• Competitor rules

    Please remember that any mention of competitors, hinting at competitors or offering to provide details of competitors will result in an account suspension. The full rules can be found under the 'Terms and Rules' link in the bottom right corner of your screen. Just don't mention competitors in any way, shape or form and you'll be OK.

Which GPU upgrade for i5 2500k (Sandybridge/Z68)?

RedMogg

RedMogg

RedMogg

Soldato
Joined
1 Nov 2011
Posts
3,055
Location
Portsmouth
As title - looking to update my graphics card from the GTX590 currently in place - I'm aware of CPU bottleneck for anything more than 1080p, but it's more the cooler temps/quieter fans/lower power draw that I'm after.

590 runs fans at max whatever I play - I've got a decent case with hot air exhausted out of the IKEA Besta unit it's in, with two 140mm Silent Wings mounted to the back of the cabinet. CPU is overclocked to 4.2ghz (stable) under a NZXT Kraken X62 and never hits more than 60°C.
After a play session, I get warnings from NZXT Hue software that the GPU hit 89°C+.

Happy to look at a 980Ti/1070Ti/2060, but obviously don't want to go beyond the point of diminishing returns.

Is it otherwise worth looking at replacing the 2500k with an i7 3770k?

Prefer EVGA/Gigabyte cards for aftersales support and warranty...

Many thanks.
 
I'd Get the 2060 to future proof yourself, yeah it will be bottlenecked by the cpu somewhat and no it's not worth getting a 3770k unless its very cheap and I doubt that you'll find one going for under 100 quid. I was on the 2500k until recently so went through the same thing. Best option is to just get the gpu and over time buy a mobo, mem and new cpu.
 
I'd look for a cheap RTX 2070, because that 8GB vram will give the card longer legs into the future, as texture resolutions in games keep getting higher and higher.
 
Needlessly handcuffing yourself to 6GB of VRAM even at 1080p is crazy. If you can buy a £200 card with 8GB of VRAM which is already well over a year old, why would you spend £350 on 6GB card that's brand new?

The 2060 is the daftest card money can buy right now outside of the £2500 Titan.
 
Wouldn't pair anything higher than a 1060/580 with a 2500k. Speaking from experience I had a 2500k paired with a 980 and it some modern games the CPU will be pegged at 100% usage while gpu usage will fluctuate all over, biggest offenders being battlefield 1/5, kingdom come deliverance, new assassin's creed games and Deus ex.

Going anything higher you will need a new CPU to avoid CPU bottleneck. I whacked in a Xeon 1270v2 last year as a cheap stop gap and my minimums improved dramatically.
 
Darujhistan said:
Needlessly handcuffing yourself to 6GB of VRAM even at 1080p is crazy. If you can buy a £200 card with 8GB of VRAM which is already well over a year old, why would you spend £350 on 6GB card that's brand new?

The 2060 is the daftest card money can buy right now outside of the £2500 Titan.
Click to expand...

Correct
 
Gibbo said Sapphire Vega 56 Pulse will be £300 in a week or two, plus the game bundle (which goes for £50 can be re-sold). Imo that's STUPIDLY good value and can't in good conscience recommend any of the competing Nvidia cards, especially as the efficiency tweaks yield great results on these Vega cards (power/temps/performance).
 
greatash said:
Wouldn't pair anything higher than a 1060/580 with a 2500k. Speaking from experience I had a 2500k paired with a 980 and it some modern games the CPU will be pegged at 100% usage while gpu usage will fluctuate all over, biggest offenders being battlefield 1/5, kingdom come deliverance, new assassin's creed games and Deus ex.

Going anything higher you will need a new CPU to avoid CPU bottleneck. I whacked in a Xeon 1270v2 last year as a cheap stop gap and my minimums improved dramatically.
Click to expand...


Correct.
 
Darujhistan said:
Correct.
Click to expand...

Not quite. GPU power is the easiest to use, just up render scale/resolution or graphical settings (that don't also tax CPU), it has no impact on CPU but improves visual and makes use of the extra power. Or just undervolt & downclock & enjoy a way chillier & more stable card.
 
RedMogg said:
As title - looking to update my graphics card from the GTX590 currently in place - I'm aware of CPU bottleneck for anything more than 1080p, but it's more the cooler temps/quieter fans/lower power draw that I'm after.

590 runs fans at max whatever I play - I've got a decent case with hot air exhausted out of the IKEA Besta unit it's in, with two 140mm Silent Wings mounted to the back of the cabinet. CPU is overclocked to 4.2ghz (stable) under a NZXT Kraken X62 and never hits more than 60°C.
After a play session, I get warnings from NZXT Hue software that the GPU hit 89°C+.

Happy to look at a 980Ti/1070Ti/2060, but obviously don't want to go beyond the point of diminishing returns.

Is it otherwise worth looking at replacing the 2500k with an i7 3770k?

Prefer EVGA/Gigabyte cards for aftersales support and warranty...

Many thanks.
Click to expand...


You'd be better off upgrading your CPU before you do antyhing.
Poneros said:
Not quite. GPU power is the easiest to use, just up render scale/resolution or graphical settings (that don't also tax CPU), it has no impact on CPU but improves visual and makes use of the extra power. Or just undervolt & downclock & enjoy a way chillier & more stable card.
Click to expand...


His card is too hot as it is...
 
Darujhistan said:
You'd be better off upgrading your CPU before you do antyhing.



His card is too hot as it is...
Click to expand...

His CPU will be absolutely fine for 60 fps gaming. As for his card, yes, because it's part of the Thermonuclear series from Nvidia called Fermi. The Vega 56 Pulse will have no such issues.
 
Poneros said:
Sure, but it's a question of new cpu (& mobo & ram) vs new gpu and frankly it doesn't matter what cpu he gets, a 590 is too old, and as he said his main draw isn't max fps but noise temps etc
Click to expand...

Exactly this. House purchase later in the year (plus recent purchases of rather too many consoles) mean a full system upgrade is out of the question (at least until I have a study/desk space again!)

I can however, justify spending a few hundred on a graphics card that I can use in my future updated build...

I'd previously ruled out the 1070Ti, but it's looking to be a serious contender... Just need to decide on whether Zotac AMP or EVGA FTW version...
 
Poneros said:
Sure, but it's a question of new cpu (& mobo & ram) vs new gpu and frankly it doesn't matter what cpu he gets, a 590 is too old, and as he said his main draw isn't max fps but noise temps etc
Click to expand...

You're right, i've just realised how ancient the 590 is, it's as ancient as the 2500k is. Vega 56/1070ti is the right move, I'd just advise passing on the VRAM deficient 2060.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom