Is Core i7 2600k a bottleneck in my rig ?

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alipour.farid

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Nov 14, 2017
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Hi,

I just upgraded my vga to gtx xtreme gaming 1070 and ram from 8gig to 24gig corsair vengeance DDR3 as my mainboard (P8P67 Deluxe) does not support DDR4. I wonder if my Core i7 2600k can catch up with gtx 1070? or it is a bottleneck and slows the vga down in gaming? please advise.

thank you
 
Solution
Darkbreeze


Memory configuration is ok then.

Have you considered simply overclocking your CPU for now? That MAY help to overcome some small amount of the problems you are having if they are CPU related.

Most likely though it is as Photonboy has said, and you are simply trying to game at too high a resolution with too high of settings, for the hardware you have. Try reducing settings somewhat or decreasing the resolution, on titles where you have problems.

Otherwise, you may need to upgrade BOTH the CPU and graphics card if you want to game smoothly at 4K with very...
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Lutfij

Lutfij

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What resolution are you gaming at? Reducing details on your titles would help alleviate the [strike]bottleneck[/strike]lower frame rates but there are a lot who are yet rocking a Sandy Bridge processor with current gen hardware(GPU's to be exact).
 
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Darkbreeze

Darkbreeze

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Please, don't say bottleneck. If I hear that term one more time I might snap and go postal. Ok, maybe not that bad, but almost.

Let's just say "Is it restricting my potential performance?"

There is a very simple way to determine this, and you can read all about it here:

In depth and complex answer: http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/324130-31-determine-bottleneck-system


Quick answer:

Yes, it is. At least to some degree. It could be worse though, and unless you are willing to upgrade to one of the latest Intel or AMD platforms, it's not worth upgrading to any platform that is newer than yours but older than Coffee Lake or Ryzen, from a CPU only standpoint. If your CPU is holding you back, overclock. If you are not comfortable or capable of overclocking, then perhaps it's time to upgrade.

This is one of the simplest yet point on explanations you'll find just about anywhere.


For gaming, my list, in order of importance, would be:
GPU
CPU
RAM
Hard drive.
To help clarify your 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.

b) Limit your cpu, either by reducing the OC, or, in windows power management, limit the maximum cpu% to something like 70%.
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.

As to ram, no game, by itself will use more than two or three gb. But, since ram is so cheap these days, I consider 8gb(2 x 4gb) as a standard.
If you multitask at all, 8gb is highly recommended. 8gb will hold more of your stuff in ram, ready for instant reuse.

If you are on anything more than a minimal budget, consider using a SSD for at least the boot drive, and a few apps.
60gb is minimum, and 120gb will hold some games. Use a hard drive for storage and overflow.

On the cpu, games will use no more than two or three cores as a rule. The performance of the cores is more important.
If your cpu budget is $200 or so, you can't do better than a 2500K. It will run any graphics configuration well.
If your cpu budget is $150 or less, then amd and intel have viable options. Do not discount the dual core 2100 for a budget build.

For graphics, the market is very competitive, and you mostly get what you pay for.
Something like a GTX560ti or 6950 is very good for 1080P resolutions. Past that, you get diminishing increases in performance for your dollar.
UNless you are looking at triple monitor gaming, I would avoid sli or crossfire. A good single card will be simpler and cheaper.
Dual low end cards show good benchmarks, but are susceptible to microstuttering.

Credit to Geofelt
Click to expand...
 
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photonboy

photonboy

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Jun 20, 2006
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Hi,
Bottleneck is a good word provided you understand how it works. Most do not and expect a "YES" or "NO" answer as to a CPU vs particular Graphics Card.

Every game is DIFFERENT in where the CPU vs GPU bottleneck is. It can change in the same game from CPU to GPU and back, and is also affected by the RESOLUTION and other game settings.

So... looking at your specs the i7-2600K will sometimes be the bottleneck and at other times the GTX1070 will be the bottleneck.

