GTX 1060 with an i3-2120?

[PainlessDeath09]

I have a Dell inspiron 660 with an aging 650 Ti which I plan to upgrade. I will be buying a gigabyte GTX 1060 Windforce OC along with a Corsair 550W PSU. I do not want any card lower than the 1060. How much of a bottleneck will my i3-2120(3.3GHz) be? I have a 900p Acer monitor which I do not plan to upgrade. I will be gaming in 1600x900 only and no 1080p.

Specs:
i3-2120@ 3.3GHZ
8GB DDR3 Ram at 1600MHZ

 

[camrenperry7704]

I would recommend upgrading to a faster CPU the I3 2120 will most likely be a bottleneck because it just won't be able to keep up. I recommend going with a used quad core Intel core I5 2500k. It is overclock able, it won't be a bottleneck, and it is compatible with your motherboard so you don't have to make any other changes.

 

[geofelt]

Your i3-2120 may be more capable than you think.
Run this test:
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.

 

[PainlessDeath09]

I would recommend upgrading to a faster CPU the I3 2120 will most likely be a bottleneck because it just won't be able to keep up. I recommend going with a used quad core Intel core I5 2500k. It is overclock able, it won't be a bottleneck, and it is compatible with your motherboard so you don't have to make any other changes.

But you see, I absolutely can't get a new processor coz I'm already way over my budget with this card. So will the bottleneck major problem that needs to be dealt with? Coz 900p gaming isn't that demanding really.

 

[PainlessDeath09]

Your i3-2120 may be more capable than you think.
Run this test:
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.

Yes thanks, I will do so as soon as I get the card.

 

[geofelt]

I suggested the test BEFORE you buy so that you can better assess if you have a cpu limitation or not.

And... corsair power supplies can be of varying quality.
Exactly which one do you have in mind?

GTX1060 will run on a good 430w psu.

 

[PainlessDeath09]

I suggested the test BEFORE you buy so that you can better assess if you have a cpu limitation or not.

And... corsair power supplies can be of varying quality.
Exactly which one do you have in mind?

GTX1060 will run on a good 430w psu.

I was gonna get a Corsair VS550 550-W for about $60 where I live. And yes here are some benchmarks I've conducted yesterday, forgot to get take screenshots as I was in a hurry lol.
All of these were in 1600x900:

NFS-MW 2012
Minimum possible-95FPS
Ultra 900p-32FPS

Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3
Low settings-121FPS
Ultra 900p- 58FPS

Portal 2
Low Settings-124FPS
Ultra-76FPS

Crysis 2
Minimum Possible-83FPS
Ultra-39FPS

Call of Duty 4 Modern Warfare
Low-137FPS
Ultra-77FPS

Assasins Creed 4:Black Flag
Minimum:64FPS
Maximum:27FPS

Crysis 3
Minimum: 53fps
Minimum: 89FPS

Sorry for the long post lol. So there you go, that seems to be like my CPU is alright. How much of an FPS increase could I expect with the 1060?

The PSU:
https://www.amazon.in/Corsair-VS550-550-Watt-Power-Supply/dp/B00DQ5OB4C?tag=googinhydr18418-21

 

[geofelt]

Your tests were very useful.
It indicates that your primary limitation is more graphics than cpu.

GTX1060 represents a significant 3 tier jump.
Note that the 6gb version is stronger. The difference is not so much as the extra 3gb vram as the increase in the number of cuda cores.

The corsair VS series are not highly regarded.
You need a 450w psu for the GTX1060.
I have no problem overprovisioning a PSU a bit. Say 20%.
It will allow for a stronger future graphics card upgrade.
It will run cooler, quieter, and more efficiently in the middle third of it's range.
A PSU will only use the wattage demanded of it, regardless of it's max capability.
Try to buy a tier 1 or 2 unit from a quality list such as this:
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/id-2547993/psu-tier-list.html
Seasonic is always good.
Not on the list but highly regarded is the new Seasonic focus series.
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151204

 

[PainlessDeath09]

Your tests were very useful.
It indicates that your primary limitation is more graphics than cpu.

GTX1060 represents a significant 3 tier jump.
Note that the 6gb version is stronger. The difference is not so much as the extra 3gb vram as the increase in the number of cuda cores.

The corsair VS series are not highly regarded.
You need a 450w psu for the GTX1060.
I have no problem overprovisioning a PSU a bit. Say 20%.
It will allow for a stronger future graphics card upgrade.
It will run cooler, quieter, and more efficiently in the middle third of it's range.
A PSU will only use the wattage demanded of it, regardless of it's max capability.
Try to buy a tier 1 or 2 unit from a quality list such as this:
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/id-2547993/psu-tier-list.html
Seasonic is always good.
Not on the list but highly regarded is the new Seasonic focus series.
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151204

Sure, thanks a ton. I will look into the PSU you mentioned as availability is a bit of a problem here. And if so, then 6GB is the way for me. Cheers!