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will my I5 3570K still keep up with a GTX1080?

jorum

jorum

jorum

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11 Nov 2011
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I currently have an I5 3570K (can clock to 4.4GHz , but at the moment is running at default 3.4GHz).
Am thinking of upgrading GPU from 980 to a 1080 which would be running at 1440P, but wondering if CPU might cause noticeable bottleneck (i.e actually reduce in-game framerates enough to notice) or whether I can stretch another year or so out of it until I commit to complete new build.
 
980 does pretty good on most games depending on which settings i turn doen. Something like witcher 3 will chug here and there. Also have gotten an oculus , which is obviously a bit gpu hungry.
 
I had a 4.5Ghz 3570K and a 1080 combo on a 1440p panel about a year ago and it wasn't the best experience tbh. Running around novigrad in witcher 3 and 64 player matches of BF1 would cause all the 3570K cores to hit 100% and I'd get noticeable stuttering even if an FPS counter showed >60FPS.

I tried a 4.5Ghz 2600K and it was definitely smoother but the minimums were pretty poor still (I have a 100Hz panel) so I sold my 1155 stuff and bought a 5820K and it's be fine and dandy since.
 
Sounds like timeto save up for a new build in a couple months.

Also , embarrassingly, realised I am actually running a 970 not 980! Albeit it a very well performing 970 card (KFA Infinit8 OC black).
 
If it doesn't bottleneck now then it won't bottleneck with a 1080.

Most games are more dependant on the GPU than the CPU - which is why so many people get two graphics cards. Think of the people who had dual 980's with the 3570K. Well, that's the same as a 1080 - sorta. It's not to say that all games are the same, but most of them are. Unless you specifically play games that use the CPU more intensively, then the 3570K will do just fine. Incidentally, you could go for a 1070 which is way, way faster than the 970 you have. Won't heat the room up either.
My philosophy is always try it and see. And if you have an issue, then consider doing something else! Don't upgrade the CPU until you measure an issue.
 
Pocah said:
If it doesn't bottleneck now then it won't bottleneck with a 1080.
Click to expand...
I disagree; a 1080 is significantly faster than a 970, so there is a higher chance of CPU bottleneck at the same settings. If the cpu isn't the current bottleneck, then it must lie somewhere else, typically with the GPU. So a GPU upgrade may shift that bottleneck away from the GPU onto the CPU.

I would definitely overclock to 4.4ghz in this scenario. For comparison, my 3570k @ 4.4ghz bottlenecked my RX480 at 1080p, haven't done enough testing to judge at 1440p yet.
 
It will bottleneck, especially in latest AAA games. Im still running a 2500k @ 4.8 and a 980 and the cpu bottlenecks in some games like battlefield 1, total war warhammer. Seems like two above posters also had bottlenecking with an i5 and 980 power gpus. people who dont have an i5 will say it is fine but people with first hand experience knows it will bottleneck. hyperthreading on the i7s help immensely.

I wouldnt pair any higher gpu (1070/980ti/vega56+) with my cpu, when i upgrade im doing a full system rebuild. Id imagine 1080 + 3570k will be a poor experience especially with stutter in many latest games unless you just cap to 60fps, but then you're wasting the power of the gpu
 
My 4690K @ 4.6Ghz doesn't keep up with my GTX 1070 so no but that doesn't mean you should't get the GTX 1080, you should, upgrade the CPU later.
 
One consideration is what resolution you use; the higher the resolution, the less likely the cpu is provide a bottleneck.

The fact quad core cpus at reasonably decent clock rates are getting maxed out is arguably a good thing in the sense that it means we are finally starting to see decent threading in games rather than simply getting bottlenecked on 1-2 cores with the others sat doing not a lot.
 
Any i5 will bottleneck a 1080. It's probably bottlenecking your 970 right now. i5's have had their day. It's over now. Move to Ryzen or a modern i7. Coffee lake 6 core i7's are coming soon at good prices if you can wait.
 
mistersprinkles said:
Any i5 will bottleneck a 1080. It's probably bottlenecking your 970 right now. i5's have had their day. It's over now. Move to Ryzen or a modern i7. Coffee lake 6 core i7's are coming soon at good prices if you can wait.
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A 970 is not that fast, Its roughly the same speed as my R9 290 and they have been out for donkies yrs now. Im thinking about upgrading my [email protected] to a 2600k, but Im not sure as Im still running everything fine. I guess I have just got the itching feeling to upgrade:D
 
Phil2008 said:
A 970 is not that fast, Its roughly the same speed as my R9 290 and they have been out for donkies yrs now. Im thinking about upgrading my [email protected] to a 2600k, but Im not sure as Im still running everything fine. I guess I have just got the itching feeling to upgrade:D
Click to expand...

Actually these days the R9 290 is 20%+ faster than the 970, assuming you keep up with the driver updates, while can handle nicely DX12 games also.

mistersprinkles said:
Any i5 will bottleneck a 1080. It's probably bottlenecking your 970 right now. i5's have had their day. It's over now. Move to Ryzen or a modern i7. Coffee lake 6 core i7's are coming soon at good prices if you can wait.
Click to expand...

There was a video the other day at testing various quad cores. I am not saying quad cores are "good", on the contrary.
However isn't all doom and gloom, if someone cannot afford high end GPUs.

 
my 1080 OC +450 mem +100 core runs 100% with a 2600k at 4.6ghz running 3440x1440p 16gb ram!

doesn't have any problems with any games!
 

It should answer a few questions, basically just change to an i7 of the same architecture.

It looks like CPUs for gaming haven't moved on that much in the last 5 or so years... As Westie said, 2600K is still an excellent CPU :)
 
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I noticed the other day that CSGO was using all 12 cores on my 5930k. Didn't expect that from such an old game?
Running with 2 Maxwell Titan-X's
 
a 2600k isnt a 3570k though :p


they will still play 95 percent games fine.you will either just not get as much fps as you would with a modern cpu or you will in certain games like battlefield 64 man servers and pubg get huge minimum drops.minimum frame rates are what you will mostly notice and many always look at the maximum instead.as for ryzen there is no point at all now with coffee lake here.
 
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