Would an Intel i3 - 540 @ 3.06ghz bottleneck an ASUS GTX 660???

[Stephanie Cohen]

Hello everyone. Just wondering if an i3-540 will work well with a GTX 660. Will my processor hold back my graphics card? I'm planning to play games like Skyrim, Black ops 2, and crysis 3 at high performance on a 1920 x 1080 resolution. Thanks again everyone.

 

[Intel God]

Yeah you definitely need to overclock but that i3 should easily do 4ghz

 

[Stephanie Cohen]

So I need to overclock my CPU to make that GTX 660 work well?

 

[Intel God]

So I need to overclock my CPU to make that GTX 660 work well?

Yes. At stock clocks it will be held back

 

[Stephanie Cohen]

So I need to overclock my CPU to make that GTX 660 work well?

Yes. At stock clocks it will be held back

But would i still get decent performance if I don't overclock? Because I heard overclocking makes parts die faster.

 

[Intel God]

So I need to overclock my CPU to make that GTX 660 work well?

Yes. At stock clocks it will be held back

But would i still get decent performance if I don't overclock? Because I heard overclocking makes parts die faster.

Hard to tell what kind of performance you'll get

 

[10pies]

yeah, best way to know is to test it. though it is easy to assume that your old i3 will cause some bottleneck

 

[Stephanie Cohen]

Should I get an i5?

 

[10pies]

Should I get an i5?

I dont know your budget/needs, but the i5 is an all around reliable processor. I'd recommend Ivybridge or Haswell only, as the older generations are just overpriced. i5 is a BIG upgrade from the i3 in terms of gaming, especially with CPU intensive games. I'll also mention that getting a newer i5 is more future proof than just overclocking your i3.

 

[Stephanie Cohen]

Should I get an i5?

I dont know your budget/needs, but the i5 is an all around reliable processor. I'd recommend Ivybridge or Haswell only, as the older generations are just overpriced. i5 is a BIG upgrade from the i3 in terms of gaming, especially with CPU intensive games. I'll also mention that getting a newer i5 is more future proof than just overclocking your i3.

Would you consider Skrim, black ops 2, battlefield4, and crysis 4 CPU intensive games?

 

[10pies]

Battlefield 3, skyrim, guild wars 2, and most RTS games are CPU intensive. COD games dont demand much CPU, yet dont demand that much GPU either. most modern games are GPU intensive. if you're on a low budget, id just recommend an ivybridge i3. with hyperthreading it can get some pretty nice results. if money isnt an issue, then i5 for sure. $123 for a 3rd gen i3 right here:
http://www.outletpc.com/rx2293-bx80637i33220-intel-core-i3-3220.html?utm_source=rx2293-bx80637i33220-intel-core-i3-3220&utm_medium=shopping%2Bengine&utm_campaign=pcpartpicker&utm_content=Intel%2B-%2BCPUs%20%28Processors%29%20%3E%20Intel%20Core%20i3