Video card/cpu for 1080p

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Bman123

Supreme [H]ardness
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Dec 19, 2007
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Long story short I’m fed up with Xbox one x performance, console game prices and 30fps


I’m looking to get a video card and cpu for 1080p. Was thinking maybe a i3 8100 and a rx580 8gb card. Any input here would be appreciated. I need at least 60fps, ultra settings would be nice but not a necessity. Would love to get something that would last me a few years
 
An RX580 or GTX 1060 is a good GPU for your needs. I'd upgrade to an i5 and forget the i3 because games are starting to take advantage of 4 cores or more now. i5-8400 would work well or you could go also go Ryzen 2600.
 
The videos I’ve watched show the i5 getting beat in a lot of games due to the clock speed being so low compared to the i3
 
Montu said:
An RX580 or GTX 1060 is a good GPU for your needs. I'd upgrade to an i5 and forget the i3 because games are starting to take advantage of 4 cores or more now. i5-8400 would work well or you could go also go Ryzen 2600.
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Bman123 said:
The videos I’ve watched show the i5 getting beat in a lot of games due to the clock speed being so low compared to the i3
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The i3 being a real quad core I'm sure performance would be fine. It's not going to be the best it could be but I'm sure you'll have a good experience with that setup.
 
Grab a RX 580 + Ryzen 1600? the 1600 can be had for pretty cheap nowadays given Ryzen refresh came out. Plenty of cores, comes with a cooler that'll let you hit 3.8-3.9ghz anyway. Really depends on prices I guess.
 
The cheapest r5 2600 cpu Mobo combo is $279
The cheapest Ryzen 1600 cpu Mobo combo is
$165
The cheapest i5 8400 cpu Mobo combo is
$253
The cheapest i5 8600k cpu Mobo combo is
$278
The cheapest i3 8100 cpu Mobo combo is
$157
I have a micro center somewhat nearby to get the combo from so I’m going off those prices.
 
I’ve got a 650 watt psu and a cougar mid tower case already. Just trying to keep the rest of the cost down some since I’m selling the one x for $400 locally with 2 controllers and coming out of pocket for the rest of the system.
Just want something that’s gonna work good and run circles around this one x that I’ve got. I haven’t built a pc since the i5 3570k days so I’ve been out of the loop for quite a while
 
Bman123 said:
The cheapest r5 2600 cpu Mobo combo is $279
The cheapest Ryzen 1600 cpu Mobo combo is
$165
The cheapest i5 8400 cpu Mobo combo is
$253
The cheapest i5 8600k cpu Mobo combo is
$278
The cheapest i3 8100 cpu Mobo combo is
$157
I have a micro center somewhat nearby to get the combo from so I’m going off those prices.
Click to expand...

Since you're on a budget, I would get the R5 1600 combo, overclock it to 3.8, and call it a day.

Also, get the RX 580 8GB over the the 1060 (you can get one for $200-220 new if you watch for it)

EDIT: Wai, wait.... I just noticed your thread title specified 1080p.

In that case, go with the i5 8400 + RX 580.
 
Actually if you still have that I5-3570k you might try overclocking that and buying a Nvidia 1070 for $250 used with the money you saved on the CPU. That’s a really potent 1080p gaming setup. The 3570k is still listed in the top tier of gaming CPUs at Tom’s hardware. If your target is 60hz — it’ll be fine!

https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/cpu-hierarchy,4312.html
 
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Agree with above (horrorshow). With the 1600 at 165 with board that's almost a no brainer.
 
Bman123 said:
The cheapest r5 2600 cpu Mobo combo is $279
The cheapest Ryzen 1600 cpu Mobo combo is
$165
The cheapest i5 8400 cpu Mobo combo is
$253
The cheapest i5 8600k cpu Mobo combo is
$278
The cheapest i3 8100 cpu Mobo combo is
$157
I have a micro center somewhat nearby to get the combo from so I’m going off those prices.
Click to expand...

