• We’re currently investigating an issue related to the forum theme and styling that is impacting page layout and visual formatting. The problem has been identified, and we are actively working on a resolution. There is no impact to user data or functionality, this is strictly a front-end display issue. We’ll post an update once the fix has been deployed. Thanks for your patience while we get this sorted.

CPU match for GTX 970

Z

zonkie

Member
Just bought a GTX 970 as the first part of an upgrade. What's a good CPU compliment? I'm currently using a i3-4130 (3.4 ghz), but I'm giving it to my son along with my old system so we can play a new game together. I had my eye on the i5 -4590. It's base is slower than my i3 but it has turbo. I'm also a little price sensitive.

I won't be overclocking and have the 212 evo cooler. This will also be, in all probability, the last pc I will ever build or own, so future proofing isn't that important, just has to make sense for the next 1-2 years. I appreciate your thoughts, thanks.
 
Where will you be purchasing the parts from? Newegg? Amazon? or Microcenter?

Based on where you'll be purchasing we can give you a better recommendation.
 
Sadly, I don't live anywhere near a micro center. I use part picker a lot but usually go to newegg. I have Amazon prime too.

A little more info: gaming at 1900x1080
Looking for an Intel cpu $150-220.
Us pricing.
Current purchased stuff : http://pcpartpicker.com/p/h873GX
 
Last edited:
Anywhere from i5-4460 to i5-4690 is fine, as long as it's not with the S or T suffix (those are lower wattage models).

The PC looks really good overall. The only thing slightly off there is the combination of a H97 motherboard with 1866MHz memory - you'll be forced to run the memory at 1600MHz. But the difference is not noticeable.
 
Last edited:
Thank you. Good catch on the memory, I had the wrong type listed. I'm using the memory from my old build and it is indeed DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800).

Now, I've never OC'd, mostly because I'm intimidated by it, and because if hardware goes awry, its hard to fix it.
But if I changed to a z97 board, what cpu should I get, keeping in mind my CM Hyper 212 EVO?
 
Last edited:
zonkie said:
Thank you. Good catch on the memory, I had the wrong type listed. I'm using the memory from my old build and it is indeed DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800).

Now, I've never OC'd, mostly because I'm intimidated by it, and because if hardware goes awry, its hard to fix it.
But if I changed to a z97 board, what cpu should I get, keeping in mind my CM Hyper 212 EVO?
Click to expand...

i5-4690K. No other choice, really.

Even without overclocking, it's the highest-clocked CPU Intel sells. Or it was, anyway. (3.9GHz Turbo.)

Only drawback is that it's at the high end or slightly exceeds your budget.

-K CPUs are generally required for overclocking though.
 
zonkie said:
Thank you. Good catch on the memory, I had the wrong type listed. I'm using the memory from my old build and it is indeed DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800).

Now, I've never OC'd, mostly because I'm intimidated by it, and because if hardware goes awry, its hard to fix it.
But if I changed to a z97 board, what cpu should I get, keeping in mind my CM Hyper 212 EVO?
Click to expand...

From a value perspective, it's not worth getting rid of an H97 motherboard for a Z97 motherboard just to be able to overclock.

Right now, the best value Core i5 looks to be the i5 4590 for $190 AP.
 
dave_the_nerd said:
i5-4690K. No other choice, really.

Even without overclocking, it's the highest-clocked CPU Intel sells. Or it was, anyway. (3.9GHz Turbo.)

Only drawback is that it's at the high end or slightly exceeds your budget.

-K CPUs are generally required for overclocking though.
Click to expand...

I don't see how an i5 4690K makes sense if you're not going to overclock. Paying $50 for 200 MHz seems like a pretty bad value.
 
It's complicated but it doesn't make sense for me to OC. I'm looking for value and hope to shave money where possible without compromising quality.

Would a 550w PS be ok? I figured a 620/650 was the sweet spot for efficiency and noise.
 
Last edited:
Wattage is only a small part of the equation when it comes to efficiency and noise.

For efficiency, what matters most is the unit's 80Plus rating and its efficiency below 20% load (which is the minimum load that 80Plus tests, at least until you get to 80Plus Titanium). You can optimize efficiency for your particular setup by ensuring that your idle watts aren't too much below the 20% load because typically efficiency plummets drastically below that load. A bronze unit that does 85% at 20% load might only do 75% at 10% load. Secondarily you can also ensure your load watts aren't too far above 50% load, but the importance of this is mostly theoretical. In practice it's not going to matter for efficiency whether you're at 50% or 70% load; what matters more cost-wise is not buying an oversized unit.

