Cpu Budget question

[Amangoel23]

What is the point of having a i5 4670k or 3570k or any of the 200-300-400$ model cpu which will just only provide 2-5 fps more than lets say a phenom II 6 cores oc'ed a bit like to 3.7ghz or 3.8ghz paired with a gtx 780,you'll save around 300$ on the cpu and the motherboard itself and you can even get a better gpu with that money if u feel like,isn't gpu the heart of a gaming rig and since a phenom II 6 cores oc'ed to that clock won't bottleneck anything whats the point of spending so much money on cpu.I see people advising to get such high end cpu while I wonder is the 300$ that I invest in cpu+motherboard really worth the 5-7 fps I'm getting? or should I just invest it in a better gpu like from a gtx 760 to 780ti ^^

 

[enemy1g]

The CPU isn't the major factor when determining FPS, but not having an adequate CPU will bottleneck your GPU, thus providing less FPS.

So that same phenom would likely see a good chunk of FPS less than an i5-4670k.

 

[apcs13]

Well, in a gaming rig, you always want the GPU to be the most powerful, and therefore expensive, component, but you don't want to have a bad CPU either, mostly because they are usually more costly to upgrade also. You always want to have a balanced rig however. If you look at my rig, you will see that I have a GTX 770 and an FX-6350 OC. This may appear fairly unbalanced to have a $350 GPU with a $150 CPU, but IMO AMD underprices their products for how well they perform, which is good for consumers. Sure, I am probably pretty GPU heavy, but that is good for a gaming rig. However, if I had to do it again, I might have coughed up the extra cash for an 8320 just to sleep easier at night. The general rule of thumb is spend the most on your GPU, then CPU. You don't want to have an i7-4770K with a GTX 650, but you don't want to have a GTX 780 Ti with a phenom as well. Finding a balance is key.

 

[Amangoel23]

But right now for eg using my rig
Its a phenom IIx6 1090t oc'ed to 3.8ghz paired with a r9 280x
I get around 2fps-3fps lower than other people with i5-3570k and fx 8300xx series,and my cpu load never goes above 40% so there really is no point in overclocking too.I'm just saying that people seem to go overboard with a cpu in a gaming rig pc and go with a lower graphic card when u can go with a cheaper motherboard along with a cheaper cpu with maybe a mild oc and a better graphic card which will boost ur fps significantly while staying in the same budget or even lesser

And lets say you had two choice
a Phenom Iix6 1100t with a decent overclocking mobo oc'ed to 4.0ghz
paired with a gtx 780ti

VS

A i5 4670k with a z87 chipset oc'ed to 4.4ghz
paired with a gtx 760 or even a 770

The phenom+gtx 780ti will win in 99% of the case except for starcraft 2

and the budget is the same.

 

[neieus]

In my opinion "chunk" is a bit of an exaggeration......While even I'll admit there is a difference it's never been a night and day situation...

 

[Vacka]

But right now for eg using my rig
Its a phenom IIx6 1090t oc'ed to 3.8ghz paired with a r9 280x
I get around 2fps-3fps lower than other people with i5-3570k and fx 8300xx series,and my cpu load never goes above 40% so there really is no point in overclocking too.I'm just saying that people seem to go overboard with a cpu in a gaming rig pc and go with a lower graphic card when u can go with a cheaper motherboard along with a cheaper cpu with maybe a mild oc and a better graphic card which will boost ur fps significantly while staying in the same budget or even lesser

And lets say you had two choice
a Phenom Iix6 1100t with a decent overclocking mobo oc'ed to 4.0ghz
paired with a gtx 780ti

VS

A i5 4670k with a z87 chipset oc'ed to 4.4ghz
paired with a gtx 760 or even a 770

The phenom+gtx 780ti will win in 99% of the case except for starcraft 2

What is going to happen when games are going to start using more cores and cpu power? You are going to eventually need to buy a new mobo and cpu which is gonna cost you quite alot. I would rather get a good cpu mobo and then get the gpu instead of having to uopgrade in the future. I bought a 8320 and a good mobo capable of oc, so I will be set with that for a while. As for gpu i bought a 7770ghz oc from sapphire and when i want more gpu I will simply buy a second one and I will crossfire.