I wouldn't recommend a 4 core 4 thread cpu now so thats the i3 8100 out. Looking at the prices the 1600 looks good although I wouldn't want to pay for 3200 cl 14 ram for it. They are all good gaming cpu's so depends on budget and preference. With a tight budget the 1600 and ddr4 3000 cl16 ram I think.
 
Archaea said:
Actually if you still have that I5-3570k you might try overclocking that and buying a Nvidia 1070 for $250 used with the money you saved on the CPU. That’s a really potent 1080p gaming setup.
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This^

I'm still on a i7 2600K OC to 4.5GHz since new in 2011 and have no issue @1080p. It hasn't given me a reason to upgrade yet. Ran a 1060 6GB for a long time and got 60+ fps no problem with decent settings. Ran a 1070 for a while and it was not held back whatsoever. Benched against another i5 6600K build of mine with same GPU's at same 4.5GHz clock and it was very close. The only processor that has enticed me to upgrade on a whim is an i7 8700K on the Z370 platform with DDR4. It just isn't big enough of an upgrade for me to justify the cost yet. This could change at some point, but right now that i7 2600k and Asus P8P67 motherboard combo from MicroCenter is the best money I have ever spent on PC hardware. Check out this article https://www.hardwarecanucks.com/for...7-2600k-vs-i7-8700k-upgrading-worthwhile.html

If you still have it, take that 3570K and crank it to at least 4.4GHz and put a 1060 6GB or 1070 in there. See if you like it. Upgrade the CPU and platform if you aren't satisfied.

If you need to start from scratch, go for the 8600K combo for $25 more than the 8400. Buy the best that you can afford in a stretch and don't settle too much. That approach has paid off for me.
 
I don’t have the 3570k anymore. It’s been gone for quite a while.
 
Or stop creeping the CPU/mobo price and stick with the i3-8100 or the Ryzen 1600 and get MORE VIDEO CARD. Because you get more for your buck that way anyway. Save the $100 and get a 1070 or something.

At 1080p you are going to get more eye candy and fps with the video card. The CPU is just not the primary factor here.
 
Advil said:
Or stop creeping the CPU/mobo price and stick with the i3-8100 or the Ryzen 1600 and get MORE VIDEO CARD. Because you get more for your buck that way anyway. Save the $100 and get a 1070 or something.

At 1080p you are going to get more eye candy and fps with the video card. The CPU is just not the primary factor here.
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I agree. I'd go with that 1600 combo and the best GPU I could afford.
 
Considering the i3 and Ryzen 1600 are a wash in price, go 1600. The i3 might win on more then a few games but both will do you fine at 1080p. The benefit of the 1600 is that month after month it will offer longevity. A year from now the 1600 will be a no brainier I would think. Also the AMD platform offers you a unlocked CPU for OC'ing and also a future AM4 upgrade path.
Take the advice of others here. All extra $$ should go to GPU. Even@1080p it is what really matters for now and the future. Crazy money aside ;)
 
Do you already have the monitor? 1080p144hz Freesync is often going below $180, and a RX 580 or 1060 is great for this. Both the i5-8400 and 1600 are fine choices. Freesync is a lot cheaper which makes the RX 580 a solid choice.
 
I have a hp 32 inch 1080p ips monitor right now actually with no plans on changing it
 
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Microcenter offers the bundle discount on all motherboards, not just the ones listed on the combo page. This makes the difference between a Ryzen 1600 and 2600 $20. The motherboard you get in the 1600 combo you listed is an A320 chipset, the Asrock B450M-HDV has a B450 chipset and is only $10 more and worth it.

Ryzen 1600 + board is $176
Ryzen 2600 + board is $196
Ryzen 1700X + board is $226
Ryzen 2600X + board is $226
 
One thing to consider. There's rumors that the next generation of console by Sony and Microsoft will both use 8 core ryzens.