You'll also want to consider whether it's worth it to pay the premium for a higher efficiency unit in the first place, that is, will the electricity you save pay back the initial difference in cost in a reasonable amount of time. For a setup only using a couple hundred watts at load, about $10-15 for a Gold unit over a Bronze unit is still quite reasonable. Beyond that, you'll need other justifications for the more expensive unit, such as lower noise, better resale value, higher quality, modular cables, longer warranty etc.

As for dBa, what matters most is the quality of the fan and the fan profile or fan curve. Some 650W Gold units run noisier than other 550W Bronze units, for instance - so although rated wattage and efficiency do correlate with how noisy a unit's going to be at a given load, they're only part of the equation.

To sum up, yes 550W would be enough for GTX 970 with a stock i5. You'll be using about 250 to 300 watts while gaming, probably closer to 250. Most 550W units will not have so aggressive of a fan curve as to become noisy below 300 watts.

620-650W makes sense if you want to future proof your PC so that it'll handle more power hungry video cards or other hardware without becoming too noisy.
 
Last edited:
mfenn said:
I don't see how an i5 4690K makes sense if you're not going to overclock. Paying $50 for 200 MHz seems like a pretty bad value.
Click to expand...

It would be a bad value, if that was the difference.

Pcpartpicker has the 4690K (3.5/3.9GHz), at $230 and the 4430 (3.0/3.2GHz) at $185. ($45 difference)

That's a ~16%-22% boost (500-700 MHz) in clockspeed, which is definitely going to be noticeable in CPU-limited applications. $45 isn't chump change, but in the context of a ~$1k build* it shouldn't be wallet-breaking.

The difference between the 4690K and vanilla 4690 is less significant, but so it the price ($15.)

Finally, don't forget your Microcenter bundles. The $40 off motherboard/CPU only applies to certain CPUs, making the -K CPUs the cheapest option in many cases (or only marginally more expensive than a notably slower option.)

* - Guesstimating here, since OP didn't give an overall budget that I saw, but GTX 970 + i5 is going to be around $500, and the rest of the system, with OS, shipping, sales tax... I think $1k is a reasonable estimate.
 
Last edited:
You should just stick with the same i3.

averagehaswell.png


It is generally just as fast as an i5. For games where this is not true, you have to consider something else: you dont want to have situations where the game is less playable for him than for you. By going with the same processor and GPU, you can transfer all your settings verbatim after you optimize your settings to get good framerates.
 
I strongly considered sticking with an i3 because in non multicore optimized games there's not enough of an increase for me to spend the extra $. But, the game that's making me upgrade will when optimized. My 3.4 ghz i3 has been phenomenal.
Plus, this is somewhat about giving myself one last treat. My son gets my old PC with the i3 we built together too. I've never paid more than $125 for a video card and have never played at epic/ultra settings in a game.

I went with the i5-4590 $189
evga gtx 970 acx 2.0 $299
Antec HCG 620w $73
Gigabyte GA-H97-D3H $87
WD 1TB Blue 10EZEX $47
Using my ssd and 8gb gskill ares.

Thank you for all your input.
 
zonkie, I hope you have a great time gaming with your son. If you don't mind me asking, what is the game?

I wish you all the best.
 
dave_the_nerd said:
It would be a bad value, if that was the difference.

Pcpartpicker has the 4690K (3.5/3.9GHz), at $230 and the 4430 (3.0/3.2GHz) at $185. ($45 difference)

That's a ~16%-22% boost (500-700 MHz) in clockspeed, which is definitely going to be noticeable in CPU-limited applications. $45 isn't chump change, but in the context of a ~$1k build* it shouldn't be wallet-breaking.

The difference between the 4690K and vanilla 4690 is less significant, but so it the price ($15.)

Finally, don't forget your Microcenter bundles. The $40 off motherboard/CPU only applies to certain CPUs, making the -K CPUs the cheapest option in many cases (or only marginally more expensive than a notably slower option.)

* - Guesstimating here, since OP didn't give an overall budget that I saw, but GTX 970 + i5 is going to be around $500, and the rest of the system, with OS, shipping, sales tax... I think $1k is a reasonable estimate.
Click to expand...

The OP has specifically stated that he is not near a Microcenter, so that's right out.

As for the rest, I'm not sure why you're picking out the 4430 and a 4690, the specific point of comparison is the i5 4590, which is a $190 3.3 GHz part with the same Turbo bins as a 4690K. So it's $40-50 for 200 MHz increase, hardly worth it.

You'd rather spend that extra $50 on doubling the RAM or buying a bigger SSD.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

Back
Top