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Should i stick to the rule?

Last response: in Graphics & Displays
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I have been looking around some of the forums, and I found some ppl say that the general rule fo gpus are spend twice the amount you spent on a cpu. First off is that true? Should I stick to it?

I was looking at $250 cards, 300 max. I am getting an i5 3570k, so going by the "rule" I sould spend about 400-450? If so, why?
Build: I5 3570k
Gigabyte z77 ds3h
Seagate barracuda 1tb
Corsair 650w enthusiast series
Kingston hyper x blue, 8 gb 1600mhz
coolermaster 430 case
either the Zalman high performance aluminum cpu cooler or coolermaster N520 or coolermaster v6gt
lite on 24x dvd reader writer
determined gcard based on price outcome of this thread


Any help would be great

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From what I've learned from a lot of reading as I've built my rig over time is that when your looking at a cpu like the i5 3570k its a very good cpu so you want a gpu that will compliment its performance per say and not one that holds it back, that being said you could go with a GTX 660 or a GTX 660ti or the AMD equivalent and be fine. Personally because I don't like the drivers of AMD id go Nvidia but thats me.
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I have a i5-3570K, its a great gaming CPU, your build looks good to me. I don't believe in any rule like that. I think you should go ahead and get the best VGA card you can afford be it the 660, or what ever. The GTX670 is a kick ass and would be great, but don't sell the farm to get it. AMD cards spec well and have good features. They are usually cheaper then nVidia cards in the same performance range. I have had bad luck with the AMD drivers and to me the nVidia cards seem smoother, but either would be a fine choice.

Makes sense, I was looking at a 7870 Tahiti le from powercolor, but if he drivers aren't amazing and they do draw a lot of power I think ill go with te 670, maybe the ftw. My only concern is they tend to have less ram and 256 bit interfaces, while 7950s and 7970s have 384 bit interfaces. does that really matter?

compnewb_12 said:
Makes sense, I was looking at a 7870 Tahiti le from powercolor, but if he drivers aren't amazing and they do draw a lot of power I think ill go with te 670, maybe the ftw. Thank you a lot for the help and quick responses.


Your welcome :)  btw I have two GTX 670 ftw and they are well worth it! its close to the same performance your can get with a GTX 680:)  good luck with your build hope you enjoy it!
Graphics card Expert

I thought the rule was to allocate half your gaming-build-budget for your GPU, because that will do most of the heavy lifting in most games.

An i3 paired with a 670 will generally game better than an i7 paired with a 640.

You might be better off (gaming-wise), if you go with a cheaper CPU and a more expensive GPU.


Graphics card Master

^ Basically the rule of thumb works like z1only said; spending twice on the CPU what you do on the GPU applies both ways...

It's why so many prebuilt "gaming" computers are so horrible - they have $300 core i7's (which don't help) and $80 graphics cards.

Basically what it comes down to is be smart. You'll get better gaming performance if you drop your CPU to get a better GPU if it's moving towards that ratio, and vice versa. It's a rough way of eliminating bottlenecks. (So with an i5-3570k you want a 670 or 7970, but if you can't afford both, then it's better to go with an i5-3330 and a 7950 than an i5-3570k and a 7870.)
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