Appropriate CPU for new GPU

[nicknack125]

At the moment, I'm considering buying the EVGA - NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660 FTW Signature 2 2GB GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 GPU / any other variant of GPU in the $250 range, and want to know if my current CPU will bottleneck this GPU or not, and if so, what CPU do you suggest?

Specs:
CPU: Pentium(R) Dual-Core CPU E5400 @ 2.70GHz (2 CPUs), ~2.7GHz

GPU: ATI Radeon HD 4800 Series

MOBO: P5KPL AM EPU

PSU supplies a solid 400 watts.

 

[cmi86]

Yes it will bottleneck that 660. The problem is is that you are on the old 775 socket on a board that still uses DDR2 and doesn't overclock. It makes it really hard for me to suggest anything besides a new motherboard/cpu/ram combo
400W is also definitely on the low side for a 660

 

[nicknack125]

Yes it will bottleneck that 660. The problem is is that you are on the old 775 socket on a board that still uses DDR2 and doesn't overclock. It makes it really hard for me to suggest anything besides a new motherboard/cpu/ram combo
400W is also definitely on the low side for a 660

got it. So you suggest an entirely new build for the 660?

 

[cmi86]

Yes it will bottleneck that 660. The problem is is that you are on the old 775 socket on a board that still uses DDR2 and doesn't overclock. It makes it really hard for me to suggest anything besides a new motherboard/cpu/ram combo
400W is also definitely on the low side for a 660

got it. So you suggest an entirely new build for the 660?

Yes I do. Would you like some assistance sourcing out parts ?

 

[nicknack125]

Yes it will bottleneck that 660. The problem is is that you are on the old 775 socket on a board that still uses DDR2 and doesn't overclock. It makes it really hard for me to suggest anything besides a new motherboard/cpu/ram combo
400W is also definitely on the low side for a 660

got it. So you suggest an entirely new build for the 660?

Yes I do. Would you like some assistance sourcing out parts ?

That'd be quite helpful, thanks.

 

[cmi86]

Yes it will bottleneck that 660. The problem is is that you are on the old 775 socket on a board that still uses DDR2 and doesn't overclock. It makes it really hard for me to suggest anything besides a new motherboard/cpu/ram combo
400W is also definitely on the low side for a 660

got it. So you suggest an entirely new build for the 660?

Yes I do. Would you like some assistance sourcing out parts ?

That'd be quite helpful, thanks.

Ok what is your budget ?
Do you need a copy of windows?
Will you be keeping your case, hard drive and cd drive ?
Will you be overclocking ?
Are there any special components you wish to have factored into the build ?

 

[nicknack125]

Yes it will bottleneck that 660. The problem is is that you are on the old 775 socket on a board that still uses DDR2 and doesn't overclock. It makes it really hard for me to suggest anything besides a new motherboard/cpu/ram combo
400W is also definitely on the low side for a 660

got it. So you suggest an entirely new build for the 660?

Yes I do. Would you like some assistance sourcing out parts ?

That'd be quite helpful, thanks.

Ok what is your budget ?
Do you need a copy of windows?
Will you be keeping your case, hard drive and cd drive ?
Will you be overclocking ?
Are there any special components you wish to have factored into the build ?

I would like to spend around $400, but raising it to 500/600 is fine. I have both a 32 and 64 bit copy of windows, will be keeping my case/HDD/CD drive, and will overclock if it'll help save money and not kill the hardware. Also, no special components I want factored in.

 

[cmi86]

Yes it will bottleneck that 660. The problem is is that you are on the old 775 socket on a board that still uses DDR2 and doesn't overclock. It makes it really hard for me to suggest anything besides a new motherboard/cpu/ram combo
400W is also definitely on the low side for a 660

got it. So you suggest an entirely new build for the 660?

Yes I do. Would you like some assistance sourcing out parts ?

That'd be quite helpful, thanks.

Ok what is your budget ?
Do you need a copy of windows?
Will you be keeping your case, hard drive and cd drive ?
Will you be overclocking ?
Are there any special components you wish to have factored into the build ?

I would like to spend around $400, but raising it to 500/600 is fine. I have both a 32 and 64 bit copy of windows, will be keeping my case/HDD/CD drive, and will overclock if it'll help save money and not kill the hardware. Also, no special components I want factored in.

Ok I will put something together for you. Alos I forgot to ask, any intensive tasks besides gaming ? And what case do you have ?

 

[AustinS]

I can also pick out a build so tjat you have two options, I am just wondering if the $250 660 is included in the 400-500 dollar budget? Because that would drastically change the component choice, as well as if you have a preference for AMD or Intel?

 

[nicknack125]

Yes it will bottleneck that 660. The problem is is that you are on the old 775 socket on a board that still uses DDR2 and doesn't overclock. It makes it really hard for me to suggest anything besides a new motherboard/cpu/ram combo
400W is also definitely on the low side for a 660

got it. So you suggest an entirely new build for the 660?

