Best Card for Phenom II X4 980BE

[1405]

The title says it all. I'm wondering what would be the best card for the PhIIX4 980. Assume I don't overclock. Price isn't really an issue.

Phenom II X4 980BE
MSI 785GM-E65
2 x 4GB 1600MHZ DDR3
1080p resolution
Main use; gaming

 

[damric]

For 1080p, something along the lines of a GTX 760 or Radeon 270.

 

[Traciatim]

I have a slightly overclocked 965BE with a 7850 and they match up pretty well, so you'd be shooting for something in that range or better. More video power will just let you crank up settings like AA without worrying as much of impacts since the video is going to be waiting around for the slow as frozen molasses processor.

 

[swifty_morgan]

750ti/6950/7850......( all 2gig cards )........... anything more is a waste. should have mentioned monitor res.

 

[damric]

He did. 1080p.

 

[Rationale]

Something along the lines of a 7870 Ghz, 660 TI, R9 270, or GTX 760 at most. Higher would introduce a CPU bottleneck in several games.

 

[1405]

I have a slightly overclocked 965BE with a 7850 and they match up pretty well, so you'd be shooting for something in that range or better. More video power will just let you crank up settings like AA without worrying as much of impacts since the video is going to be waiting around for the slow as frozen molasses processor.

Slow as molasses? Tom's Hierarchy chart still ranks the 980 as a 2nd tier processor for gaming:
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-cpu-review-overclock,3106-5.html
But your point is well taken. Thanks.

...should have mentioned monitor res.

I did... 1080p

 

[swifty_morgan]

Something along the lines of a 7870 Ghz, 660 TI, R9 270, or GTX 760 at most. Higher would introduce a CPU bottleneck in several games.

way overkill. look at his cpu.

 

[1405]

For 1080p, something along the lines of a GTX 760 or Radeon 270.

GTX 760? I like that
Even a little bottleneck would be acceptable if it meant more FPS and lower frametimes.

 

[Traciatim]

Slow as molasses? Tom's Hierarchy chart still ranks the 980 as a 2nd tier processor for gaming:
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-cpu-review-overclock,3106-5.html
But your point is well taken. Thanks.

I suppose I'm just use to my 3570k, and the 965be I have running at 3.8Ghz just pales in comparison. Pretty much any CPU heavy game the 965be chugs like you're asking it to work miracles, most of the general use stuff and simple games it's fine though.

 

[1405]

Something along the lines of a 7870 Ghz, 660 TI, R9 270, or GTX 760 at most. Higher would introduce a CPU bottleneck in several games.

way overkill. look at his cpu.

So, the GTX 760 is too much?

 

[Rationale]

Something along the lines of a 7870 Ghz, 660 TI, R9 270, or GTX 760 at most. Higher would introduce a CPU bottleneck in several games.

way overkill. look at his cpu.

No. The 980 is far superior to a Phenom II 955, and my GTX 660 OC is bottlenecked by the 955 only to a minor extent. The 980 still performs about the same as an FX-6300, or perhaps you're not aware of that.

 

[Rationale]

Something along the lines of a 7870 Ghz, 660 TI, R9 270, or GTX 760 at most. Higher would introduce a CPU bottleneck in several games.

way overkill. look at his cpu.

So, the GTX 760 is too much?

No, I rather doubt that guy has actually checked the performance of a 980.

 

[damric]

lol no. Don't listen to these clowns.

You are going to have the same FPS dips (minimum FPS) in clogged areas of the game regardless of what GPU you choose.

The difference is that with a higher end GPU you will be able to push higher detail settings, more resolution, higher average FPS, and higher maximum FPS. So even with a Phenom II, your game will look better with a more powerful GPU than a weaker one.

 

[Rationale]

lol no. Don't listen to these clowns.

You are going to have the same FPS dips (minimum FPS) in clogged areas of the game regardless of what GPU you choose.

The difference is that with a higher end GPU you will be able to push higher detail settings, more resolution, higher average FPS, and higher maximum FPS. So even with a Phenom II, your game will look better with a more powerful GPU than a weaker one.

With all due respect, maximum FPS is irrelevant, it's minimum that matters. My framerate can fluctuate between 120 fps and 50 fps in Skyrim. I don't go around telling people I run it at 120 fps, because that would be misleading and the fact it occasionally gets that high isn't important.

For example, my Phenom II hits 100% in some parts of Far Cry 3. In those moments, the framerate dips to 35-40 fps. Having a stronger video card then would be pointless in FC3, because I'd keep dipping down to 35-40 fps each time my CPU maxed. A stronger video card would still raise my max FPS, but that wouldn't matter because the dips to 35 would still ruin it comparatively, so spending more than $200 on a video card in my case would have been mostly a waste of money in that game.

That's how bottlenecks work. They're not exactly the game-killing bogeyman people seem to fear, but they can really throw off the whole "bang for your buck" system of buying hardware.

We're trying to pick the GPU that would be the most efficient use of resources with a 980 here, not what would get his max fps higher at any cost. Trying to push his max FPS too far above his minimum isn't worth extra money.

 

[damric]

Perhaps you lost track of what the purpose of a GPU is:

to make the game look pretty.

 

[Rationale]

Perhaps you lost track of what the purpose of a GPU is:

to make the game look pretty.

Perhaps you forgot that normal people have budgets, and getting a GPU that far exceeds the CPU is a great way to entirely break a budget for diminishing returns.

 

[swifty_morgan]

it'll look pretty with a 5450. it'll play really well with a 750ti/7850-ish card. it'll be a big waste of money for ZERO performance gain going bigger than that.

 

[Rationale]

it'll look pretty with a 5450. it'll play really well with a 750ti/7850-ish card. it'll be a big waste of money for ZERO performance gain going bigger than that.

You clearly don't know what you're talking about. I used to have a 5450, and it couldn't manage above 20 fps in anything paired with a Phenom II 955. Switched to a 460, and performance quadrupled. Switched to a 660, and performance jumped by 20% again, with the exception of certain CPU bound games.

A 980 can go a lot higher than a 750 TI or 7850. To say otherwise just makes you look very poorly informed.

 

[swifty_morgan]

said it would look good........which is something I copied from one of your replies. reread.


and by the way... you can put a Titan on a board with that cpu........... does it make sense? NIMO>

 

[Rationale]

said it would look good........which is something I copied from one of your replies. reread.


and by the way... you can put a Titan on a board with that cpu........... does it make sense? NIMO>

I didn't say anything about an HD 5450 before your post.
And who said anything about a Titan? I said diminishing returns would start at about an R9 270X or a 760, I never said anything about a Titan.

 

[swifty_morgan]

whatever.................

 

[1405]

Wow. I didn't mean to start an argument. Let me see if I understand this...
GTX 750 Ti/HD 7850 (R7-265) if I want the most cost efficient 1:1 CPU to GPU performance.
GTX 760/R9-270 if I don't mind spending more money for less return of the extra dollars spent.
Anything greater and the money goes totally wasted.

Does that sound about right?

 

[Traciatim]

Wow. I didn't mean to start an argument. Let me see if I understand this...
GTX 750 Ti/HD 7850 (R7-265) if I want the most cost efficient 1:1 CPU to GPU performance.
GTX 760/R9-270 if I don't mind spending more money for less return of the extra dollars spent.
Anything greater and the money goes totally wasted.

Does that sound about right?

Yep, sounds like a pretty solid plan.

 

[1405]

How does an HD 7950 sound for my processor? Too much?