Questions about CPU Bottlenecking

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IamElohim

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Oct 30, 2015
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So I was looking to buy a GTX 1080 soon, but I'm worried my CPU might limit the performance on new triple A games. My CPU is an AMD FX-6300. How and how much would this limit my frames in new games? And if so, what CPU should I upgrade to for 0% bottlenecking?
 
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Ecky
There's no such thing as 0% bottlenecking, because bottlenecking as you're thinking of it doesn't exist. Your CPU determines what your maximum framerate is in a game, regardless of what video card you have.
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penn919

penn919

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The bottleneck would render the upgrade inconsequential. Quite frankly, anything on the AM3+ platform would significantly bottleneck that GPU. Until you have the means of overhauling your system, do not buy a 1080.

 
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IamElohim

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So penn, you're saying there IS a significant bottleneck stemming from the CPU, and if I were to upgrade anything, I should start with my motherboard and CPU?
 
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Ecky

Ecky

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Feb 3, 2013
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If you're getting low framerates in a game and your GPU is too weak, you can drop graphical settings and get better framerates. You'll have to sacrifice visual quality, but you'll always be able to get smooth gameplay.

If your CPU is too weak, your game will be choppy regardless of what graphical settings you run or GPU you have.

If your CPU is fast enough to deliver the framerates you want in a game, a GPU upgrade will let you have those framerates with higher graphical settings.
 
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CelicaGT

CelicaGT

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As mentioned above, yes that CPU will really hold back that GPU. As for bottlenecking itself, it is not a simple answer and many treat it as if it is. GAME SETTINGS PLAY A MAJOR ROLE. At high or ultra settings, vsync OFF with a relatively modern Intel CPU the GPU WILL ALMOST ALWAYS BE THE BOTTLENECK. Reverse that, now go to low resolution, minimal settings and THE CPU WILL BECOME THE BOTTLENECK. Both these scenarios involve a reasonably balanced machine, recent high end i5 or i7, Mainstream or higher GPU. In addition how the game is coded will also have an effect, massive sometimes, how threaded is this software, is it a bad console port that requires excessive CPU cycles? Blanket statements about bottlenecking are usually close to the truth but you must always consider your use case scenario.
 
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IamElohim

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Okay so here's an example of my game: I want to play Star Citizen at Very High settings at 1080p.

Which would be MORE beneficial to my situation:

1. Keep my R9 270x and upgrade to a 6700k
or
2. Keep my FX-6300 and upgrade to a GTX 1080
 
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CelicaGT

CelicaGT

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For the price of that GTX1080 you could do a full system upgrade (Zen is soon too). It may not net you much now, but when your budget allows you can grab a GTX 1060, 1070 well whatever you want and actually be able to use it. After a time you could buy a new GPU, that 270 is easily outdone by every mainstream card currently on the market.

 
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Ecky

Ecky

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If you intend to overclock, any Z170 board will do. Unlike AMD boards, any Intel board will work properly with any Intel CPU that fits in its socket.

This is the cheapest Z170 board on Newegg:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157680

If you don't intend to overclock, you can save $50 on a CPU and get the 6700 (non-K), and use its included heatsink saving another $20+, and save another $40 by going with a cheaper B150 or H110 motherboard.
 
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C

Cole_9

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for any graphically intensive games, I would rather keep the 6300 and upgrade the GPU, since most of the graphically intensive games I play rely more on the Graphics processor rather than the CPU.
 
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theonerm2

theonerm2

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Dec 28, 2009
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For the price of a good GTX 1080 you could get this instead....

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/list/Qpngbj
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/list/Qpngbj/by_merchant/

CPU: Intel Core i5-6500 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($198.88 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: Asus B150M-A D3 Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($72.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 1070 8GB Mini ITX OC Video Card ($384.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Total: $656.86
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-09-04 23:10 EDT-0400

And you'll be gaming happily.... At least lot happier than on that old and awful FX 6300. The Core i5 6500 is plenty enough CPU power for gaming. Really a Core i7 is overkill for most games. Core i7 is usually used for when you want to do more than game. Like stream or video edit... Stuff like that. Even then you can get by doing that same stuff on a Core i5. It's going to be quite a bit slower at video editing depending on the program you use though. You can get a few more FPS on a Core i7 on 1080p and lower than ultra settings but that difference doesn't really matter. It's negligible. Still some people want that extra performance that's negligible and they pay a lot for practically nothing. They pay a lot for no and I mean absolutely no real world difference in gaming. It will look and feel exactly the same on a cheaper Core i5 vs a more expensive Core i7.

Well anyway. If you would like to know how an FX 6300 would do on a GTX 1080 it's terrible... That's the truth. It bottlenecks a GTX 1070 very badly. Even the FX 8350 overclocked bottlenecks a GTX 1070 significantly. There is nothing on AM3+ socket that can get you the performance you need. Intel is your only choice right now. AMD zen might change that but for now Intel is your only choice.
 
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