I5 3570K enough for dual 7970's?

[Murderotica926]

Title says it all. Simply wondering if an i5 3570K is a powerful enough CPU to handle 2 CrossFired HD7970s without bottlenecking, or if I will need something more powerful.

 

[rds1220]

Title says it all. Simply wondering if an i5 3570K is a powerful enough CPU to handle 2 CrossFired HD7970s without bottlenecking, or if I will need something more powerful.

Yes the Ivy Bridges I5 will do fine with two 7970's. It won't bottleneck or smother it in any way.

 

[montosaurous]

The i5 is basically the top gaming CPU since most games will never use more than 4 cores so pretty much. Even a 2500k would be fine.

 

[Kamen_BG]

The Core i5 3570K is enough even for 4 HD 7970's @ 1200MHZ core.
It will not bottleneck any graphics card configuration out right now, even at stock.

 

[popeyejohnson]

would an8320/50 run similar set ups without bottlenecks?

 

[montosaurous]

would an8320/50 run similar set ups without bottlenecks?

Eh at a certain point the FX 8350 will be a bottleneck but if you are paying for Crossfire 7970s then I would guess you want them for gaming, in which the 3570k whoops the 8350.

 

[FinneousPJ]

The FX would be fine too, with the same performance for most games.

 

[montosaurous]

The FX would be fine too, with the same performance for most games.

The i5 3570k performs better in most games because of it's higher per core performance.

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/697?vs=701

 

[FinneousPJ]

That benchmark is irrelevant. Nobody's gonna run 1680x1050 on dual 7970s.

 

[montosaurous]

That benchmark is irrelevant. Nobody's gonna run 1680x1050 on dual 7970s.

Eh I don't think resolution affects CPU as much as it does GPU. I still do see your point though. Benchmarks can be a little skewed sometimes but they still give you an idea of which CPU is better.

 

[FinneousPJ]

Exactly. As you increase the resolution the less difference you will see between the CPUs. At graphics loads fit for dual 7970s finding a CPU bottlenecked game will be tough - SC2 maybe since for whatever reason it favors Intel units.

 

[Murderotica926]

Best answer selected by Murderotica926.

 

[darksparten]

The Core i5 3570K is enough even for 4 HD 7970's @ 1200MHZ core.
It will not bottleneck any graphics card configuration out right now, even at stock.

There is no single CPU that cannot bottleneck 4 way SLI/CFX high end GPU. You need 2 CPUs.

 

[payturr]

There is no single CPU that cannot bottleneck 4 way SLI/CFX high end GPU. You need 2 CPUs.

Do you understand what you're saying? That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard. No one on earth has such a thing, and if they do it's a server & they aren't using that for gaming at all. A single GPU can have 4 way SLI/CFX fine - example would be a 3930K & 2 690s in SLI.

 

[darksparten]

Do you understand what you're saying? That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard. No one on earth has such a thing, and if they do it's a server & they aren't using that for gaming at all. A single GPU can have 4 way SLI/CFX fine - example would be a 3930K & 2 690s in SLI.

What I'm getting at is that if you have something that NEEDS 4 GPU it cannot run without bottlenecks on a single CPU, for instance if you were doing hardcore 3D with 4xQuadro/GTX then you couldn't use a single CPU you'd need 2 Xeons.

 

[payturr]

Most people just use 4 GPUs just for gaming with really high detail, to kinda future proof their systems, and run a massive multi monitor set up.

 

[darksparten]

There's no game that actually needs 4x GPU. Most games aren't even optimized for more than a single GPU, some can't even utilize more than a single GPU.

That's why you're able to run 4x 7970/GTX680 and not see bottlenecks because if you're just gaming the 4x GPU are never running at a capacity high enough to be bottlenecked.

 

[payturr]

There's no game that actually needs 4x GPU. Most games aren't even optimized for more than a single GPU, some can't even utilize more than a single GPU.

That's why you're able to run 4x 7970/GTX680 and not see bottlenecks because if you're just gaming the 4x GPU are never running at a capacity high enough to be bottlenecked.

I agree on the games & all - I don't believe in using CFX or SLI unless its a budget kind of upgrade. But I don't know about the bottleneck still - modern CPUs like the 3570K can handle plenty.

 

[expensivecomputer]

Now, I might be an isolated example, but i have an i7-3770K + 2 7970, and i tell you in Battlefield MULTIPLAYER (not singleplayer), my CPU is bottlenecked.

Here are some of the tests i've done and some of the results, just to share (food for thought).

1. When I disable hyperthreading, and limit it just to 4 cores and run Battlefield 3 multiplayer (64 player conquest maps), i use coretemp to monitor my CPU temp + usage. When playing, all FOUR CORES are at 98-99%.

2. When I OVERCLOCK my 7970's, I GET ABSOLUTELY ZERO FPS GAIN (ie. i believe its CPU BOTTLENECKED since all four cores are at 98-99% usage).

3. Hyperthreading ON leads to same results in terms of overclocking (stock vs overclocked yield the same FPS, trust me i've tested this in many maps, different spots on the maps, stationary etc).

4. NOW, if i DISABLE CROSSFIRE and run ONE 7970 and overclock, i DO receive FPS gain (but obviously it is no where near the same FPS as crossfire).

5. By the way i have a 120hz monitor, which is why dual 7970 is actually required.

As you can see, i actaully have the computer and crossfire and first hand experience "bottleneck". Im not just someone going "yea i dont THINK any game would bottleneck a CPU" blah blah, so take my information with more than a grain of salt.

Cheers.

 

[AvinaashGK]

Eh I don't think resolution affects CPU as much as it does GPU. I still do see your point though. Benchmarks can be a little skewed sometimes but they still give you an idea of which CPU is better.

Resolutions do affect CPU Performance. At 2560 x 1920 resolutions and above, cpu's work better than compared to 1920 x1080. I read about it somewhere. its at 48xx x xxxx resolutions that you see your cpu's true performance