Gtx 970- Is my cpu bottle necking it???

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Patrick_15

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Nov 22, 2015
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Recently i bought a GTX 970 and I installed it into my computer and I ran a game (fallout 4) I got around 25-30-40 frames on Ultra Where as i hear people getting 60+ frames smoothly . I don't know about my cpu but it is an amd phenom II X2 522 processor 3.4ghz which sucks i think? So is my cpu bottle necking the gtx 970 and is the reason why I'm getting such low frames on games? I see that my Gtx 970 is at 50% load And my crappy cpu is at 80-100% load. Basically i paired a 400 dollar card to a 50 dollar cpu is that bad and if so how much loss of performance is it? If i would pair my card with an Intel I5 4690k would it boost my fps by a ton?

Edit: or should i get an amd 8320 or 8350
 
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My mother board supports amd cpu so I guess i need to buy another motherboard for an i5 4690k.
My budget is around 300 dollars maybe a little more
 
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because with H170 motherboard he would also need to get new DDR4 RAM aswell as motherboard and CPU?
 
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Yes, you have a serious CPU bottleneck. You'd go from 50% to 100% GPU usage if upgrading from that chip to a new i5. This combo would give you the latest i5 chip on a motherboard that accepts only standard DDR3. It's about $50 over budget, but that's a pretty good compromise if it will work. Remember, also, that you'll probably need to get a new Windows key unless you can get Microsoft to transfer it to your new computer (usually a pain).

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-6600K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($254.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z170-HD3 DDR3 ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($88.98 @ Directron)

Total: $343.97
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-11-23 12:16 EST-0500
 
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No, it's either DDR3 or DDR4, and regular DDR3 is not recommended for Skylake. Skylake's memory controller is only rated for DDR3L 1.35V RAM, regular DDR3, which is 1.5 or 1.65V will work, but you run the risk of burning out the CPU's memory controller over long term usage. As such, if you're looking to re-use old DDR3, it's probably best to look at a Haswell build rather than Skylake.
 
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That sounds right in theory, but I'm sure the board manufacturers thought about that. You could easily put something on the board to regulate current in order to keep the memory controller safe. Plus the DDR3 version of the board got a recommendation from Tom's

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gigabyte-z170-hd3-lga-1151-intel-motherboard,4279.html
 
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It's not so much about current regulation as it is about overvoltage. Regular DDR3 will overvolt the memory controller unless you drop the speed and loosen the timings to allow it to run stable at 1.35V. The damage isn't something that is done instantaneously, more degradation over time, and the motherboard vendors aren't responsible for warranty support on the memory controller, as it is on the CPU, so they don't really care. Intel has issued a statement about this that regular DDR3 is not supported by Skylake and using it does risk damaging the processor.
 
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Hmm, well I guess there's that consideration, then. In that case, Skylake would put OP $89 over budget because of the RAM. Note also that the MB below is mATX. Just chose the cheapest one that's compatible.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-6600K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($254.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-H110M-A Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($54.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Mushkin Blackline 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 Memory ($79.99 @ Newegg)

Total: $389.97
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-11-23 13:07 EST-0500
 
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Do NOT buy an i5 6600k and a H110 motherboard!

There are ddr3 LGA1151 boards, but that defeats half of the purpose of going Skylake anyway.



I stand by this as the best bang for buck


PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4590 3.3GHz Quad-Core Processor ($179.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock H97M PRO4 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $239.98
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-11-23 21:26 EST-0500
 
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No one will doubt Haswell's a decent value, but it's inaccurate to say all H110 boards are DDR3.

The H110 board I linked is a DDR4 2133 Mhz board by default, which can be adjusted for DDR4 that's faster or slower, and it doesn't even accept DDR3. The board's made for core i7, i5, and i3 Skylake CPUs. That's the reason I put it down as the cheapest possible motherboard for the 6600k. Here's the manual page (need to download):

http://www.gigabyte.us/products/product-page.aspx?pid=5589&dl=1&RWD=0#manual

And here's the CPU support list (can view in browser):

http://www.gigabyte.us/support-downloads/cpu-support-popup.aspx?pid=5589

You're not going to win any overclocking competitions with this board, but it will get you into Skyland and have the option of doing some overclocking on a K chip for less than $60.
 
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A valid choice also. My disclaimer from the beginning was the board listed was there only because it was the cheapest option available. As for overclocking, what you say alings with my understanding, but I was just going based off what the motherboard's manual said about having a multiplier adjustment.

It has an option on p.19 that says "CPU Clock Ratio
Allows you to alter the clock ratio for the installed CPU. The adjustable range is dependent on the CPU being installed."

That might be out of spec, but it's listed in the manual.
 
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Yes you defo need a new cpu and mobo. SADLY (despite AMD fans screams to the contrary) AMD are sadly behind the times.. They still get the prize for budget minded gamers, however for serious power and tech make the move to Intel. Like the good people said above the Z170 is agood choice but that means you would have to change from ddr3 to ddr4 ram!
 
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Ahh, I think I misread "There are ddr3 lga1151 boards . . ." as "These are ddr3 lga1151 boards . . . ." In any case, I don't think OP will go the wrong direction with all that's on here. :)
 
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That is a huge bottleneck. Unfortunately AMD hasn't released any cpus in the last few years that can compete with current Intel i5 and i7 models. I would suggest at least a 4000 series i5, do not go with the AM3 cpus. They are already several years old and the AM3 socket will probably be abandoned pretty soon so there's not much hope for an upgrade there. Maybe try to get an i5 6500 if you want to be current, but motherboards supporting the new socket tend to be very expensive and you may have to buy new ram. If you want to save on costs I would get something slightly older like an i5 4570 (which is the one I have), motherboards for the LGA1150 socket are very inexpensive and you will not need to buy new ram. You do not need a k variants to get sufficient performance out of the 970, the unlocked cpus tend to be around 30 to 40 dollars more expensive and you will need a good overclocking chip set to get the most out of the overclock.

Below is a link to a an i5 4590 cpu and a Gigabyte motherboard that will run you a little over $200.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.2488878

If you have close to $300 or $400 to spend you could get the most recent generation of i5 processors.

current i5s
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&IsNodeId=1&N=100007671%2050001157%20600005579%20600565702&cm_sp=Cat_CPU-Processors_1-_-Visnav-_-Intel-i5_3

 
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