A CPU that won't bottleneck an HD 7990 for gaming?

[Phi Karapiperis]

Hi,

Recently I started building a new PC. I originally wanted it to be on a short budget but after finding a bargain too good for to pass for an HD 7990, I might have to up that budget.

Anyway, I am looking for a CPU that simply won't bottleneck the GPU on CPU intensive games at 1080p resolutions and maybe a bit higher. Maybe a bit of 2 monitors also. I don't really have the need for anything extreme. I'm hoping you guys can help me short out my options.

Will the Xeon X5650+ line be any good? What I know for a fact, that stock it can run GTA V at max on 1080p at 30+FPS with a 7970 (not a bad feat for a 65$ current value CPU) but I guess it won't be enough for anything more?

 

[davidarad02]

that xeon cpu is pretty old and it will probably run very hot, but its a dang 6 core 12 thread CPU. I dont think it will have a problem powering this kind of a GPU.

just Curious, for how much did you get the 7990?

 

[st3v30]

IF you go with 7990 you will need like rly good PSU min 650W to be on safe side.
X5650 is still good CPU if you can hit nice OC on it, it will run like champ.
SO you will also need nice mobo which are more expensive than X5650 and good air cooler to push him past 3.5Ghz where he starts to shine with his 6 cores and 12 threads.

 

[ZENprime]

IF you go with 7990 you will need like rly good PSU min 650W to be on safe side.
X5650 is still good CPU if you can hit nice OC on it, it will run like champ.
SO you will also need nice mobo which are more expensive than X5650 and good air cooler to push him past 3.5Ghz where he starts to shine with his 6 cores and 12 threads.

X5650 is not unlocked which means you can not overclock it easily

to get the maximum from a dual gpu (7990) please at least get modern i5/8350
See cpu chart for GTA V running SLI 980 :

The problem with the x5650 is it is old + low clock speed , newer CPUs have higher single core speed .
7990 should get at least 73 minimum fps in 1080p very high quality with zero CPU bottleneck

 

[Phi Karapiperis]

just Curious, for how much did you get the 7990?

230euro

IF you go with 7990 you will need like rly good PSU min 650W to be on safe side.
X5650 is still good CPU if you can hit nice OC on it, it will run like champ.
SO you will also need nice mobo which are more expensive than X5650 and good air cooler to push him past 3.5Ghz where he starts to shine with his 6 cores and 12 threads.

Already went with it And also the PSU should be 750w minimum! Pretty power hungry!
I have never been into overclocking, I like life longevity and I heard it hurts it. If the CPU lasts for years with a good air cooler I am willing to try OCing for sure yeah.

 

[davidarad02]

just Curious, for how much did you get the 7990?

230euro

oh wow, thats an insane deal considering that some 280x go for that price these days...

 

[Phi Karapiperis]

The problem with the x5650 is it is old + low clock speed , newer CPUs have higher single core speed .

what about the x5670 then? With some overclocking maybe? Still cheaper than a modern i5. :-/

 

[davidarad02]

The problem with the x5650 is it is old + low clock speed , newer CPUs have higher single core speed .

what about the x5670 then? With some overclocking maybe? Still cheaper than a modern i5. :-/

yes its just a slight megahertz bump. even a haswell core i3 will perform better.

 

[Phi Karapiperis]

yes its just a slight megahertz bump. even a haswell core i3 will perform better.

So you think a FX 8350 will do the trick? After that everything is so expensive!

 

[davidarad02]

yes its just a slight megahertz bump. even a haswell core i3 will perform better.

So you think a FX 8350 will do the trick? After that everything is so expensive!

you can get a intel core i5 4460 for the same price as the 8350, and it will perform much better.

 

[Phi Karapiperis]

you can get a intel core i5 4460 for the same price as the 8350, and it will perform much better.

Hmm yes you are right. And 1150 motherboards are generally cheaper than AM3+.

Wouldn't only 4 cores limit the system too much though in doing anything else more than gaming? Like running a stream? Or having something open on another screen? Excuse my persistiveness, just trying to find a middle ground

 

[DubbleClick]

Four strong cores wipe the floor with 8 weak fx/old xeon cores. You can think of it as four wrestlers fighting eight ten year old childs (in games).

Edit: Just to prevent people throwing around fanboy everywhere, yes, this is over the top. But you get the general idea. An I5 4460is noticeable better than a fx 9590 in games and takes less of a performance hit when recording using cpu encoding (which you should NOT do). It actually features intel quick sync with its iGPU which lets you record your screen without taking a performance hit, but even without it still fares a lot better than any other option below $230 (cpu + motherboard) - or anything amd currently offers anyway.

 

[Phi Karapiperis]

Thanks for all the answers. Getting closer to making a decision. I just noticed in ZENprimes first graph that the older i7 2600k is just below the more modern i5 4670k. That would mean it'd be higher than the 4460 right? Plus it's unlocked. Right now on ebay the 2600k and the 4460 are going for about the same price.

 

[Phi Karapiperis]

Sorry for bumping this again. I just felt that I should mention that I tested the HD 7990 on a pc with a stock xeon x5650. GTA V run about at 70+ FPS average while the CPU was only at 50%. Old tech but wouldn't bottleneck afterall. Now for more CPU intensive games that might be a different story.

 

[st3v30]

Have you looked at GPU usage while you where in game?? GTA V is one of the most CPU intensive games when you inside city.
I bet with OC that FPS will jump even more.

 

[Phi Karapiperis]

Have you looked at GPU usage while you where in game?? GTA V is one of the most CPU intensive games when you inside city.
I bet with OC that FPS will jump even more.

GPU was at full actually over 90%. But it was a hasty test really, plug, windows update drivers and play.