Will i5-5250U CPU bottleneck a GTX 1070 ti?

[IseNoseee]

I'm currently planning on buying the GTX 1070 TI, with a Akitio Thunder 2 due to the fact that my Imac is only capable of TB2. I've been wondering if my i5 5250u cpu and TB2 will cut down the potential of the gpu, if so what should I do? And is it possible to get a Akitio Node with TB3 connected through a TB2 mac adapter and be able to make the card go? If the 1070 TI bottlenecks should I go with a 1060 6gb, a normal 1070 or a 1070 OC/SC?

 

[beginner99]

i5 5250u is pretty weak. What games are you planing to play? For example multiplayer Battlefield 4 / one will be extremely limited by this CPU, even with a 1060. Of course it also depends on your display. I assume its 1080p / full hd? then yes anything above a 1060 is overkill.

I assume you informed yourself?

You will need to mod the enclosure (voiding any warranty, it's explicitly not for GPUs) and buy a PSU because the one coming with the case is too weak. Summarized you will spend a lot of money for a mediocre result, if it works at all.

 

[Triloby]

Yes on both counts. Your i5 CPU is an old, hyper threaded, dual core which can't even hit 3 GHz, even at boost. And TB2 will significantly cut down on the amount of bandwidth a GTX 1070 Ti has to offer. Even if your iMac could take advantage of TB3, you'll still be bandwidth starved and completely held back by the CPU.

A GTX 1060 is probably the best your iMac can do without immediately getting into CPU bottleneck territory. Even then, you won't be able to utilize the full extent of a GTX 1060 due to the limitations of ThunderBolt.

EDIT: Also, if you're using an Akitio TB2 enclosure, you will need to replace that built-in PSU with something significantly more beefier, because 60W will just barely cut it for a discrete GPU.

At that point, you're completely limited to a mere GT 1030, or a GTX 1050 at best. Either way, it still sounds like an absolute waste of money.

 

[VirtualLarry]

Either way, it still sounds like an absolute waste of money.

This. If you want a gaming PC, buy a gaming PC. You can get refurbs with Ryzen CPUs and a half-decent GPU for $600-800.

 

[IseNoseee]

i5 5250u is pretty weak. What games are you planing to play? For example multiplayer Battlefield 4 / one will be extremely limited by this CPU, even with a 1060. Of course it also depends on your display. I assume its 1080p / full hd? then yes anything above a 1060 is overkill.

I assume you informed yourself?

You will need to mod the enclosure (voiding any warranty, it's explicitly not for GPUs) and buy a PSU because the one coming with the case is too weak. Summarized you will spend a lot of money for a mediocre result, if it works at all.

I mean games like Lol, Pubg, Vampyr, Fortnite, Overwatch.
And some graphic design apps for school.

 

[Headfoot]

Waste of time and money. Ditch the Mac if you want to game. You can get a used Lenovo S30 workstation, complete with everything except the GPU for under $300. Absolute no brainer compared to a $187 TB2 breakout box that will throttle you really hard. A used Lenovo S30 dedicated gaming box + 1060 6GB will be the same price, or less, than 1070 Ti + iMac and faster due to lack of bottlenecks.