Geforce GTX 960

ronkib

Honorable
Feb 21, 2015
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10,540
Hi everyone,

I'm doing some research on graphics cards, because I'm planning on buying a new PC. This PC is going to be meant for gaming, anyway so my eye has falling on the Geforce GTX 960. Is this graphics card suitable for gaming? and so, what is the best PC setup to have? What Ram, processor, power supply, anything.
I hope you have some good information for me.
 
Solution


The GTX 960 is a mid range processor. I got my r9 290 for 200 bucks when it was on sale.

Here is what i recommend:

CPU :: FX 8320
GPU :: r9 290
RAM :: any gskill ram with at least 8 gigs.
PSU :: at least 750 watt of your choice.
case: at least 11 inches open room for your gpu.

this is the same exact setup I have except that I have a 1200 watt PSU. I get...


The GTX 960 is a mid range processor. I got my r9 290 for 200 bucks when it was on sale.

Here is what i recommend:

CPU :: FX 8320
GPU :: r9 290
RAM :: any gskill ram with at least 8 gigs.
PSU :: at least 750 watt of your choice.
case: at least 11 inches open room for your gpu.

this is the same exact setup I have except that I have a 1200 watt PSU. I get ~60+ fps on BF4 on ultra
 
Solution
I don't recommend an AMD CPU if you can avoid it. Pretty big performance loss compared to a i5-4590 for many games.

GPU performance:
https://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Gigabyte/GTX_960_G1_Gaming/28.html

Use that as a guide. I recommend starting with a rough budget using an i5-4590 as the core and see if you have enough money for a $200 or better video card. Then get the best card for PERFORMANCE, features etc.

My recommendation is something like:

i5-4590 + suitable 1150 socket motherboard
8GB (2x4GB) DDR3
+ best graphics card you can afford

rest of system... etc

(A GTX960 is comparable to my GTX680 "TOP" card and I have no pressing need to upgrade. I can max or near-max most games at 1080p. An R9-290 is faster but also more expensive. You can get a GTX960 for about $200+ and a quality R9-290 for $280+ roughly)

The R9-280X is in a weird spot. A GTX960 can overclock fairly well so is "almost" as good. It sits between the GTX960 and R9-290 in terms of price (and VRAM amount). There are also other factors like NVidia vs AMD features and the fact the GTX960 is quieter.

So PROS and CONS but a lot comes down to BUDGET.
 


if you're on a budget PC then definitely go with amd. Unless you have a lot of money to put on a cpu I'd go on an intel like @photonboy stated.
 
Unfortunately, fact of the matter remains that in a great many games, even a dual core g3258 will out perform any FX chip. That performance per individual core gap is just a bear. So where budget is concerned I'd gear to an unlocked pentium. Either pair it with a z97 in order to have a clear upgrade path later on, or an H81 board to adhere even closer to a budget

^off topic

I sorries
 


If you're on any type of budget for a gaming PC you don't start with a CPU and build around it. You focus on the GPU and spend what's left over on your CPU.
 


I would not say there's a specific starting point, just shoot at things till you get a good balanced build.
 


The gtx960 is a sweet spot card aimed at the 1080p market, meaning if you have a 22-28 inch monitor that outputs at 1080p resolution then this card is ideally suited to you. It should be able to play most games on high/ultra settings with 40fps+

Processor wise a decent quad core i5 such as the 4690k or equivilant AMD CPU would be more than ample. As for memory you want 8GB DDR3 1600MHz (CL9) 1.5v ... Corsair Vengeance is always a good choice for ram.

Power supply wise a decent 600w unit will be more than enough for that system, a good all-rounder is the Corsair cx600m. Also if your budget can stretch to it ensure you pick a z97 chipset motherboard.

Best of luck with your build!
 


That's what I'm saying. If there was less than $200 left over I'd look at the build again to see if a cheaper CPU made sense but I'm not going to recommend any AMD CPU for a $200+ graphics card since you'll see a lot of bottlenecking.

There's an OPTIMAL BALANCE of course but I think an i5-4590 + $200+ graphics card is a pretty good way to go.

(also, starting with the GPU doesn't make any more sense. I wouldn't buy a $350 graphics card then find out I had $80 for a CPU left over and go shopping for the best $80 CPU)
 


....CHALLENGE ACCEPTED

AMD A8-6600K. Congratulations, you are now capable of smoothly playing Battlefield 4 with your budget APU and Good graphics card.

CHALLENGE CONQUERED.
 
Only problem there is they run a lot hotter than the 9xx nvidia series. Much more so in dual gpu set-ups. Also commands a much higher consistent output from your power supply. They really tweaked these 960's so that they'd be perfect for budget oriented people to pair with cheap CX430's
 

I meant if you are on extreme budget where i5 is out of question.