Will my AMD x4 955 be able to handle a GTX 670?

[Gmoney39513]

This was my first PC build and I am quite happy with the way it turned out. However, time has passed (2 1/2 years since build date) and I was hoping to upgrade my GPU to the new Nvidia GTX 670 from my ATI 5850 to increase gaming performance. Here is a list of the games I am currently playing: Total War Series (anxiously awaiting Rome 2), Battlefield 3, Skyrim, Fallout; New Vegas, and Civ 5 all @ 1920x1080

Current specs are as follows:

CPU- AMD x4 955 @ 3.6 GHZ -C3 revision-stock voltage (1.4)

CPU COOLER- XIGMATEK HDT-SI283

MOBO- ASUS M4A79XTD EVO AM3

RAM- 4GB G.SKILL DDR3 1600

GPU- GIGABYTE ATI 5850 1GB

PSU- CORSAIR TX-750 watt

I was initially going to purchase the GTX 670 but then I heard it may be bottlenecked by my CPU. So I began looking for deals on a CPU and MOBO and Microcenter is offering a I5 2500k + ASUS P8Z77-V LX Socket 1155 MOBO @ $250 after a $20 dollar rebate. This looks like a great deal considering a similiar offer from Newegg would be $300+.

So my question to you guys would be: Should I go ahead and purchase the GTX 670 at $400 or should I get the i5 2500k + MOBO for $250?

 

[drums101]

I think since you are gaming at 1080p your cpu wont bottleneck you enough to notice...I have a buddy who has a 590 and a phenom II quad core at stock speeds and he doesnt have any issues with bottlenecks (he is also running at 1080p)

 

[Gmoney39513]

I think since you are gaming at 1080p your cpu wont bottleneck you enough to notice...I have a buddy who has a 590 and a phenom II quad core at stock speeds and he doesnt have any issues with bottlenecks (he is also running at 1080p)

Thank you, Do you know what games your buddy plays? I have heard some games are more CPU dependent then others.

 

[drums101]

well he bought it for bf3..he downloads like every game that comes out so he at least trys most of em and he hasnt said anything about being bottle necked...if you do encounter a situation in a game where you dont get the fps you were expecting could you overclock your cpu? I really dont think you will need to bc 3.6 is pretty quick

 

[Gmoney39513]

What about the ATI 7950? It is almost a hundred dollars less than the GTX 670 on Newegg. Would it suit my system well?

 

[akamrcrack]

You will be bottlenecked by the 955BE in BF3 for sure.

Not by much, but the 670 already sits right at 60fps so any bottlenecks are not a good thing even if only a couple of fps.

Had to upgrade my 965BE to a 2500K 4.5ghz to get rid of CPU bottlenecks in games like BF3 / Black Ops.

 

[dosdecarnitas]

will it bottleneck YES but not that much, somewhere in the 15%

i have aEVGA GTX670 with and Ivy Briudge core i5 3450 and without overclocking and it bottlenecks like 10% so unless you go for 2500K witha 4.5ghz overclock (which also costs more because PSU and aftermarket HEATSINKS) dont invest more

 

[akamrcrack]

will it bottleneck YES but not that much, somewhere in the 15%

i have aEVGA GTX670 with and Ivy Briudge core i5 3450 and without overclocking and it bottlenecks like 10% so unless you go for 2500K witha 4.5ghz overclock (which also costs more because PSU and aftermarket HEATSINKS) dont invest more

Well a 2500K from microcenter = $169.99 + a Hyper 212 = <$200 and I've seen many people get 4.5ghz with the hyper 212.

Just sayin ;3

 

[dosdecarnitas]

Well a 2500K from microcenter = $169.99 + a Hyper 212 = <$200 and I've seen many people get 4.5ghz with the hyper 212.

Just sayin ;3

is it worth it? its my question, i mean why not use the 670 and then wait for Haswell platform , just sayin 2500K is nice but he already has a 955 bought up and running, if he was buying the stuff i totally would agree on going a little extra for a 2500K with a hyper 212

lol just overlcok the 955 to 3.6ghz on at 1.275 volts i used to have one and ran smooth, well as smooth an AMD can get

 

[akamrcrack]

is it worth it? its my question, i mean why not use the 670 and then wait for Haswell platform , just sayin 2500K is nice but he already has a 955 bought up and running, if he was buying the stuff i totally would agree on going a little extra for a 2500K with a hyper 212

lol just overlcok the 955 to 3.6ghz on at 1.275 volts i used to have one and ran smooth, well as smooth an AMD can get

^ yeah I did basically the same thing with my 965BE @ 3.6ghz (was able to undervolt and still get extra .1ghz)

OVERCLOCK IT!!!!

