AMD Phenom ii x4 965 + GPU?

Leem123

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Hello I'm wondering what I would be able to cross fire that would not bottle neck that cpu above^?I have a mother board that supports CrossFire and would love to do it if it's worth it. I'm willing to spend money.
 
You can't crossfire a cpu with the gpu, i think you mistaken a x4 965 be for an apu like the a8 or a10 from amd, it's only a cpu without on die gpu.
As for the cards, you better just get a single one, in preference a 7850/7870/7950 or 7970 from amd or nvidia 660/660ti/670
 

Leem123

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Sorry I write it wrong. I'm wondering what 2 cards I could crossfire that would not bottleneck that CPU
 

j2j663

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Well any dual gpu setup is compatible if that is what you are looking for. However the Phenom II is an aging cpu. You would probably be better off looking at upgrading the CPU and getting a single high end GPU.
 

Leem123

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What GPU would you recommend to go with Phenom ii x2 965?
 

3ogdy

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The Phenom II X4 965 isn't a bad CPU at all. I personally have it, with a Sabertooth R.20, HD6950(2GB) & 16GB DDR3 1600. It's smoking fast but CPU usage in GTA IV(Eyefinity) is around 90% on Core 0 - around 80% on the rest of the cores.
I'd rather go with the FX-8350 instead of the Phenom II X4 965. I'm talking about this @ stock - the Phenom II X4 965 is a Black Edition CPU which means you could run it at a higher frequency by just increasing the multiplier in the BIOS. I ran mine @ 3,8GHz but I am currently keeping it @ 3,4GHz because I don't really need more than that.
Again, I'd go with the FX8350 if I were you.
The Phenom II X4 965 isn't a bad CPU at all. I personally have it, with a Sabertooth R.20, HD6950(2GB) & 16GB DDR3 1600. It's smoking fast but CPU usage in GTA IV(Eyefinity) is around 90% on Core 0 - around 80% on the rest of the cores.
I'd rather go with the FX-8350 instead of the Phenom II X4 965. I'm talking about this @ stock - the Phenom II X4 965 is a Black Edition CPU which means you could run it at a higher frequency by just increasing the multiplier in the BIOS. I ran mine @ 3,8GHz but I am currently keeping it @ 3,4GHz because I don't really need more than that.
Again, I'd go with the FX8350 if I were you.
YOUR CPU WILL NOT BOTTLENECK A POSSIBLE CFX CONFIGURATION BUT I'D DEFINITELY AND STRONGLY RECOMMEND SPENDING MONEY ON A MORE POWERFUL SINGLE GPU /MORE POWERFUL CPU/SSD/MORE RAM...
 

Leem123

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Would that run fine with my CPU? Is it worth the upgrade from a GTX 560? :)
 

j2j663

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No one here ever said that a 965 would bottleneck anything. The 965 was a very good CPU in its days but there is no doubt that it is past its prime. That doesn't mean its not a viable option now, it will handle most any GPU setup that you give it.

Nvidia: 660ti, 670 or 680 would all be good choices for a GPU right now.
AMD: 7870, 7950, 7970 would also be good choices.

Can you give us a price range for your GPU purchase, it would help a lot in recommending something.

A word of caution, can you either tell us what mobo you have or tell us how many PCIe slots and lanes you have. Just because the mobo says dual gpu support doesn't always mean that it works well.
 

Leem123

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m5a97 Pro! :)
 

xFriarx

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To start, personally, I am a fan of buying the best single card you can, instead of jumping in right away with crossfire/sli, just for the sake of using crossfire/sli. Mostly because doing so limits your upgrade potential down the line. (Unless your going balls deep and going SLI/Crossfire top end cards like 2x680/670s or 2x7970/7950s).

Based on my experience, the 7950 will be bottlenecked by the 965 a little. I had a 965 (oc'ed to 3.8 ghz) and when I did my last upgrade I bought a 670 (roughly the equivalent to a 7950) and a i7-3770k & mobo. I received the 670 before my cpu and being impatient, I decided to throw it into my system with the 965. I used a driver cleaner to make sure I got rid of the old drivers, and I thought that everything when smoothly. But once I received my new cpu/mobo and got everything installed my benches/frames jumped 15-25% from just changing the CPU/mobo (this was playing BF3 MP, GW2 and a few others and using Futuremark graphics bench).

