GTX 970 bottleneck

[MyNameIsDaan]

So I have $340 to spend and am considering to buy the GTX 970. Although I have a fairly old CPU that I've been using, the AMD FX-6120. Knowing it is a fairly old CPU, my question is, will it bottleneck the GTX 970? I mainly want to play Skyrim with insane amounts of mods. My CPU has the stock cooler that came with it, so I cant overclock unless I find an AMAZING CPU cooler for under $35.

 

[dgothi]

your CPU should be fine but depend on what kind of RAM, motherboard and PSU do you have?

 

[HEXiT]

yes it will bottleneck and by some degree with games like skyrim.
to get the best from a 970 you will need a fx 8 series or better. even then you will be about 10% down on on fps across the board. compared to what you would get if you went with an intel based platform.

 

[photonboy]

1) The FX-8350 will definitely bottleneck SKYRIM. That's been well tested.

2) The FX-8350 will provide a slight improvement versus an FX-6120 though it's likely just mainly the higher FREQUENCY. Note the following benchmark differences between an FX-8350, FX-8150 and an i5-3570K.
http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/2012/11/06/amd-fx-8350-review/6

Note that even at 4.8GHz the FX-8350 isn't even close to a modern Intel CPU (and 4th gen Haswell is a bit better than the 3rd gen).

More benchmarks (The highest benchmark above has no FXAA enabled but I'm surprised that the difference would be that great):
http://techreport.com/review/23750/amd-fx-8350-processor-reviewed/5
or
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/fx-8350-vishera-review,3328-14.html

3) The FX-6120 with a weaker graphics card seems to bottleneck above 60FPS at 1080p on HIGH/Ultra (probably slightly higher with unofficial patches).

*Most MODS are demanding on the graphics card especially so you might still be able to maintain 60FPS while also using certain mods. Be careful though because even the best machines can be bogged down by certain graphic mods.

SUMMARY:
**So your CPU will definitely be a bottleneck in the sense that a better Intel CPU would produce a higher frame rate. However, what is most important is that you should be able to run at a solid 60FPS with a few mods running which is quite smooth so it's not really an issue for this game.

Make sure to use the Nexus Mod Manager and apply the Unofficial patches for Skyrim, Dragonborn etc. as well as use FRAPS when adding mods to ensure you maintain a solid 60FPS if possible. You can get a bit of STUTTER if you drop below this.

I think you can force ADAPTIVE VSYNC with the NVidia Control Panel which would disable VSYNC if you drop below 60FPS (for 60Hz monitor). I suggest doing that to prevent the STUTTER you get if you can't achieve 60FPS but have VSYNC enabled (it's forced on by default).

 

[photonboy]

Update:
In case it wasn't clear, none of the AMD CPU's can maintain above 60FPS at all times which always means stutter with VSYNC enabled. So I again suggest using the "Adaptive VSYNC" method. I assume it works fine however I never drop below 60FPS so I can't verify this. It's basically a trade-off with getting some screen tearing (VSYNC OFF) instead of stuttering (VSYNC ON but below 60FPS on 60Hz monitor).

MFAA:
I'd look into that perhaps when it's offered for Skyrim if it isn't already (I don't have a new GTX970 or GTX980). However with the CPU being the main bottleneck for Skyrim it may not show any benefit as this primarily reduces GPU processing.

GPU vs CPU:
Again, if not clear your main bottleneck is the CPU thus you can apply GPU intensive mods without much frame rate hit. Once the GPU becomes overloaded it could instead become the main bottleneck. For example SWEETFX graphics mods or whatever.

 

[dgothi]

well, from what people said yes it will bottleneck! don't worry what people said because not really serious bottleneck... nothing major. it will work with your cpu. Nvidia Geforce 970 is equal or little better to AMD's radeon 290x.

 

[HEXiT]

you just gotta love it when people go off there gut and not of empirical evidence.
if your getting 61 fps with an 8350 (wich is a stronger cpu than the 6120 by some margin) and 120 with a 3770k with the same gpu then you can assume the cpu is a bottleneck and i dunno about you but if im getting up 50% less fps i would consider it quite a bad bottleneck.

