Would an i5-3570K bottleneck a 7870?

[Guest]

I am building my first rig and am planning on buying an i5-3570K and an XFX 7870. Would the CPU bottleneck my GPU?

Also, would a 7870 be a good idea to get if my resolution is 1680x1050?

 

[COLGeek]

No on the bottleneck and yes for the resolution. Have fun!

 

[chugot9218]

He beat me to it, I dont think the i5 3570k will bottleneck any non-sli/xfire setup.

 

[Sakkura]

The 7870 will bottleneck the Core i5-3570k.

 

[hapkido]

The 7870 will bottleneck the Core i5-3570k.

What?

 

[Sunius]

What sakkura said is correct. The HD 7870 will be the limiting factor in performance in a PC with i5-3570K.

 

[hapkido]

What sakkura said is correct. The HD 7870 will be the limiting factor in performance in a PC with i5-3570K.

That's not a bottleneck...

That means you do not have a CPU bottleneck. GPUs aren't going to "bottleneck" CPUs because they don't pass work to the CPU.

Limiting factor in frames per second != bottleneck

 

[Sunius]

Bottleneck is exactly that.

A bottleneck is a phenomenon where the performance or capacity of an entire system is limited by a single or limited number of components or resources.

 

[Guest]

Bottleneck is exactly that.

A bottleneck is a phenomenon where the performance or capacity of an entire system is limited by a single or limited number of components or resources.

So I shouldn't get anything stronger than a 7870 with an i5-3570K? Did I get that right?

 

[hapkido]

So I shouldn't get anything stronger than a 7870 with an i5-3570K? Did I get that right?

Don't listen to them.

*ANY* GPU will be fine with an i5-3570k. It's a very strong CPU. Anyone who says a 7870 will bottleneck an IB i5 has no idea what they're talking about.

 

[shamsmu]

So I shouldn't get anything stronger than a 7870 with an i5-3570K? Did I get that right?

no that means your i5 3570k is powerful enough work with even a hd7970/gtx680-

its your hd7870 that pales in comparison to the i5 3570k, I wouldn't use the word bottleneck tho

 

[Sunius]

No, there isn't a graphics card in the world that wouldn't limit i5-3570K, as that's the best CPU in the world. Bottleneck is an exaggerated term. There's a bottleneck in every system. It doesn't mean that the limited performance will be bad. It just means, well, that it's not unlimited performance (infinite fps anybody?). I hope that clears it up a bit .

Anyone who says a 7870 will bottleneck an IB i5 has no idea what they're talking about.

I think you have no idea yourself.

 

[shamsmu]

No, there isn't a graphics card in the world that wouldn't limit i5-3570K, as that's the best CPU in the world. Bottleneck is an exaggerated term. There's a bottleneck in every system. It doesn't mean that the limited performance will be bad. It just means, well, that it's not unlimited performance (infinite fps anybody?). I hope that clears it up a bit .

I thought it was the cpu that always bottlenecks a gpu and hence we overclock our cpu to minimise the amount of bottlenecks as much as possible.

 

[hapkido]

I think you have no idea yourself.

Getting better performance with a better graphics card does not mean the graphics card is a "bottleneck". A GPU cannot bottleneck a CPU since it does not assign work to the CPU. The CPU sends work to the GPU, the GPU does the work and sends it back. The bottleneck can only be on the CPU between those two components.

 

[unoriginal1]

I thought it was the cpu that always bottlenecks a gpu and hence we overclock our cpu to minimise the amount of bottlenecks as much as possible.

It can go either way. One of the misconceptions that 90% of people seem to have is that gaming is strictly GPU intensive. (not always true) There are games that are more CPU intensive...

But what Sunius is saying and right about is that a "Bottleneck" IS any component that limits the system as a wholes ability to perform. Doesn't mean that it performs bad. But hes right saying that a 7870 is the "bottleneck" The processor is capable of handling more... It can stay on par with a 680 or 690. (if you had a 680 fps would be higher, hence the 7870 is the limiting factor)

Sometimes the HDD will be the bottleneck, Or the Ram, Or the video card, Or the cpu, Even the psu can be.... It's different for each system depending entirely upon the application being used and what it utilizes.

@hapkido saying they have no idea what they are talking about is a bit extreme lol. Perhaps you should look up the definition and fully understand what is being talked about first.

