[SOLVED] Suggestion on GPU for my 8 year old PC

[xtcx]

Hi friends,

My PC is very old, about 8 years.

Asus Mobo P8h77-m le
12 GB DDR3 RAM 1600 MHz (4GB/8GB)
1TB SATA HDD 7000 rpm (Read 135 MB/s, Write 120 MB/s)
CPU Intel i5 -3470
Graphics Asus GTX560 OCII
24 inch Dell 1080p Monitor
Corsair 550W Bronze PSU
GPU card max dimension can be 210 mm (in length) for my cabinet

I cannot afford to upgrade my Mobo/SDD/CPU/RAM further. Please suggest an Nvidia GPU which will not be bottlenecked or become useless because by my slow CPU. For eg, buying RTX 2060 vs GTX 1660

Please note, my requirement for games are playable 1080p resolution with 30-60 fps for simulation games with high to Ultra settings (Train Sim, Bus Sim, upcoming Microsoft Flight Sim, Forza H4) and maybe also titles like RDR 2, Tomb raider series and usable at least next 3-4 years.

In my country, RTX 2070 costs ~460$, RTX 2060 costs ~350$, while GTX1660 Ti costs ~320$.

Thank You

 

[puw2]

Best bang for your buck for that particular build would be gtx 1650, 960 or if you'd like to join the red team i would go for a RX580

 

[xtcx]

The reason not preferring AMD right now is, most of the AMD equivalent cards right now are power hungry. My PSU is old and I want a least power draining card. GTX 1650 might be an average card for playing even today's games at high settings. I would be happy to at least pick GTX 1660 or equivalent, if not any higher

I do not know how much my CPU and RAM may bottleneck....

 

[ohio_buckeye]

Can you get the 1660 super there? In the USA, the 1660ti is about $280. But the 1660 super is $230. However, it is almost as fast as the ti. So that may be a good path. If you can find a cpu second hand, you may see about upgrading your i5 for an i7 3770. Used you can find those here for $60-$70. If you can find a deal, you maybe able to recover part of your money by selling your i5.

 

[Phaaze88]

Download and run Cpu-Z: https://www.cpuid.com/
Click on the Memory tab. What does it show for 'Channel#'?
If it does not read Dual, then you need to fix that to maximize a gpu upgrade with the current cpu you're using.
If not, you will see little change from a gpu upgrade.

 

[xtcx]

Can you get the 1660 super there? In the USA, the 1660ti is about $280. But the 1660 super is $230. However, it is almost as fast as the ti. So that may be a good path. If you can find a cpu second hand, you may see about upgrading your i5 for an i7 3770. Used you can find those here for $60-$70. If you can find a deal, you maybe able to recover part of your money by selling your i5.

Yes, GTX 1660 Super is available at Amazon, it costs ~280$ here and I am kind of leaning towards that. Sorry, I cannot afford for any CPU change, also my Mobo supports only socket 1155. I'm dead locked. So my question is, buying a GTX 1660 Super makes sense for my CPU?. Im not convinced in buying GTX 1050Ti or GTX 1650., as I believe they are already weak to handle current day games.

The PC-Builds website shows >30% bottleneck with my CPU & 1660 Super :-(

Thank you

 

[Quanticriver]

Bottleneck rant:

Your cpu will bottleneck any of the more recent gpu's

But it will churn out prettier visuals then your current setup, so don't worry about it
Also your new gpu can move to another rig once you upgrade, so no loss there

 

[Phaaze88]

The PC-Builds website shows >30% bottleneck with my CPU & 1660 Super :-(

Bottleneck calculators are garbage, ignore them.

So my question is, buying a GTX 1660 Super makes sense for my CPU?

That depends on the games you like to play:
-single player types, should get more out of a gpu upgrade.
-multiplayer types, then the cpu upgrade should yield more gains.
Go with what you play more of.

Plus, there's the matter of the memory config, which I believe is in single channel mode. That's not helping the cpu.

 

[King_V]

The PC-Builds website shows >30% bottleneck with my CPU & 1660 Super :-(

I concur with @Phaaze88 - in fact, I'd go even farther. Bottleneck calculators are worse than garbage, worse than useless, because they are very misleading. Never, ever rely on any sort of bottleneck calculator.

It's partly about what CPU you have, but more about what your monitor's specifications are (resolution, refresh rate, and whether it has FreeSync or GSync or neither), and what specific games you want to play.

And, as stated by others, memory running in single-channel mode hurts performance.

 

[xtcx]

Bottleneck calculators are garbage, ignore them.


That depends on the games you like to play:
-single player types, should get more out of a gpu upgrade.
-multiplayer types, then the cpu upgrade should yield more gains.
Go with what you play more of.

Plus, there's the matter of the memory config, which I believe is in single channel mode. That's not helping the cpu.

