I5 760 with an AMD r9 280x

[Andy Kyselica]

Hello, i am planning on upgrading my Gpu from an HD 5670 to possibly an AMD r9 280x. Ive been looking forward to getting the Asus DCU2 top edition. I have one concern though, would my Cpu bottleneck or slow down or it just wont be fast and powerful enough to fully utilize and use the 280x? I will be able to overclock it from 2.8 up to 4.0 ghz, but im not sure if ill go that high. maybe like 3.6 ghz. Would it affect the card in any way if it ran at this clock or even at the stock 2.8/3.3 ghz?

 

[damric]

It will be fine. You will still get the same minimum FPS dips (CPU bottlenecks) in some instances of games, but overall you will be able to push higher resolutions and higher detail settings, as well as have a higher average FPS, and a better playing experience.

 

[Andy Kyselica]

It will be fine. You will still get the same minimum FPS dips (CPU bottlenecks) in some instances of games, but overall you will be able to push higher resolutions and higher detail settings, as well as have a higher average FPS, and a better playing experience.

Should i OC it? or could it run at stock or near stock clocks, my cooling is fine so im not afraid about overheating... But what could be the difference in performance for example in BF 4 or Crysis 3 between this setup and for example using an I7 3820? Im playing at 1080p at 60hz.

 

[damric]

If you overclock your existing CPU, or upgrade to a faster CPU, you will see your minimum FPS (bottleneck lag spikes) increase.

Example: let's say you are playing crysis or whatever and usually you get 55-60FPS average but sometimes you get laggy instances where the FPS drops down to 15 FPS. Overclockign might make it only drop down to 20FPS. Getting a newer faster CPU might make it only drop to 25FPS. So the laggy areas will still be there, you just won't notice as much. Most of the time your game should run fluid anyway (as fluid as your graphics card allows).

 

[damric]

You can also get some minimum FPS boost by tuning your RAM if it isn't tuned up already (setting the best frequency and timings).

 

[Andy Kyselica]

If you overclock your existing CPU, or upgrade to a faster CPU, you will see your minimum FPS (bottleneck lag spikes) increase.

Example: let's say you are playing crysis or whatever and usually you get 55-60FPS average but sometimes you get laggy instances where the FPS drops down to 15 FPS. Overclockign might make it only drop down to 20FPS. Getting a newer faster CPU might make it only drop to 25FPS. So the laggy areas will still be there, you just won't notice as much. Most of the time your game should run fluid anyway.

Oh, ok i get it thx, i am planning on upgrading to something new in a while maybe. but the problem is i would have to change my whole board since its 1156 socket and there are no Cpus for that anymore 🙁 So i would not eliminate the laggy parts just make them less noticable is that right? so if im fine with getting 20-15 fps drops than i can stick to this? plus the Gpu will be able to run at full use with this CPU?

 

[damric]

Get the new GPU. See how it runs. If your lag spikes annoy you (they would annoy me), tune it up some. If it is still hurting, it might be time for a new CPU platform.

Do you think it would be worthwhile if I write a detailed FAQ about that? This question does come up a lot.

 

[Andy Kyselica]

Do you think it would be worthwhile if I write a detailed FAQ about that? This question does come up a lot.

Yeah, if you feel like it. there sure are other ppl like me that run an older Cpu... btw games that run all 4 cores would casue this "laggyness" more often than games using for example 1 core? becasue then they use only 1 core so less of the Cpu has to work no?
yeah, ok thx a lot ill try it out for a trial period and it the lag spikes will be really bad and game breaking ill upgrade or OC to help it a bit

 

[damric]

Glad to be of help. I'll write a faq soon for that. Yeah more cores helps higher threaded games The Mantle API is supposed to eliminate much driver related CPU overhead if you want to try that for Thief or BF4.

 

[Andy Kyselica]

Glad to be of help. I'll write a faq soon for that. Yeah more cores helps higher threaded games The Mantle API is supposed to eliminate much driver related CPU overhead if you want to try that for Thief or BF4.

Thats one of the reasons i chose the 280x over lets say an 770. Mantle should eliminate some pressure off of the Cpu and since by Cpu is older i thought it might help with my performance, plus the 280x is cheaper. So technically games like BF4 which use multiple cores in my case 4 they should have this lag spikes a bit more often than games using 1 core is that right?

 

[damric]

Exactly. Keep in mind though that Mantle is still a work in progress and might have glitches.

 

[RobCrezz]

You should get a good cooler and overclock. Your cpu is still pretty good at 4Ghz

 

[damric]

You should get a good cooler and overclock. Your cpu is still pretty good at 4Ghz

I 100% agree with that statement. I hate leaving free performance on the table

 

[Andy Kyselica]

You should get a good cooler and overclock. Your cpu is still pretty good at 4Ghz

I 100% agree with that statement. I hate leaving free performance on the table

Just my thinking 😉 i have it currently at 4.0 ghz and i think that is a safe and usable clock. I see no real need for me to go over that and i can see the performance increase aswell! which is nice

 

[Andy Kyselica]

Exactly. Keep in mind though that Mantle is still a work in progress and might have glitches.

Yeah im fully aware of that, but from the reviews and posts Ive seen people are pretty happy with it so far

 

[Andy Kyselica]

You should get a good cooler and overclock. Your cpu is still pretty good at 4Ghz

Ive got an AIO cooler by CM ive got the Seidon 120M which is sufficient enough for my Cpu, and came at a really nice price

 

[RobCrezz]

You should get a good cooler and overclock. Your cpu is still pretty good at 4Ghz

Ive got an AIO cooler by CM ive got the Seidon 120M which is sufficient enough for my Cpu, and came at a really nice price

Yeah thats a good cooler. With your CPU at 4.0Ghz you should get good performance.

 

[Andy Kyselica]

You should get a good cooler and overclock. Your cpu is still pretty good at 4Ghz

Ive got an AIO cooler by CM ive got the Seidon 120M which is sufficient enough for my Cpu, and came at a really nice price

Yeah thats a good cooler. With your CPU at 4.0Ghz you should get good performance.

Yeah pretty much yeah and i think that 4.0 is my sweet spot personally paired with that 280x it could hold up pretty well for a while