graphics card v cpu choice

[no idea]

hi,
right,i am think of upgrading my graphics card to an evga gtx960,i am currently running an i3 4330 cpu,will this be ok with the above graphics card(my present cards fans seem loud in use), or will i need to upgrade this to an i5?...also is the coolermaster evo 212 cpu fan quieter than the stock fan?
my system is as follows,

gigabyte h87 hd3 mb
i3 4330 cpu, as stated
16 gb hyperx ram
250 gb samsung 850 evo ssd
wd 1 tb black harddrive
xfx r9 270

i am thinking the cpu should be more than capable but would be interested to hear peoples thoughts on the matter.
thanks

ps,i should say i have an evga 650 watt power supply.

 

[ak47jar3d]

Gtx 960 would get you more performance than getting an i5. I would consider r9 280x as its the best performing card at that price. Evo 212 is better than stock in thermals and acoustics.
Here is a great deal on the XFX Radeon R9 280X

R9-280X-TDFD 3GB 384-Bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 CrossFireX Support Double Dissipation Edition Video Card , http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=14-150-678

 

[Dunlop0078]

Yah an i3 should be plenty, I highly doubt it would bottleneck the 960 at all, maybe very slightly in some cpu heavy games but I doubt it would impact performance in any noticeable way. Yes a 212 evo will be quieter than the stock fan not so much at idle but under load im sure the hyper 212 evo would be quite a bit quieter.

 

[ChumP]

Yes your CPU should be fine , I recommend you going for a Graphics card upgrade. With your setup + that GPU you should run all the games at at high/ultra setting on 1080p

 

[zAustin]

An i3 would be a bit of a bottleneck for your system. I would recommend at least an i5 for gaming, and as for the Hyper 212, it can be quieter than the stock fan, it depends on how your CPU fan profile is setup really, but it will cool quite a bit better providing you have the case clearance for it.

 

[geofelt]

The R9-270 is a reasonably capable graphics card.
I fear that an upgrade to a GTX960 would not give you enough added graphics capability for gaming to leave you well satisfied. Perhaps GTX970 if you have a 500w psu.

The i3-4430 is very capable, and I would not expect it to be the limiting factor in most games.

Here is my stock approach to exploring those issues:

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To help clarify your CPU/GPU options, run these two tests:

a) Run YOUR games, but lower your resolution and eye candy.
If your FPS increases, it indicates that your cpu is strong enough to drive a better graphics configuration.
If your FPS stays the same, you are likely more cpu limited.

b) Limit your cpu, either by reducing the OC, or, in windows power management, limit the maximum cpu% to something like 70%.
Go to control panel/power options/change plan settings/change advanced power settings/processor power management/maximum processor state/
This will simulate what a lack of cpu power will do.
Conversely what a 30% improvement in core speed might do.

You should also experiment with removing one core. You can do this in the windows msconfig boot advanced options option. set the number of processors to less than you have.
This will tell you how sensitive your games are to the benefits of many cores.

If your FPS drops significantly, it is an indicator that your cpu is the limiting factor, and a cpu upgrade is in order.

It is possible that both tests are positive, indicating that you have a well balanced system, and both cpu and gpu need to be upgraded to get better gaming FPS.
-------------------------------------------------------------

The stock intel 92mm fan can get noisy when it spins up under heavy cpu load.
To that end, the 120mm fan on a hyper212 will be quieter, and the cooler is more efficient.
There are other similar coolers at that price.