Yes I do. Would you like some assistance sourcing out parts ?

That'd be quite helpful, thanks.

Ok what is your budget ?
Do you need a copy of windows?
Will you be keeping your case, hard drive and cd drive ?
Will you be overclocking ?
Are there any special components you wish to have factored into the build ?

I would like to spend around $400, but raising it to 500/600 is fine. I have both a 32 and 64 bit copy of windows, will be keeping my case/HDD/CD drive, and will overclock if it'll help save money and not kill the hardware. Also, no special components I want factored in.

Ok I will put something together for you. Alos I forgot to ask, any intensive tasks besides gaming ? And what case do you have ?

Besides gaming, nothing intensive. I have the Cooler Master Elite 335 U case.

 

[nicknack125]

I can also pick out a build so tjat you have two options, I am just wondering if the $250 660 is included in the 400-500 dollar budget? Because that would drastically change the component choice, as well as if you have a preference for AMD or Intel?

Include 660 in price, and no preference.

 

[cmi86]

This is the build I came up with. It's closer to $600 but I feel it is comprised of very high quality components from reputable manufacturers and feel the cost to be well worth it. I also factored in an aftermarket cooler to allow overclocking.
This is a high end AMD system, next I will propose an intel solution.

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/VxE8

 

[cmi86]

This is the intel build which is centered around a slightly more capable CPU than the previous build but due to somewhat higher price points for intel hardware I had to drop the quality slightly on the RAM from crucial to gskill and the video card from Asus to PNY. I wont skimp on motherboards and power supplies so those stay the same high quality Asus and Seasonic brands.
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/VxKc This build came out to about $650

Both builds will deliver a great gaming experience and you honestly probably would never notice the difference between the AMD build for $600 and the Intel for $650. Also the 1155 socket that this intel build is on will be discontinued in about a month after intel's next generation cpu "haswell" is released. I did not suggest a build on this architecture as haswell has been shown to only be about 10% faster and will be considerably more expensive at launch than current generation CPU's

 

[AustinS]

(http://pcpartpicker.com/p/VxL9)
I have chosen these parts mostly for value, but also for the ease of building them. I chose the msi board over the asus variant for of the 970 chipset because of the orientarion of the sata ports. They will be much easier to use, as well as the price was roughly $10 less. I went with the AMD FX4300  cpu for the simple reason of bang for the buck, you could spend 15-25 dollars more and get the 6 core processor ($25 will get you essentially a 6300 with a higher clock speed [faster] called the 6350 and for 15 more you could get a 6300 which is at 3.6ghz as to the 6350's 3.9ghz. The 6300 also uses a bit less power at 95w as to 125w).
I also did not opt for the six core because even though it has more cores, modern games can only utilize 2 cores, with the exception of Crysis 3 and probably many other upcoming titles, like battlefield 4.So if you would like, get the hex-core processor and have fun in task manager!

Then of course I chose the memory because it was a very good price, and I went with 8 gigs over 4 because nowadays you will be hurting with only 4 gigs.

Hope this helped. I would love to see a build log if you are up to the challenge too? Hope it turns out well and I wish you the best of luck!

Oh and one more note, if you are planning on using AMD's stock cooler, that is fine, but if you would like to go with an aftermarket solution you should go with either the Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO for $30 or go the pre-filled watercooling route with the Corsair H50 for $50. I almost forgot as well, you will not need a new psu, 400 watts is plenty for the type of system you will be running, even with the higher power of the 6350.

Austin

 

[AustinS]

As you must have seen in cmi86's build he put the pny 660 which was significantly cheaper than the other manufacturer's solutions. Another thing to note, the 400 watt power supply will be fine as long as you do not overclock. Overclocking raises power usage a lot and will exceed your psu's limits under load. I do have to say though that you are wrong cmi86. When you say that Haswell will be "only" 10% faster, that is not true, because that was what was expected of Haswell. It follows Moore's law and nobody was thinking it would be a major leap forward in time. It also will not be more expensive. It may cost a measly $10 more for the Ivy Bridge successors (3570k to 4570k, etc.) but it will be just like the price change from Sandy Bridge to Ivy Bridge and all of the other generational changes Intel has made.

Austin

 

[cmi86]

As you must have seen in cmi86's build he put the pny 660 which was significantly cheaper than the other manufacturer's solutions. Another thing to note, the 400 watt power supply will be fine as long as you do not overclock. Overclocking raises power usage a lot and will exceed your psu's limits under load. I do have to say though that you are wrong cmi86. When you say that Haswell will be "only" 10% faster, that is not true, because that was what was expected of Haswell. It follows Moore's law and nobody was thinking it would be a major leap forward in time. It also will not be more expensive. It may cost a measly $10 more for the Ivy Bridge successors (3570k to 4570k, etc.) but it will be just like the price change from Sandy Bridge to Ivy Bridge and all of the other generational changes Intel has made.

