Help me choose a GPU for old CPU

[Homerboy]

I don't game much any more, but would like to run SW:Battlefront when it comes out. Maybe some GTAV and POE (which I'm playing now)

Sadly, my CPU is an old Phenom II x4 and I'm looking for a GPU that will match up nicely with it without wasting money on something that is going to be CPU limited.

Other bits of info:
MB: MSI 785GTM-E45 (PCI Express 2.0 x16)
RAM: 2x2GB (will be upgrading to 2x4GB
GPU: NV GTX 260
Display: 1920 x 1080

Any thoughts? I don't care between NV or AMD
Thanks in advance

 

[Homerboy]

maybe something like a 750Ti? Or can I get better and not have the CPU killing it?
I don't think I can do a better CPU at all.. that's pretty much the max power on that socket

 

[AtenRa]

What budget ??? R9 380 or 390 will be fine for 1080p, especially for DX-12 games.

 

[Homerboy]

What budget ??? R9 380 or 390 will be fine for 1080p, especially for DX-12 games.

Wouldn't those be severely bottle-necked by my CPU? Seems a R9 380 would just be wasted.

I don't want to spend that much on an antiquated system... $150ish?

 

[AtenRa]

R9 380 will be fine, my HD7950 at 1GHz is almost as fast as the R9 380 and it was fine with the Core 2 Quad 9450 at 3.2GHz. Have a look in my signature below.

With DX-12 the GPU will be the limiting factor in the vast majority of games using current GPUs.

 

[Leyawiin]

Nvidia drivers play nicer with old CPUs (less overhead).

Here's a good deal for $160. Pretty much fits your budget and the absolute top a Phenom II X4 could handle (even that will be bottlenecked a bit).

http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2450587

 

[Homerboy]

Dumb question, but will such cards work in a PCIE 2.0 slot?
I'm thinking all this may require a new PSU too... ugh. Think I'm at 600W

 

[psolord]

OP, you can take a look at the test of my signature. I use a Q9550@4Ghz there, but I am pretty sure it has the same IPC as the PhenomII. So if you can increase your clocks safely, you can get a very decent graphics card.

No I am not suggesting you spend big for a 970, just showing what's possible.

Also since I am an avid supporter of raw video benchmarking, so people can have an exact idea of what I am talking about, here are some of my video links that may interest you. (spicy wallpaper alert on all videos )

Grand Theft Auto V 1920X1080 V.High(-) 7950 @1Ghz Q9550 @4GHz -60fps

Grand Theft Auto V 1920X1080 V.High GTX 970 @1.5Ghz Q9550 @4GHz - 82fps

Star Wars Battlefront 1920x1080 Ultra 7950 @1.1Ghz CORE i7-860 @4GHz -60fps



Regarding GTA V as you can see the Q9550 paired with the 970, did show a performance increase and that with quite higher settings. Meaning that even a weak cpu can show quite good performance, when paired with a good gpu, even if it ends up being quite cpu limited. Just note that this test focuses on gpu performance and the game can get quite cpu limited outdoors, so apart from the performance numbers, I would advise you to pay attention on the outdoors portion during the last part of the benchmark.

As for Battlefront, I am actually showing you the 7950 there, so you can see that it can perform adequately. This is a single player benchmark however, so things in MP can get different regarding cpu performance and also gpu performance when things start getting crazy. For the record the 860 is quite a lot better than a PhenomII, but on the upside it showed very little cpu usage, also shown at the end of the video. I did play some MP on my 970 however and I didn't see a severe degradation compared to my single player benchmark.

Going back to GTA V, cpu performance can be greatly improved by reducing the shadow distance. I am getting 50% framerate increase on my Q9550+970 combination by this setting alone.

I will have to agree for now that Nvidia may provide better performance in some games, due to lower driver overhead, but since DX12 is here/coming, this may be irrelevant for the immediate future.

I would strongly advice to get another 4GBs of RAM. Also a graphics card with 3GBs video ram or more. So I'd start you start from the 7950 and move up.

Ideally I would advise something between a 970 and a 960, but there is no such offering from Nvidia.

 

[RussianSensation]

Nvidia drivers play nicer with old CPUs (less overhead).

Here's a good deal for $160. Pretty much fits your budget and the absolute top a Phenom II X4 could handle (even that will be bottlenecked a bit).

http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2450587

Ya, I think this could be the last GPU upgrade for that system. Without going on the used market for an HD7950/7970/7970Ghz/280X, GTX950 or GTX960 2-4GB are probably the best bet in 2015.

 

[Homerboy]

OP, you can take a look at the test of my signature. I use a Q9550@4Ghz there, but I am pretty sure it has the same IPC as the PhenomII. So if you can increase your clocks safely, you can get a very decent graphics card.

No I am not suggesting you spend big for a 970, just showing what's possible.

