Best Minimum CPU for GTX 960

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You shouldn't buy that i3 because you can pay a around 20-30 more and get an i5 4440 quad core which is a lot more powerful and future proof for games. Otherwise, if you can't afford the i5, then go for an i3 4150 which is a lot cheaper and you will not notice much difference in games. Keep in mind new games, like GTA V do not support dual core processors, even with hyperthreading.
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An i3 is the minimum I would recommend, and ideally, you should push for an i5. At that price point, it's difficult to recommend AMD CPUs.

If you're looking at the GTX 960, I assume that the resolution you'll be playing at will be 1920x1080? If the 4GB version of the 960 is too expensive then the 2GB one will do just fine.
 
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Yes I'll be gaming at 1080p, and I don't see myself getting another TV or monitor any time soon. The only 4 GB version of the 960 I have found is the ftw edition by EVGA, and it's 70 dollars more on amazon than the plain 960 from them which is $200. Is it worth it? In the distant future I might get another 960 for sli, does that affect how much memory I need? And what model i3 do you recommend?
 
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Any i3 around 3.0Ghz would be fine. You will only need the 4gb model if you play heavily moded games or high resolutions. Regular 1080p should be fine now with 2gb. Keep in mind that the 4gb card is still 128bit bus.

I don't think its worth paying $270 for that card. This R9 290 crushes the gtx 960 and is greater for higher resolutions above 1080p also. It has 4GB and costs 250 after rebate. But you'll need a good psu for it.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127774&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-_-na-_-na-_-na&cm_sp=&AID=10446076&PID=3938566&SID=
 
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I don't know why anybody would buy a GTX960 since the R9 280 is just as good for $165 right now and the R9 280x is $190ish all the time.

To anser the original question, the Athlon 860k is the very minimum I would recommend with any video card of this caliber, and really an i3 would be much better.
 
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I've been looking at Intel i3's like you guys say. The top of the line is I think the 4370. It costs $150. Is it worth it compared to other i3 processors, or other kinds of processors for $150? I'd like to spend as little as possible, but I don't want a PC that is only good for games and slow otherwise.
 
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And the r9 280x seems like a good deal, but I won't have physx with it, and physx runs horrible off of a CPU. I like lots of effects in my games, it draws you in.
 
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^ that comment is so true i bought a R9 280 xfx double dissipation 3gb card for 159.99 after rebate,and its WAYYY better then any gtx 960,Gtx 960 is an overprice piece of poop. 😛
 
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It's is not worth buying the $150 i3 when you can pay around 20 more and get an i5 which is more future proof because of its quad cores. I would recommend it if you can pay, but then just go with a lower end i3. You will find no difference in gaming between the lower i3 and $150.

 
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You shouldn't buy that i3 because you can pay a around 20-30 more and get an i5 4440 quad core which is a lot more powerful and future proof for games. Otherwise, if you can't afford the i5, then go for an i3 4150 which is a lot cheaper and you will not notice much difference in games. Keep in mind new games, like GTA V do not support dual core processors, even with hyperthreading.
 
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I would go with the i3-4170 because it will do better than i5s that are under 200$ and if you hyperthread it will make it a quad core so its basically an i5 with 3.7ghz that's not overclockble and you can run gta v and any other game out there with hyperthreading
 
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Don't think the 4gb version can actually use the 4gb, since the 970 can only8 use 3.5 of its 4gb properly.
 
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Yes it has the same memory map the 970 does, but it's still a good idea to buy the 4GB version over the 2GB version, games these days comes with higher detailed textures and whatnot so 2GB is hitting the limit.
 
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Hi guys my pc

Motherboard: ASUS Sabertooth X58
cpu: İntel i7-950
Gcard:ASUS GXT560 Tİ DirectCU II
Hdd: Samsung 250GB 840 EVO
Ram: Corsair Vengeance 3x4gb 1600mhz ddr3 ram
Psu: Thermatake Toughpower XT 675w 80bronz

i want to buy this graphic card asus GTX960 ROG STRIX OC EDITION GDDR5 4GB . But my cpu first generation i7 950 not oc , so Is it enough? İ play all game 1080p ultra option. My cpu make it the bottleneck?
 
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Based on the Tom's Hardware CPU Hierarchy chart the i7-950 is slightly worse than a modern haswell or skylake i3, which i and many others consider to be the minimum cpu for a gtx 960. So, there may be a bottleneck, but it shouldnt be that dramatic. Perhaps now is the time retire your i7 950 though. Its outclassed by many other offerings nowadays. Just my two cents. Sorry if i necroed 😛

 
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Don't think the 4gb version can actually use the 4gb, since the 970 can only8 use 3.5 of its 4gb properly.[/quotemsg]

Actually I am using 2 of the 960 4Gb for rendering in Blender and it uses all 4Gb on a regular basis, so I think it just depends on what you are using it for.

 
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