Thank you. I play only Single player and I'd be happy if I get 30-60 FPS steady!. However, what I am worried is "Stutter".

Also, my RAM config is 4GB & 8GB, making it single channel as my Mobo doesn't support Flex mode I guess, UEFI config shows 12GB Single channel only. So is it worth and meaningful to buy a new 8GB DDR3 to pair with my CPU?.

 

[xtcx]

I concur with @Phaaze88 - in fact, I'd go even farther. Bottleneck calculators are worse than garbage, worse than useless, because they are very misleading. Never, ever rely on any sort of bottleneck calculator.

It's partly about what CPU you have, but more about what your monitor's specifications are (resolution, refresh rate, and whether it has FreeSync or GSync or neither), and what specific games you want to play.

And, as stated by others, memory running in single-channel mode hurts performance.

Unfortunately mine is Single channel only. So I am kind of finalizing 1660/1660 Super.

 

[ohio_buckeye]

I would go for the super, just because in the USA at least, they are about 30 dollars in price which isn't a lot. I guess in my mind, if I'm spending 200, I'd rather spend the extra 30 dollars for the faster card. But the 1660 should still be a fine card also.

 

[Phaaze88]

Unfortunately mine is Single channel only. So I am kind of finalizing 1660/1660 Super.

Ok, but if/when you find that one or more cpu cores/threads are maxing out, you'll know why.

 

[xtcx]

Ok, but if/when you find that one or more cpu cores/threads are maxing out, you'll know why.

Oops.. CPU-Z is showing Dual Channel only. So in this case, I guess it is operating in Flex mode, which effectively may give me 8GB at dual channel bandwidth, which I guess isn't as bad as I worried .

 

[xtcx]

I would go for the super, just because in the USA at least, they are about 30 dollars in price which isn't a lot. I guess in my mind, if I'm spending 200, I'd rather spend the extra 30 dollars for the faster card. But the 1660 should still be a fine card also.

Well, my concern was with this CPU, would a 1660 Super or 1660 ti get any benefit. Though I had thought of 1660ti intially as it is priced 20% higher than Super, but then I feel now that going anything higher than 1660 is of no use at this point. For a 250$-300$ budget range in India, I have these choices 1660 Super/ti.

I would close for 1660 super.

 

[hutchl]

for $250 to $300 youd be better off going to the high side and buying a 2060 or 5600 XT

 

[ohio_buckeye]

The super is closer to the 1660 ti performance wise. But yes as you approach higher than 250, go for one of the gpus above.

 

[xtcx]

for $250 to $300 youd be better off going to the high side and buying a 2060 or 5600 XT

Well, I do not think it is cheap here. In my Country RTX2060 costs ~100$ more than 1660 super, that is it sells for ~$360, while GTX1660 Super sells for ~$265. Even if I spend beyond my limit of $300, still I doubt my CPU will be able to utilize it or not.

 

[xtcx]

The super is closer to the 1660 ti performance wise. But yes as you approach higher than 250, go for one of the gpus above.

one last thing, Does 1660ti consume less power cmpared to 1660 super?. My PSU is very old and I would prefer a less power hungry card

 

[Phaaze88]

Depends on the model you go with. Some pull more than others.
For 1660 Super, I'm seeing between 125-176w: https://www.techpowerup.com/vgabios...660+Super&interface=&memType=&memSize=&since=

For 1660Ti, it's 120-200w: https://www.techpowerup.com/vgabios...X+1660+Ti&interface=&memType=&memSize=&since=

 

[xtcx]

Depends on the model you go with. Some pull more than others.
For 1660 Super, I'm seeing between 125-176w: https://www.techpowerup.com/vgabios...660+Super&interface=&memType=&memSize=&since=

For 1660Ti, it's 120-200w: https://www.techpowerup.com/vgabios...X+1660+Ti&interface=&memType=&memSize=&since=

Thanks, I better stick with GTX 1660 Super, seems power efficient. I was about to close a deal for a used Asus Strix 1070 8GB model (2 years old) almost 40% cheaper than 1660 Super pricing. however, the power is another concern for my decade old system which may bring nightmares with GTX 1070.

I'd be just happy gaming for another 3-4 years with 1660 Super

Thx

 

[Phaaze88]

No problem.

 

[hutchl]

Yes, GTX 1660 Super is available at Amazon, it costs ~280$ here and I am kind of leaning towards that. Sorry, I cannot afford for any CPU change, also my Mobo supports only socket 1155. I'm dead locked. So my question is, buying a GTX 1660 Super makes sense for my CPU?. Im not convinced in buying GTX 1050Ti or GTX 1650., as I believe they are already weak to handle current day games.

The PC-Builds website shows >30% bottleneck with my CPU & 1660 Super :-(

Thank you

Ah my bad I assumed American pricing.