Also since I am an avid supporter of raw video benchmarking, so people can have an exact idea of what I am talking about, here are some of my video links that may interest you. (spicy wallpaper alert on all videos )

Grand Theft Auto V 1920X1080 V.High(-) 7950 @1Ghz Q9550 @4GHz -60fps

Grand Theft Auto V 1920X1080 V.High GTX 970 @1.5Ghz Q9550 @4GHz - 82fps

Star Wars Battlefront 1920x1080 Ultra 7950 @1.1Ghz CORE i7-860 @4GHz -60fps



Regarding GTA V as you can see the Q9550 paired with the 970, did show a performance increase and that with quite higher settings. Meaning that even a weak cpu can show quite good performance, when paired with a good gpu, even if it ends up being quite cpu limited. Just note that this test focuses on gpu performance and the game can get quite cpu limited outdoors, so apart from the performance numbers, I would advise you to pay attention on the outdoors portion during the last part of the benchmark.

As for Battlefront, I am actually showing you the 7950 there, so you can see that it can perform adequately. This is a single player benchmark however, so things in MP can get different regarding cpu performance and also gpu performance when things start getting crazy. For the record the 860 is quite a lot better than a PhenomII, but on the upside it showed very little cpu usage, also shown at the end of the video. I did play some MP on my 970 however and I didn't see a severe degradation compared to my single player benchmark.

Going back to GTA V, cpu performance can be greatly improved by reducing the shadow distance. I am getting 50% framerate increase on my Q9550+970 combination by this setting alone.

I will have to agree for now that Nvidia may provide better performance in some games, due to lower driver overhead, but since DX12 is here/coming, this may be irrelevant for the immediate future.

I would strongly advice to get another 4GBs of RAM. Also a graphics card with 3GBs video ram or more. So I'd start you start from the 7950 and move up.

Ideally I would advise something between a 970 and a 960, but there is no such offering from Nvidia.

Very helpful! I think I will be looking for a refurb/used 960. That, coupled with a 2x4GB of RAM (no need to go to 2x8, right?) I should be able to squeeze some more life out of this system

For the record, it's actually a Phenom II X2 555 with the cores unlocked. I have OC'ed in the past to 3.6Ghz if recall, but always turned it down for the summer months. Winter is coming though and the house is cooler, so maybe I will ramp her back up.

I see on NE.com that there are refurbs that are longer cards with 2 fans and newer ones with a single fan (shorter PCB). Did these get a die shrink or something that new ones are more compact (and thus less power hungry)? I only ask as if my PSU is underpowered, I'd pop the extra $10 or so for the less power hungry version and stick with my current PSU.
Make sense?

 

[Headfoot]

Your PSU should be enough for anything we've listed. Don't worry about it. Also, go with the more fans version if possible. More fans = lower fan speed = less noise

 

[frozentundra123456]

Yea, 960 or even 950 sounds about right for that cpu. nVidia does play nicer with DX11 and weaker cpus. I would wait until there are actually, you know, real games out before basing any decision on DX12. In any case, for the next year or two, DX 12 games will just be trickling into the landscape.

 

[AtenRa]

Heh that dual core Phenom is too slow for the games you want to play. If you can find a quad or six core it should be enough.

 

[psolord]

Very helpful! I think I will be looking for a refurb/used 960. That, coupled with a 2x4GB of RAM (no need to go to 2x8, right?) I should be able to squeeze some more life out of this system

For the record, it's actually a Phenom II X2 555 with the cores unlocked. I have OC'ed in the past to 3.6Ghz if recall, but always turned it down for the summer months. Winter is coming though and the house is cooler, so maybe I will ramp her back up.

I see on NE.com that there are refurbs that are longer cards with 2 fans and newer ones with a single fan (shorter PCB). Did these get a die shrink or something that new ones are more compact (and thus less power hungry)? I only ask as if my PSU is underpowered, I'd pop the extra $10 or so for the less power hungry version and stick with my current PSU.
Make sense?

Not a bad choice certainly. Hey from the card you are upgrading from, you will see great improvements.

4x4GB overall would suffice. Unless the 4 sticks hinder your overclocking. I have no experience from 4 sticks overclocking on my Phenoms. The Q9550 handled 4 sticks admirably and iirc these Phenoms had better IMCs so it should be fine. You are not shooting for crazy overclocking anyway, so I guess it will be ok.

All maxwell cards are 28nm. No die shrinks. The short single fan ones will just turbo to more modest clocks or reach a higher fan speed. I would get the cards with the better cooler.

If your psu has two 6 pins and can provide adequate power on its 12v rails, you will be fine. Maxwell cards are quite efficient.

 

[Leyawiin]

Heh that dual core Phenom is too slow for the games you want to play. If you can find a quad or six core it should be enough.

Its unlocked @ 3.6 Ghz.

 

[AtenRa]

Its unlocked @ 3.6 Ghz.

Ehm missed that, it should be fine then with four cores at 3.6GHz to even drive a R9 390.