 

[dgothi]

you just gotta love it when people go off there gut and not of empirical evidence.
if your getting 61 fps with an 8350 (wich is a stronger cpu than the 6120 by some margin) and 120 with a 3770k with the same gpu then you can assume the cpu is a bottleneck and i dunno about you but if im getting up 50% less fps i would consider it quite a bad bottleneck.

Check out this video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nj0_6RbCHA4

AMD 7850k APU is weak than AMD FX-6120 but weak AMD 7850k can run well with Radeon 290x with multi-montiors! So, I assume FX 6120 will run with Nvidia 970 without trouble.

Of course, Intel CPU is better... that is too obvious but he can buy GPU now... I am sure AMD might have new FX in 2016 (AM4 socket?)

Save your money, Just get either Radeon 280 / 290 or Nvidia 970. it will run with AMD FX-6120. this will improve your current CPU and new GPU over your old GPU. Upgrade your cpu/motherboard later. You will be fine.

 

[HEXiT]

yeah its only working because he has loaded up the gpu with 5 screens. if there was just 1 the apu would crumple under the strain not to mention it was running mantel. which offloads tasks that would normally be handled by the cpu onto the gpu.
the 290x isnt a gtx970 and the 970 doesnt use mantle so try and run that apu with a 970 and you will see a totaly different outcome.

 

[MyNameIsDaan]

So lets say I get Far Cry 4 with my CPU and the GTX 970 will it bottleneck? And buying an R9 290 wont save me money cause I know I'll be able to get a new CPU later o, but I just don't know when or what it will be.

 

[HEXiT]

farcry 4 is pretty gpu intensive so should aleviate some of the strain on the cpu (in single player) if you go online things will likely turn sour as you have to deal with other players on the map doing random things. all of which your cpu has to handle.
if your gonna get a new cpu in a few months then yeah go for it. if its gonna be 6 months or more than i would say buy something cheap to tide you over or stick with what you already have till you can get a better cpu along with a new gpu.

 

[MyNameIsDaan]

So even the FX 8350 wont get past the performance of the Intel 3570K?

 

[dgothi]

yeah its only working because he has loaded up the gpu with 5 screens. if there was just 1 the apu would crumple under the strain not to mention it was running mantel. which offloads tasks that would normally be handled by the cpu onto the gpu.
the 290x isnt a gtx970 and the 970 doesnt use mantle so try and run that apu with a 970 and you will see a totaly different outcome.

Pay attention to Date...

This video demo was Published on Jan 14, 2014 so, Thief game doesn't support AMD mantle this time until Eidos Interactive release new update for theif game with mantle support on March 18th, 2014. right here for information: http://www.pcgamer.com/thiefs-mantle-update-incoming-on-march-18th/

Obvious, he demo it without mantle enable for theif game ;-)

I am getting sick of people keeping saying AMD cpu is bottleneck.... I did read forum about 8350 cpu is bottleneck blah blah.... that is full of ****

Intel always better, yeah but AMD FX is still strong CPU today...however, not for last longer. Good luck.

 

[barto]

So even the FX 8350 wont get past the performance of the Intel 3570K?

Those two CPUs are pretty similar in performance (Intel slightly ahead). You'd probably see a difference in games that are purely single threaded. Intel CPUs are pretty strong in single threaded applications whereas AMD has a slight advantage in Multithreaded applications. The problem is Intel's latest CPU release closed that gap.

However, the 6120 would definitely hold back a 970 GTX from it's full potential.

 

[MyNameIsDaan]

So lets say I have the GTX 970 right now, and my 6120 is holding back the amazing potential that the card has, and I can upgrade my 6120 to an 8350 or 8320 within 2 to 4 months. With my ASUS M5A97 motherboard, If I overclock any of the two cards will it still be holding back tons of much needed performance?

 

[barto]

Yes and you should do exactly that. The first generation FX processors are trash (no offense). They really didn't bring anything to the table over Phenoms. The Asus M5A97 has pretty good cooling on it. It has a 4 power phase design. (Typically more power phases the high clocks, lower temps and more stable OC can be achieved).

Make sure you flash the BIOS to the latest version (or FX8300 supporting version). Buy an aftermarket cooler (probably $30) and overclock. You'll be in a good spot.