 

[Amangoel23]

But right now for eg using my rig
Its a phenom IIx6 1090t oc'ed to 3.8ghz paired with a r9 280x
I get around 2fps-3fps lower than other people with i5-3570k and fx 8300xx series,and my cpu load never goes above 40% so there really is no point in overclocking too.I'm just saying that people seem to go overboard with a cpu in a gaming rig pc and go with a lower graphic card when u can go with a cheaper motherboard along with a cheaper cpu with maybe a mild oc and a better graphic card which will boost ur fps significantly while staying in the same budget or even lesser

And lets say you had two choice
a Phenom Iix6 1100t with a decent overclocking mobo oc'ed to 4.0ghz
paired with a gtx 780ti

VS

A i5 4670k with a z87 chipset oc'ed to 4.4ghz
paired with a gtx 760 or even a 770

The phenom+gtx 780ti will win in 99% of the case except for starcraft 2

What is going to happen when games are going to start using more cores and cpu power? You are going to eventually need to buy a new mobo and cpu which is gonna cost you quite alot. I would rather get a good cpu mobo and then get the gpu instead of having to uopgrade in the future. I bought a 8320 and a good mobo capable of oc, so I will be set with that for a while. As for gpu i bought a 7770ghz oc from sapphire and when i want more gpu I will simply buy a second one and I will crossfire.

So you are trying to say that the extra fps the 780ti provides over 760 or even a 770 paired with a 6 CORE phenom isn't enough to match a i5 4670k w/ 760/770.I'm just saying look at right now and for the next 2-3 years.And as crysis have proved us that the better the textures and graphics of a game the more gpu horsepower it needs,so in the future there will be better modeling better texture which is all related to graphic although I admit there will be tesselation but as of right now the comparable stats between a phenom 6 core against a i5 or a fx 8320 utilizing tesselation isn't that big of a difference.The only time the cpu will really shine in gaming is when there will be games hosting more than 100-150 players in one specific area.

 

[Amangoel23]

But right now for eg using my rig
Its a phenom IIx6 1090t oc'ed to 3.8ghz paired with a r9 280x
I get around 2fps-3fps lower than other people with i5-3570k and fx 8300xx series,and my cpu load never goes above 40% so there really is no point in overclocking too.I'm just saying that people seem to go overboard with a cpu in a gaming rig pc and go with a lower graphic card when u can go with a cheaper motherboard along with a cheaper cpu with maybe a mild oc and a better graphic card which will boost ur fps significantly while staying in the same budget or even lesser

And lets say you had two choice
a Phenom Iix6 1100t with a decent overclocking mobo oc'ed to 4.0ghz
paired with a gtx 780ti

VS

A i5 4670k with a z87 chipset oc'ed to 4.4ghz
paired with a gtx 760 or even a 770

The phenom+gtx 780ti will win in 99% of the case except for starcraft 2

What is going to happen when games are going to start using more cores and cpu power? You are going to eventually need to buy a new mobo and cpu which is gonna cost you quite alot. I would rather get a good cpu mobo and then get the gpu instead of having to uopgrade in the future. I bought a 8320 and a good mobo capable of oc, so I will be set with that for a while. As for gpu i bought a 7770ghz oc from sapphire and when i want more gpu I will simply buy a second one and I will crossfire.

And taking your rig as example
Let's take the example of battlefield 4
Thats amd optimized game which utilizes alot of cores correct?
Lets say you had gone with a fx 6300 series instead
with a cheaper motherboard
that would give you around what 200-250$? Okay 150$
That would give you enough for a r9 270x or even a r9 280x
That means you would see a boost of say double the fps
So basically just by shifting the main budget on the gpu instead of the cpu you have doubled your performance gain and this is in battlefield 4 which utilizes almost all the cores of the amd's cpu.

 

[Amangoel23]

And of course I'm talking about gaming pc not a video rendering or streaming or any other type of pc that is focused on anything else aside from gaming.

 

[Vacka]

And of course I'm talking about gaming pc not a video rendering or streaming or any other type of pc that is focused on anything else aside from gaming.

Yes, u r correct, but u are using an outdated chipset with the phenom. What are u possibly going to upgrade to in the future? The 6300 is in the am3+ slot, your slot isnt as future proof. And yes i also use my rig for editing.

 

[Amangoel23]

I was just taking your rig as an example and as many of the gaming enthusiast would benefit much more from a weaker cpu that doesn't bottleneck paired with a beast graphic card then vice versa also the next generation of amd's cpu are fm2 so amd3+ is highly anticipated to be dead now.

 

[Amangoel23]

Oh and also I can use the phenom IIx6 on the same motherboard that you have currently so thats 100$ saved

 

[Vacka]

I was just taking your rig as an example and as many of the gaming enthusiast would benefit much more from a weaker cpu that doesn't bottleneck paired with a beast graphic card then vice versa also the next generation of amd's cpu are fm2 so amd3+ is highly anticipated to be dead now.

Yes, but all the fm2 has been used for lately is apu, so it is pretty much useless if you are an enthusiast gamer. An enthusiast gamer level cpu would be considered the i5 or the 8350. Also, I just like to have a balance between all. No one likes to see a athlon 750k with a 280x.

 

[JOOK-D]

AMD CPUs do bottleneck in single-threaded scenarios, there is no doubt.

I'd rather have an i5 + GTX 770 than a i3 + GTX 780 (random example). I can turn down the eye candy to account for a worse GPU, but if my CPU's crap I'm going to get poor FPS regardless.