i5 3550 - Worth it for a temporary gaming rig?

fuzzylogic · 7 Aug 2015 at 13:09

Hello, long-time reader, first-time poster. :cool:

I've acquired an Ivy Bridge i5 3550 and an MSI Z77MA-G45 mobo. I've overclocked this slightly to 3.7ghz. The idea is to pair it with a graphics card for cheap high setting 1080p gaming (can be 30fps if necessary) for the next year or so until Cannonlake. Is this an impossible idea? I'm not looking at many AAA games, I'll probably stick to PS4 for those.

I was looking at a lower-end Nvidia card, maybe the 950 when it's out or a cheap 750ti. Will that be held back too much by the CPU? Also, is 2GB too low these days for VRAM?

Mrjobby · 7 Aug 2015 at 13:13

That CPU won't hold any graphics card back at 1080p

fuzzylogic · 7 Aug 2015 at 13:50

Mrjobby said:
That CPU won't hold any graphics card back at 1080p

Thanks for the reply mate. I'll probably use the gfx card from this build initially in the next one, would a low end 4GB card be worth it (750/950/960)?

almoststew1990 · 7 Aug 2015 at 14:06

I use a Sandy Dual core pentium at 3.1GHz and I am graphics limited (just) with a 1.5GB Nvidia 580 in most "Normal" games like Tomb Raider, Crysis 2, mass effects, of the last few years. Obviously GTA IV and V, ARMA are a different story...

So I wouldn't hold back on the GPU just because of your CPU. 4GB will be plenty for 1080p gaming with that CPU.

fuzzylogic · 7 Aug 2015 at 14:24

almoststew1990 said:
I use a Sandy Dual core pentium at 3.1GHz and I am graphics limited (just) with a 1.5GB Nvidia 580 in most "Normal" games like Tomb Raider, Crysis 2, mass effects, of the last few years. Obviously GTA IV and V, ARMA are a different story...

So I wouldn't hold back on the GPU just because of your CPU. 4GB will be plenty for 1080p gaming with that CPU.

My mate is insisting that 4GB is pointless because the cards haven't the bandwidth to handle the larger textures on anything slower than a 980, is this right?

EDIT: Shocking English, now rectified.