So with that in mind I think a 7870/7850 or 660(TI) should run to their full potential without being bottlenecked by the CPU. But if you do plan on upgrading the CPU in the future, before upgrading the GPU again, a 7950/670 is good choice as well. It will just be a little bottlenecked until you upgrade the CPU.
 

Leem123

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What CPU would you recommend? I don't mind spending money on a good CPU and a GPU.. I want it to last me for a long time.
 

xFriarx

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Yea the i5-3570k is the best gaming CPU right now. If you do not want to spend that much you can go with a non-k i5 (3470) and still be alright. Pair that together with a z77 motherboard and you will be set. I am very pleased with the AsRock extreme4 motherboard. I know it has received good reviews from a couple different places and its relatively cheap to boot.
 

Leem123

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At the minute i have a amd phenom ii x4 965 and gtx 560! Is it worth it to go from that to what you said?
 
You could wait for new intel cpus from next year(haswell) or not, the same for the card, you can get a 7950 with three games or a 660 ti(recommended and it will not be bottlenecked by your cpu and it's much better than the 560) or wait for new amd graphics card generation(8xxx series) that comes next year.
It's all about if your satisfied with your current setup for games or not.
 

Leem123

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Well if I get an Intel with my CPU would I get more FPS in games? :)
 
Your current cpu is not bottlenecking the your current card(560 gtx).
It's only recommended if going with a high-end card, you'll have to get a new mobo too, an i5-3470+h77/b75 or i5-3570k+z77 mobo(if you want to oc the cpu).
I still think if going with a 660ti or 7950 amd, your cpu will not bottleneck those.
 

Leem123

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Bottleneck my CPU I have at the minute?
 
Your current cpu is fine for a 560 gtx and for a 660ti/7950(could have a bit of bottlenecking, it's speculating).
But if you want a card like a 670 gtx or 7970, you'll have to spend on a new cpu and mobo like i said.
You can do it now or wait for the new intel haswell cpus(somewhere around 2013), or you can get a mid-range card like 660ti or 7950 and use it on the current system.
 

xFriarx

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Well, the 7950 would be bottle necked by the current CPU, as that's the "rival" of the 670 and as I stated earlier the oc'ed 965 did bottleneck my 670. But the 660ti/7870 might be alright (save for CPU intensive games).

But, yea if you are a patient person, I would probably wait and see what the new Haswell chips are like and if you plan on doing that I would wait and do a complete system upgrade (CPU/Mobo/GPU) as the new AMD GPU's should be right around the corner after that. Worst case scenario is you end up getting an Ivy CPU and current gen GPU's, just at a lower price.

If you're not a patient person and are just ready to upgrade now, you have two ways to go. If you just plan on sticking with your 965 in the long term (which isn't bad, it is definitely starting to show its age, but it's still serviceable) I wouldn't get anything higher than a 660ti/7870. Either would both be pretty good upgrades from your 560. Or if you do plan on upgrading your CPU in the short term then you could go with a 670/7950 and upgrade your CPU/Mobo to an i5/z77.
 

Leem123

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Well are you sure about the AMD Radeon 7870 not bottlenecking? Because I might get it. Would it be worth an upgrade from a GTX 560 to a 7870?
 

zugzug_64

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According the GPU Hierarchy Chart listed here at Tom's, there is a 3 tier difference between the GTX560 and the 7870 which, if I remember correctly, is the minimum difference to be considered upgrade-worthy. So, yes it would be worth the upgrade.

Other than that, both Friar and Ringo have (gone above and beyond and) pretty much spelled out everything else for you.

Ball is in your court - make a decision! :)
 

Leem123

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Thanks so much! Always people on here helping me out lol.. I don't have much clue when it comes to this stuff lol.. I'll probably buy the 7870!
 

xFriarx

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In GPU intensive games (generally SP games with lots of eye candy) it will be fine. In CPU intensive games, (generally large FPS MP games/RTS games) it may be bottle necked a little, but not too much (you still get better performance out of the 7870 over a 7850 in that situation).

And yes, it would be a worthwhile upgrade over the 560.