 

[Sakkura]

I thought it was the cpu that always bottlenecks a gpu and hence we overclock our cpu to minimise the amount of bottlenecks as much as possible.

It's just as often the GPU that is the bottleneck, especially in FPS games. Something like BF3 singleplayer for example, there's no difference between a Pentium and a Core i7, the framerate scales almost directly with GPU performance.

Anyway, the point is: There's nothing wrong with pairing a Core i5-3570k and a Radeon HD 7870. You just have the headroom to upgrade to an even more powerful graphics card later, without the CPU holding it back.

 

[i8myhippo]

Sunius defined bottleneck exactly. It does not matter which information is going where, the bottleneck is at the weakest part of the system. If you're playing a game and your GPU clocks are running at 99%, then you have a GPU bottleneck: The GPU is the weakest part of the system when running that program.

To the OP, do not worry about the 3570k's performance, it can power ANY card you can buy right now.

 

[i8myhippo]

Oh, and Tom's just gave the 3570k the seal of approval AGAIN.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-cpu-review-overclock,3106-4.html

 

[Sakkura]

Limiting factor in frames per second != bottleneck

You know what factor limits the flow of liquid when you're pouring out of a bottle? The bottleneck. Limiting factor = bottleneck.

 

[shamsmu]

@unoriginal1 and Sakkura

Yeah I understand that it can go either way depending on the process you are running but I was looking into a general picture- a cpu is usually the limiting factor when you compare it to any gaming gpu.

lol according to what sunius said, there will always be a bottleneck in every system. Cause with any gpu and gpu, one of them would always be a limiting factor. Technically, they dont come out with their matching counterparts.

 

[hapkido]

Saying a GPU bottlenecks a CPU is like saying your car's tires bottleneck its engine.

The terms "bottleneck" and "limiting factor" do not mean the same thing.

Bottleneck is when one component adversely (key word) affects the performance of another component -- like liquid flowing slowly out of a bottle with a narrow neck.

A slow GPU is not a bottleneck, it's a limiting factor. It is limiting the performance of your computer, but it is not adversely affecting the performance of any other part -- it's just slow. In the bottle example, the GPU is the bottle and the CPU is the neck.

Conversely, a slow CPU can adversely affect the performance of other components. So please, stop using the term bottleneck when you mean limiting factor.

 

[unoriginal1]

Saying a GPU bottlenecks a CPU is like saying your car's tires bottleneck its engine.

The terms "bottleneck" and "limiting factor" do not mean the same thing.

Bottleneck is when one component adversely (key word) affects the performance of another component -- like liquid flowing slowly out of a bottle with a narrow neck.
.

It "Adversely" Affects the performance of the entire "System" . But it's mute points.

Btw not to be a complete smart ass. But the type of tires on a car defiantly affect the performance overall. You can gain a good .5 - 1.5 secs on your quarter mile with some nice slicks vs street tires .

 

[hapkido]

It "Adversely" Affects the performance of the entire "System" . But it's mute points.

Btw not to be a complete smart ass. But the type of tires on a car defiantly affect the performance overall. You can gain a good .5 - 1.5 secs on your quarter mile with some nice slicks vs street tires .

This is exactly what I'm talking about. You'd get better overall performance with better tires (or a better GPU), but it's not a bottleneck -- it's a limiting factor. It's not affecting the performance of your engine (or your CPU) by itself.

 

[unoriginal1]

This is exactly what I'm talking about. You'd get better overall performance with better tires (or a better GPU), but it's not a bottleneck -- it's a limiting factor. It's not affecting the performance of your engine (or your CPU) by itself.

I see what your saying. I can agree with you on terming it as a "limiting factor".

 

[Orlean]

As stated no you will not see any problems running that setup, I'm running the same thing at the same resolution. Although I would recommend another card manufacture, if you search around from user experience those Double D cards are known to run very high VRM temps due to the cooler lacking in that area, it was a very interesting read but I can't find the website that reviewed it for the life of me but they reviewed the 7950 & 7970 if I remember correctly and all the major non-reference coolers along with the reference cooler using a thermal camera and the XFX non reference cooler was not any better than a plain AMD cooler that exhausts air out the back specifically in regards to the VRM area.