good cpu for gtx 970

[cazam19]

My friend has a 970 and wants a good cpu for around $200-300ish. his mobo is Asus F2A85-M PRO A85 FM2 R

 

[DonkeyOatie]

That motherboard is mostly for APUs. I think that the most efficient CPU will be an Athlon X4 760K at under $100. However, it will limit the GTX 970's performance, even if overclocked over 4.2Ghz. Can they use a different motherboard/CPU combination?

 

[RazerZ]

Agreed.

I would suggest a Haswell i5 and a matching motherboard to go along with it. It should be in the $200-$300 budget (assuming it's in USD).

 

[geofelt]

There is no good FM2 based cpu that is appropriate for a GTX970 class card.
I would look for a i5 of some sort and an appropriate motherboard.
The combo will fit your budget.
Read this tom's article:
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-cpu-review-overclock,3106-3.html

 

[DonkeyOatie]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4460 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($179.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock H97M PRO4 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $249.98
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-12-29 13:26 EST-0500

 

[cazam19]

So he said he will, what is the best combination for around $300?

 

[DonkeyOatie]

Will the system be used for anything other than gaming?

 

[geofelt]

DonkeyOatey posted a reasonable combo.

If you wanted stronger, I would suggest a i5-4690K and a Z97 based motherboard.
A conservative overclock gets you to 4.0, even with the stock cooler.
If you live near a microcenter, they will sell you a i5-4690K for $200
A Z97 based motherboard should be around $100; most any will do.

 

[DonkeyOatie]

Yes, for $290, Microcenter will sell you (in store) an i5-4690K and an Asus Z97 Extreme 4 motherboard but that is unnecessary for the GTX970. The i5 4460 is plenty.

 

[cazam19]

Thank you guys