples: DOOM, Crysis 3.
R9 290X is not there. GTX 970 is also willbe fine with i5. But newer/better card will not.
OP should not buy CPU to match his current GPU, but have some headroom for GPU upgrade.
for example, ~40% of GTX 1070 will be wasted with i5 in games mentioned above. The list is much longer, those i play personally.
 
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n0ns3ns3

n0ns3ns3

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no, GTX 970 is not bottlenecked by i5.
a more powerful card like GTX 980ti and GTX 1070 will be.
 
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Hawkshot

Hawkshot

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well yes, I never said the I5-6600k wouldn't bottleneck cards like the GTX 980ti but as OP stated he will be using the GTX 970 which doesn't bottleneck on the 6600k, also there is no need to upgrade a system like an i5-6600k + GTX 970 for the foreseeable future if they will be playing on 1080p screens anyway.
 
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speirs3333

speirs3333

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I just want a CPU that's good enough to run CPU intensive games such as squad and preferably the cheaper the better also would there be a increase in performance upgrading to a gtx 1060 from a 970?
 
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Hawkshot

Hawkshot

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for 1080p gaming on current games no its not worth it, but for future proofing your computer I would say its worth it yes.
 
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n0ns3ns3

n0ns3ns3

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I'd say there is no real (perceivable) benefit in spending 250-300$ on GTX 1060 upgrade.
Regarding the "bottlenecking" thing here are two things that you can do:
1. run few of your favorite games and check the CPU and GPU utilization with something like MSI Afterburner
--- If your GPU utilization is over 90% - > CPU upgrade will not change much.
2. Run your favorite games and record the FPS. Go to game's settings and lower only game resolution and play again
--- if your FPS dramatically increases -> your CPU is fine
--- if it remains the same -> see the first test.
Overall, you system is kinda "balanced" and changing one component be it CPU or GPU will not dramatically change the performance.
What you might consider, is the next year refresh of the GPUs and CPUs. For around 500-800$ you will be able to build a system that will be a significant improvement over the current one.
 
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