Austin

I selected the PNY 660 in the intel build because due to the higher price of the 3570K I had to trim somewhere to still keep somewhat near the OP's budget (which i fully informed him of the lower quality and my reason for doing so) I put an ASUS 660SC DirectCU2 which is one of the highest rated 660's made into the AMD build because the budget allowed for it. You don't buy FX's and K series CPU's not to overclock them. Just like you don't put cheap 400W PSU's in high performance machines.
PS: Haswell has already been fully benched and shows roughly a 10% IPC increase.

 

[AustinS]

I realize full well that people do not buy k series cpus if they are not going to overclock, you were the one that suggested the 3570k. However, it is perfectly fine to not ocerclock an fx cpu as there is no locked version of them. I also fully understand the importance for a quality psu (I did like your seasonic choice by the way) but if he is trying to stay within a tight budget, and only if necessary go beyond, hee has no need for the psu. It will not increase fps, it will increase efficiency and safety, but he also does not need 600watts. It is a sub 300 system and maybe slightly over at load.

And just to be clear. I absolutely love ASUS cards. I actually recommend them every chance I get. But when on a budget like that, it just doeant work. I myself have recommended and then built systems for friends withASUS' s DcuII cooler. I know all of this stuff, I am just trying to stay as close to the $400 as possible.
I also would like to point out that when I wass talking about Haswell, I have read the reviews, I have seen an engineering sample on video, and I have seen the benchmarks. I was simply stating that it was recognized by the majority of people that it would 10% faster. And it was a correct assumption because Intel was not saying it was going to be amazing, but you made it seem as if that 10% was nothing. Which is not true, that is what i was trying to get across, I obviously did not do a good enough job of it though, and you might even think that Haswell will be "way" more expensive, which by the way is rubbish. Get your facts straight.

Austin

 

[cmi86]

I realize full well that people do not buy k series cpus if they are not going to overclock, you were the one that suggested the 3570k. However, it is perfectly fine to not ocerclock an fx cpu as there is no locked version of them. I also fully understand the importance for a quality psu (I did like your seasonic choice by the way) but if he is trying to stay within a tight budget, and only if necessary go beyond, hee has no need for the psu. It will not increase fps, it will increase efficiency and safety, but he also does not need 600watts. It is a sub 300 system and maybe slightly over at load.

And just to be clear. I absolutely love ASUS cards. I actually recommend them every chance I get. But when on a budget like that, it just doeant work. I myself have recommended and then built systems for friends withASUS' s DcuII cooler. I know all of this stuff, I am just trying to stay as close to the $400 as possible.
I also would like to point out that when I wass talking about Haswell, I have read the reviews, I have seen an engineering sample on video, and I have seen the benchmarks. I was simply stating that it was recognized by the majority of people that it would 10% faster. And it was a correct assumption because Intel was not saying it was going to be amazing, but you made it seem as if that 10% was nothing. Which is not true, that is what i was trying to get across, I obviously did not do a good enough job of it though, and you might even think that Haswell will be "way" more expensive, which by the way is rubbish. Get your facts straight.

Austin

He picked my build get over it. You have only been on this site for two days and this is how you conduct yourself ? I have been on this site for over 2 1/2 years and it doesn't say veteran++ legacy under my name for no reason. BTW I think you completely missed the part where he said he could up the budget to $500-600 if necessary. I took that as an opportunity to source a high quality well rounded machine suited to the performance GPU it would house not some skimped together $400 POS just to accommodate the GPU in question as absolutely cheaply as humanly possible and then bet it all on some crap no name 400W PSU. Now I am not going to sit here and argue with you in an open forum. I will simply advise you to no longer pick fights with senior members because your sad the the OP picked their build over yours.

 

[AustinS]

First of all, I only joined this forum because I was trying it out as an alternative to the Linus Tech Tips forum. I was a major contributer there, but when they made the switch from vbulletin to whatever forum base they use now, I lost my account, all my posts. So I decided to come here. I realized that you have been here for hat long. I saw the profile. I was not trying to pick a fight, but to simply straighten out the facts that you had misinterpreted. And I couldn't care less whose build he chose, are you really that frugal and childish that you have to make yourself feel better by saying that? Come on. This site is for helping others with rechnological issues, not pointing out that you are somehow "better" because the op liked your take on his issue better.

Austin

 

[AustinS]

First of all, I only joined this forum because I was trying it out as an alternative to the Linus Tech Tips forum. I was a major contributer there, but when they made the switch from vbulletin to whatever forum base they use now, I lost my account, all my posts. So I decided to come here. I realized that you have been here for hat long. I saw the profile. I was not trying to pick a fight, but to simply straighten out the facts that you had misinterpreted. And I couldn't care less whose build he chose, are you really that frugal and childish that you have to make yourself feel better by saying that? Come on. This site is for helping others with rechnological issues, not pointing out that you are somehow "better" because the op liked your take on his issue better.

Austin