*There's only one way to really know in a game:

1) run MSI Afterburner, EVGA Precision... to show both the follwing:
a) GPU frequency, and
b) GPU usage

2) if the GPU frequency is say 2000MHz (whatever maximum is), and GPU usage is say 95% then your bottleneck is the graphics card... conversely if one or both of these are lower then your CPU is the bottleneck.

Optionally there could be a software cap (i.e. VSYNC), and theoretically other bottlenecks like system memory but those probably are very minor at specific times if at all.
 
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Darkbreeze

Darkbreeze

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photonboy

photonboy

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=03l5fWVkvms

The overclock is pretty high (4.7GHz) but it does give a rough idea of how you'd compare to one of the best CPU's. Again, the resolution and other settings matter.

They are all 1920x1080, so running 2560x1440 should significantly reduce the CPU bottleneck though not every game is solely about graphics.

THIS VIDEO should be started just before 7min:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gMFd0aVhVKU

There is some 1080p, then 2560x1440 results.

Notice how GTA5 is strongly affected by the CPU, but DOOM and other games are not even at 1080p.
 
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A

alipour.farid

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I play games at 3840x2160 and sometimes the game (ex : the evil within 2) has minor stutters like minor jumps, but when i play at 2560x1440 there is no stuttering and the game is very smooth.
 
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photonboy

photonboy

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Jun 20, 2006
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I have a GTX1080 + i7-3770K@4.4GHz rig, and I do not play any demanding games at 4K.

4K in many games is 2x as demanding as 2560x1440 (i.e. 30FPS vs 60FPS). Additionally, if you have VSYNC ON but can't maintain 60FPS (if 60Hz monitor) you get added stutter.

In some games it's a good idea to enable Adaptive VSync which will toggle VSYNC OFF if you can't maintain 60FPS. You then get screen tear but not added stuttering..

I enabled it for AC Unity then tweaked so I got 60FPS solid about 90% or more of the time. Here's how:

Start game then exit, then
NVidia CP-> manage 3d settings-> program settings-> (add game)-> Adaptive VSync-> save

(use FRAPS or Steam FPS indicator)

Again, try to TWEAK the game settings for best visuals at 60FPS most of the time.

OTHER:
When you say "24GB" is that 3x8GB?

If so you are in SINGLE CHANNEL mode thus may be creating a system memory bottleneck at times. If you aren't in Dual Channel you probably should stick with 2x8GB (see motherboard manual for recommended locations with just two sticks).

If you are 2x4GB + 2x8GB with at least 1600MHz frequency I wouldn't mess with it.

CPU-Z in the memory section will tell you if you are setup as DUAL or not. For example, if you had a 1600MHz kit setup in Dual Channel it should say "DUAL" and then "800MHz" for frequency.
 
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alipour.farid

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Nov 14, 2017
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thank you for your reply.
my 24 gig ram is : on 2 blue slots sit 2 vengeance each 4gig, and on 2 black slots sit 2 vengeance each 8gig.

and when i use cpuz, it says dual.
 
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Darkbreeze

Darkbreeze

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Jun 24, 2014
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Memory configuration is ok then.

Have you considered simply overclocking your CPU for now? That MAY help to overcome some small amount of the problems you are having if they are CPU related.

Most likely though it is as Photonboy has said, and you are simply trying to game at too high a resolution with too high of settings, for the hardware you have. Try reducing settings somewhat or decreasing the resolution, on titles where you have problems.

Otherwise, you may need to upgrade BOTH the CPU and graphics card if you want to game smoothly at 4K with very high settings.
 
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Solution
A

alipour.farid

Prominent
Nov 14, 2017
4
0
510


thank you for your advice.
i changed the settings and resolution many times to see which one is best, and i overclocked the cpu as well. the game runs at 2560x1440 with ultra settings smoothly. as you said, i need to upgrade (at least cpu i suppose) to play at 4k.

many thanks to all of you guys for giving me your time and advice.
 
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