Cpu and Gpu Bottleneck

[Gadoran]

Alright so ive had a gtx 960 right 2gb
its not terrible for the 150 that i spent on it (obv could be better but itll do)
i also had an athlon x4 860k which is a garbage cpu from my experience
I would like to upgrade my cpu to an i5 6600k
i want to keep my gpu the same
will this cause issues?
i know the 960 will bottleneck the 6600k but will it be a big deal
like will the 960 keep the 6600k from working to its full potential in things non game related
or how does a bottleneck like that work
alternately could someone build me a pc build under or around 500 that could run things like fallout 4, playerunknown's battleground, and bf1
keep in mind i do not need an OS or any peripherals
new storage would be optimal but not needed (my dads an IT guy and he can get me as many 500gb hdds as i need)

 

[Froge]

You should be good with that, I can see if you're bottlenecking with the athlon but you shouldn't when you swap to the i5 6600k

 

[atomicWAR]

The athlon will bottleneck but the i5 6600k should be good in most games with a GTX 960. Though there are a few like BF1, Ghost Recon Wildlands, Watch Dogs 2, yada yada that will take every core/thread you have and could bottle neck even a i5 6600K in certain situations. If you can I would get a 4C/8T CPU or better unless your budget strictly forbids it (AMD Ryzen has A LOT of to offer for cheap on this front from 4C/8T to 8C/16T...ideally something in the 6C/12T range).

 

[TerryLaze]

like will the 960 keep the 6600k from working to its full potential in things non game related

Non gaming related thing are unaffected,bottleneck in the sense that we use it means that the GPU can't reach it's full potential due to the CPU,which is nonesense since you can always raise settings and even resolutuion and get it running at ~100%.

 

[Gadoran]

in certain situations. If you can I would get a 4C/8T CPU or better unless your budget strictly forbids it (AMD Ryzen has A LOT of to offer for cheap on this front from 4C/8T to 8C/16T...ideally something in the 6C/12T range).

so what chipset would you reccommend specifically

also thank all of you for the help

 

[atomicWAR]

I would go with a AMD CPU since the price/performance is so good. Something like a R5 1600(X or non X if you want to overclock) which is a 6C/12T CPU. If you only plan on running a single GPU then any of the B370 motherboards would be good and they still allow you to overclock and crossfire(I prefer asus myself) or if you want the potential to run SLI the a X370 board would be best. If your budget allows you could even get the R7 1700-1800X for an 8C/16T CPU.

 

[bharat2284]

Bottleneck doesn't mean your gtx will slow down gaming experience. It does mean that your gpu will, when combined with a cpu will be able to use its full power while gaming and other stuffs in which case your 6600k is great as TerryLaz and Gadoran said

 

[atomicWAR]

Almost forgot the easiest/cheapest fix if you already have an motherboard for your i5 would be to get a i7 6700K/7700K. While the 7700K would require a bios update first both cpus are 4C/8T and you could drop them into the motherboard you have (again assuming you have it already). Also as stated in most games the i5 6600K is fine. It is only a few games where you would face a bottleneck. If it were me I would consider an i7 if you have a board so it could buy you a couple years until you truly need to upgrade to a more heavily threaded CPU. If you don't have a board already i would go the Ryzen route.

 

[Gadoran]

I dont have the mobo for the i5
but im willing to go for an i7 or a ryzen
any reccommendations for mobos and specific chips
im relatively new at this

 

[atomicWAR]

If it were me I would go Ryzen. Cheaper platform, more cores/threads for the dollar, and with the exception of gaming Ryzen outperforms Intel's i7 7700K (including in game streaming) in multi-threaded apps. And even though Ryzen isn't quite as good as Intel at gaming at the moment, Devs are patching games quickly and it won't be the case much longer. Look at Rise of the Tomb raider. At Ryzen's launch it got 120FPS now it is pushing 160FPS. If you can afford it I would go with the R7 1800X...even the R7 1700 is solid if you overclock it. Both chips have 8C/16T. If you want to save a little more you can go with an R5 1600(X or not) with 6C/12T and put the extra cash towards a new GPU or fast M.2 drive.

 

[atomicWAR]

Oh as for motherboards for Ryzen...X370 chipsets are best, especially if you want to use SLI ever. Motherboards like the Asus Crosshair or Asustech Fatality Professional edition or even the Taichi.

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813132987 has wireless AC built in
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813132963 without AC but same board as above
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157756
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157757
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128997

CPUs

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819113430 Highest clocked 8 core can OC
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819113428 Entry level 8 core but still able to OC
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819113434 highest clocked 6 core chip can OC
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819113435 entry level 6 core chip and able to OC

 

[goldstone77]

$418 for CPU, Motherboard, and RAM just switch out your old board. The 1600 should be able to overclock to 3.8GHz with stock CPU cooler. The GT 960 is equivalent to the 1050Ti in performance(ref. http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gpu-hierarchy,4388.html) Save up some money, and just upgrade your video card when prices become reasonable again. Right now video cards are expensive, because of crypto mining.
AMD - Ryzen 5 1600 3.2GHz 6-Core Processor
ASRock - Fatal1ty AB350 Gaming K4 ATX AM4 Motherboard
G.Skill - Ripjaws V Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3000 Memory
https://pcpartpicker.com/list/tPVkZ8

 

[mdd1963]

An entry level gaming GPU will always be best at 1080P or below, but, I'd expect it to be playable for most titles if not on Ultra Quality, etc....

If looking to upgrade MB/CPU and RAM, I'd not go with a 6600K/7600K today; either spring the extra $100 for the hyperthreaded 7700K, or, opt for B350 and R5/1600 or R7/1700...