Will a i7 2600k be a bottleneck for 1440p gaming?

[norse_mjolnir]

Would the following set up be ok for 1440p gaming (not max settings but high):

i7 2600k (will try to OC around 4.4Ghz hopefully)
Asus Z77 Maximus Gene V ROG
16gb DDR3 1600mhz
R9 380/390 (both 4GB) or GTX 970
240gb Samsung Evo SSD
Antec 620W PSU 80+ bronze

I would just like to hear some advice as to how future proof this setup is considering how old the processor is. The rig will be used mostly for gaming, namely GTA V online, BF4, CS:GO, Farcry 4 and hopefully Star Wars Battlefront. I would like 60+ fps @ 1440p as my monitor goes up to 96hz.

I was originally going to go all out on a 4790k or 6700k but a friend has offered me his i7 2600k (with stock cooler) paired with with Asus Maximus Gene V Z77 motherboard for $280. It has never been overclocked so I don't know how much I will be able to get out of it. I plan to use the system for the next 3 years minimum (I may upgrade the graphics card during that time).

So my main question is will the 2600k be ok for 1440p gaming for the next few years or will it show its age and become the bottleneck of my system? Should I go all out and get a brand new Devils Canyon or Skylake set up instead?

The gaming benchmark video of Sandy Bridge/Ivy Bridge/Haswell/Skylake by Digital Foundry made me wonder (especially the GTA V benchmark).

(video link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4sx1kLGVAF0)

 

[hang-the-9]

Should be a fine CPU for you especially if you don't worry about needing to play at Ultra or High settings.
On the other hand, for a new system, how much are you saving with getting the parts from your friend? If it's under $100 you may want to go with new parts. The overall cost savings compared to the rest of the build may not be much and you may be happier KNOWING that your system is on new parts rather than settling for something due to cost.

 

[Mercian]

Chances are the the GTX 970 will be the bottleneck in most games. I don't think you would notice much difference compared to a I5 4690k or even a i7 6700k with a 970.

 

[Nopitch]

Hi

Intel Core i7 2600K 4.3 Ghz with the mb oc.
P8Z68-V PRO GEN3
16,0 Go Dual-Channel DDR3 1333
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Ti
SAMSUNG SSD 830 Series
ASUS VG236 (1920x1080@120Hz)

I often have fps drop in gta 5 to 45/50 fps with all kind of settings from very high 1080p to max with dsr x1.78 x2 x3 x4.
No issue with madmax i guess less cpu dependant than GTA.

I love that cpu but i feel like something is wrong with my gear, maybe the fact that the cpu is stuck with the PCI-E 2 16x, maybe the MB or the RAM. Im waiting for a new CPU/MB i bought yesterday. If you can wait for monday i will tell u if it was a bad idea.

My thought is that u will not stand 3 years with it, i would go to a new gear if i were u.

If You have any question feel free to ask.

 

[norse_mjolnir]

Should be a fine CPU for you especially if you don't worry about needing to play at Ultra or High settings.
On the other hand, for a new system, how much are you saving with getting the parts from your friend? If it's under $100 you may want to go with new parts. The overall cost savings compared to the rest of the build may not be much and you may be happier KNOWING that your system is on new parts rather than settling for something due to cost.

Cost is definitely a factor as I would be easily saving around $300 on a Skylake processor and mobo excluding the cost for DDR4 (another $150). I already bought DDR3 ram in a flash sale a month ago (2 x 8gb DDR3 HyperX Savage 2400mhz) so I don't want to waste it if possible. I was hoping that some of the new Z170 boards would support DDR3 as Skylake was announced to support both but no vendors seem to have a made a board like this.

The graphics card and SSD have not been bought yet but they have not been considered in the cost as they would remain the same for all builds.

The other option would be Devil's Canyon and save around $90 on the Skylake build (so $280 + $210) but I don't feel that the prices have dropped significantly due to the low availability of the Skylake processors.

I'm hoping that the 2600k can last me for another 3 years, but as games grow more CPU intensive it may be the end for a Sandy Bridge build.

 

[norse_mjolnir]

Hi

Intel Core i7 2600K 4.3 Ghz with the mb oc.
P8Z68-V PRO GEN3
16,0 Go Dual-Channel DDR3 1333
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Ti
SAMSUNG SSD 830 Series
ASUS VG236 (1920x1080@120Hz)

I often have fps drop in gta 5 to 45/50 fps with all kind of settings from very high 1080p to max with dsr x1.78 x2 x3 x4.
No issue with madmax i guess less cpu dependant than GTA.

I love that cpu but i feel like something is wrong with my gear, maybe the fact that the cpu is stuck with the PCI-E 2 16x, maybe the MB or the RAM. Im waiting for a new CPU/MB i bought yesterday. If you can wait for monday i will tell u if it was a bad idea.

My thought is that u will not stand 3 years with it, i would go to a new gear if i were u.

If You have any question feel free to ask.

Your findings are exactly what was shown in the Digital Foundry video linked above. The 2600k falls behind in all those games by about 5-10% at times which is acceptable, however in GTA V it seems to be left behind by a good 30% margin.

Let me know how everything goes, I will hold off making a decision for now. Could you tell me what CPU and mobo you have gone for?

 

[hackaa]

no even at its stock speed it wont even bottleneck gtx 970 in sli