Will my AMD FX-6200 six-core bottleneck an Nvidia GTX 1060?

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AvlaroPls

Commendable
Nov 7, 2016
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Hi! i've been looking for information to upgrade my GPU to an nvidia gtx 1060 6gb for a better high end gaming performance, but i'm afraid my CPU is quite a problem... I've been thinking about upgrading my CPU as well, but my socket is an AM3+, which i think is only compatible with AMD processors and I would rather have an Intel because they have best performance in general as far as I have seen...

So, problem here is if my actual CPU will bottleneck the Nvidia, and if it really does, what is my best option? To search for a better AMD processor or directly change mobo and processor to be able to have an Intel? I would really want not to spend more than 500€... and the less, the better, but of course I would rather spend 600 and be sure my rig will be enough for 2 or 4 years rather than spending 400 and having to change procesor and/or mobo in 1/2 years...

Thank you for your time!
 
Solution
Luminary
Yes, the FX-6200 will certainly bottlneck the GTX 1060 in demanding games. It won't be a problem IF the games you want to play aren't something like Battlefield 1, and you don't mind turning the graphics settings down a bit, but you won't be getting the full power of the GTX 1060 paired with your current CPU.

For a super-budget Intel upgrade this would work quite well and be a very good pairing for the GTX 1060 using a 1080p monitor:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i3-6100 3.7GHz Dual-Core Processor (€119.81 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-H170-D3HP ATX LGA1151 Motherboard (€112.85 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix...
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Luminary

Luminary

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Nov 29, 2015
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Yes, the FX-6200 will certainly bottlneck the GTX 1060 in demanding games. It won't be a problem IF the games you want to play aren't something like Battlefield 1, and you don't mind turning the graphics settings down a bit, but you won't be getting the full power of the GTX 1060 paired with your current CPU.

For a super-budget Intel upgrade this would work quite well and be a very good pairing for the GTX 1060 using a 1080p monitor:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i3-6100 3.7GHz Dual-Core Processor (€119.81 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-H170-D3HP ATX LGA1151 Motherboard (€112.85 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 Memory (€79.19 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Total: €311.85
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-11-07 15:48 CET+0100

If you were able to afford closer to €500 this would be a better long-term investment as the i5-6500 is a 4-core CPU, the RAM is of higher-quailty, and the motherboard has some additional features:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-6500 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor (€209.84 @ Mindfactory)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-H170-GAMING 3 ATX LGA1151 Motherboard (€160.85 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 Memory (€92.39 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Total: €463.08
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-11-07 15:51 CET+0100
 
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Solution
geofelt

geofelt

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Oct 9, 2006
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There is no useful cpu upgrade for a FX-6200. You can do better by overclocking it if you have a good motherboard.

Some games are graphics limited like fast action shooters.
Others are cpu core speed limited like strategy, sims, and mmo.
Multiplayer with many participants tend to like many threads.

You need to find out which.
------------------------------------------------------------
To help clarify your CPU/GPU options, run these two tests:

a) Run YOUR games, but lower your resolution and eye candy.
If your FPS increases, it indicates that your cpu is strong enough to drive a better graphics configuration.
If your FPS stays the same, you are likely more cpu limited.

b) Limit your cpu, either by reducing the OC, or, in windows power management, limit the maximum cpu% to something like 70%.
Go to control panel/power options/change plan settings/change advanced power settings/processor power management/maximum processor state/
This will simulate what a lack of cpu power will do.
Conversely what a 30% improvement in core speed might do.

You should also experiment with removing one core. You can do this in the windows msconfig boot advanced options option.
You will need to reboot for the change to take effect. Set the number of processors to less than you have.
This will tell you how sensitive your games are to the benefits of many cores.

If your FPS drops significantly, it is an indicator that your cpu is the limiting factor, and a cpu upgrade is in order.

It is possible that both tests are positive, indicating that you have a well balanced system,
and both cpu and gpu need to be upgraded to get better gaming FPS.
-------------------------------------------------------------

If a GTX1060 represents at least a 3 tier upgrade on tom's gpu hierarchy list,
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gpu-hierarchy,4388.html
then go ahead and buy it.
It can easily be transported to a new cpu upgrade.

If you need a cpu upgrade, then 500€ should buy you a i5-6600K, a Z170 motherboard and 8gb of ddr4 ram.
 
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A

AvlaroPls

Commendable
Nov 7, 2016
4
0
1,510
Thank you all for your super-fast answer! I think I'll go get the GPU as it is really more than 3 tier upgrade on tom's gpu hierarchy list, but i'll see what performance it has with my actual CPU for I dunno... a couple of months, and if I see it's really bad performance for the GPU, i'll then upgrade mobo and CPU, if possible, to the expensive option... if not, the cheap one will have to do hahaha
 
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st3v30

st3v30

Admirable
Nov 1, 2014
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It will do pretty well if you ask me. I have GTX 1060 with my FX 6300 OC'd to 4.5 Ghz.
Here on my channel you can see how those 2 perform KokuzBench
If you want upgrade want a few more months until AMD release Zen, maybe it will be good enough to compete with Intel.
 
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A

AvlaroPls

Commendable
Nov 7, 2016
4
0
1,510


Good to know, i'll check it as soon as I get home! Just to know... how can I overclock my CPU and what does it mean? I mean, i've heard an seen the overclock word a lot, but i actually never knew what it meant... Also, the 6200 is like a quite bad version of the 6300 as far as I know... should I expect more or less the same performance as you?

 
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A

AvlaroPls

Commendable
Nov 7, 2016
4
0
1,510


Okey, i'll check it, see if my system is capable of overclocking... Thank you!
 
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