 

[swifty_morgan]

i would upgrade the card now the rest in the near future. 2014 DDR4 - 3000 will be the norm and new processors will be much faster and efficient then the already "aging" 25/2600's....... your system is still "good" enough to get you by.

I went from a 5850 to a 6950 2gig on 2 different set ups and both were a noticeable improvement. The 1gig was holding back the system under certain circumstances and in certain games forcing me to turn settings back.

you may not see major FPS improvements but there will be other areas you will see improvement. Skyrim swaps textures a lot as do more modern games...........

the guy with Black Ops ......... can't understand why that would lag. Either inferior parts, system needs adjustments or if you're online it's your connection. It's not that demanding in comparison to other games.

 

[akamrcrack]

i would upgrade the card now the rest in the near future. 2014 DDR4 - 3000 will be the norm and new processors will be much faster and efficient then the already "aging" 25/2600's....... your system is still "good" enough to get you by.

I went from a 5850 to a 6950 2gig on 2 different set ups and both were a noticeable improvement. The 1gig was holding back the system under certain circumstances and in certain games forcing me to turn settings back.

you may not see major FPS improvements but there will be other areas you will see improvement. Skyrim swaps textures a lot as do more modern games...........

the guy with Black Ops ......... can't understand why that would lag. Either inferior parts, system needs adjustments or if you're online it's your connection. It's not that demanding in comparison to other games.

It may not be demanding graphically, but cpu wise its demanding enough to cripple a 965BE.

Played with a 6950 and 965BE and 2500K on black ops so I was able to see the bottleneck vanish once I installed the 2500K.

I blame poor optimization on the games part but still a good example of how the 965BE is slowly becoming more outdated.

Nothing was inferior, no system adjustments needed, 25/25 connection is not a problem on a <50ping server. Obviously I sat for awhile decyphering what the actual problem was, turns out the games poor optimizations + the 965BE = bottlenecked performance.

 

[Gmoney39513]

I am leaning toward getting a ATI 7950 now then purchasing a new cpu+mobo in the winter.
What would performance be like with this card and my x4 955 @ 3.6?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127667

 

[dosdecarnitas]

pretty much the same as the 670 i mean in the bottleneck issue

yeah better wait till Haswell (intel`s revised 22nm platform) platform i would say on the CPU+mobo thing

 

[jjb8675309]

just oc your your cpu to high hell and start praying

 

[Gmoney39513]

I managed to get it to 3.8 GHZ stable. Would this minimize the bottleneck?

 

[drums101]

yea it will minimize it...i really dont think the bottleneck is going to be that bad...you are prolly not gonna notice it if its even there

 

[bawchicawawa]

get the 670 now and see how it goes, it will give you more performance than upgrading cpu/mobo+ buying a gpu at the same price point (obviously). After that, wait for haswell.

 

[Gmoney39513]

Best answer selected by Gmoney39513.

 

[Gmoney39513]

Thanks for all your replies!

 

[Gmoney39513]

i would upgrade the card now the rest in the near future. 2014 DDR4 - 3000 will be the norm and new processors will be much faster and efficient then the already "aging" 25/2600's....... your system is still "good" enough to get you by.

I went from a 5850 to a 6950 2gig on 2 different set ups and both were a noticeable improvement. The 1gig was holding back the system under certain circumstances and in certain games forcing me to turn settings back.

you may not see major FPS improvements but there will be other areas you will see improvement. Skyrim swaps textures a lot as do more modern games...........

the guy with Black Ops ......... can't understand why that would lag. Either inferior parts, system needs adjustments or if you're online it's your connection. It's not that demanding in comparison to other games.

What do you mean swaps textures a lot?

 

[swifty_morgan]

when a video card doesn't have enough vram it off loads the textures to the HD causing lag.


this is old but the first sentence says it all......... tough to get some people to under stand this sometimes.

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=video%20card%20texture%20swapping&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CFcQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fforums.anandtech.com%2Fshowthread.php%3Ft%3D1113917&ei=VC4EUNWCL-iV0QGgiLjXBw&usg=AFQjCNHRONZ_pVsnOy8otPXIkxOv0YOXrw&cad=rja

 

[Mousemonkey]

This topic has been closed by Mousemonkey