If that's the case - you'll want 8 cores for some degree of future proofing. I'm not a huge advocate of future proofing especially when it's years out and you're on a budget --- but it should enter the consideration to some degree since console game development and engine development always bleeds over to PC games. (maybe in considering either a 2600x or a 1700x.)

To save $100 bucks and still get and 8 core that 1700x for $226 is pretty darn good.
 
A friend bought a new pc, and gave me his old one. Its a i5 3470, 16gb ddr3 1,600mhz, gtx 760 video card, 2 tb hard drive and a 120gb ssd boot drive.
Is there something simple I can upgrade on this for right now to better the performance til I get the cash for everything else?

He also gave me 2x8gb ddr4 2600 sticks of ram for the future build so I’ve got the ram, a case, 650 watt psu, 2tb hard drive and 120gb ssd boot drive.
 
Bman123 said:
A friend bought a new pc, and gave me his old one. Its a i5 3470, 16gb ddr3 1,600mhz, gtx 760 video card, 2 tb hard drive and a 120gb ssd boot drive.
Is there something simple I can upgrade on this for right now to better the performance til I get the cash for everything else?

He also gave me 2x8gb ddr4 2600 sticks of ram for the future build so I’ve got the ram, a case, 650 watt psu, 2tb hard drive and 120gb ssd boot drive.
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Have you tried it as is. I would fire up some of the games you like and see how they perform. But for sure GPU upgrade will be the biggest possible boost gaming wise.

There's 1070's for sale on this site for like $255. Sure they've been mined but get one with some good warranty time left and your golden.
 
lightsout said:
Have you tried it as is. I would fire up some of the games you like and see how they perform. But for sure GPU upgrade will be the biggest possible boost gaming wise.

There's 1070's for sale on this site for like $255. Sure they've been mined but get one with some good warranty time left and your golden.
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I don’t know what software I can download that would record cpu/gpu usage and frame rate so I could play the games and later look at it to see how everything was running.

The only paid game I have atm is pub g, I can download fortnite or whatever else is free on steam and try those as well. Any free game recommendations to see how well it performs and software to see usage after playing?
 
Bman123 said:
I don’t know what software I can download that would record cpu/gpu usage and frame rate so I could play the games and later look at it to see how everything was running.

The only paid game I have atm is pub g, I can download fortnite or whatever else is free on steam and try those as well. Any free game recommendations to see how well it performs and software to see usage after playing?
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If PUBG is your game-of-choice, a 1060 GTX 6GB should compliment that system quite well....
 
Steam has an in game FPS counter, will put your FPS in the corner of any steam game. It is under Settings -> In Game then about half way down you will see In Game FPS Counter.
 
In my opinion if you are looking to save some $, maybe look for a 980ti which is on par with the 1070gtx or if you can find one of these cheap. In essence you are getting a card that is almost double a 580 or 1060, which should blow away current gen consoles. As for the CPUs I'm not sure going from 2 to 4 to 6 cores is really as huge a jump from a bang for the buck perspective.

From personal experience my htpc with an rx460 and haswell g3260 smokes a Xbox one s at 1080p, and really only upgraded to a 980ti for vr and a 4670 bc it was wicked cheap. Not sure what the x version brings in regards to visuals.
 
If you only want 1080p then the 2080Ti will be perfect.
 
rhansen5_99 said:
In my opinion if you are looking to save some $, maybe look for a 980ti which is on par with the 1070gtx or if you can find one of these cheap. In essence you are getting a card that is almost double a 580 or 1060, which should blow away current gen consoles. As for the CPUs I'm not sure going from 2 to 4 to 6 cores is really as huge a jump from a bang for the buck perspective.

From personal experience my htpc with an rx460 and haswell g3260 smokes a Xbox one s at 1080p, and really only upgraded to a 980ti for vr and a 4670 bc it was wicked cheap. Not sure what the x version brings in regards to visuals.
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I run 1080p with my 980ti and get 100-140fps in pubg with a mix of medium/high/ultra settings. They are a great option if you are on a tight budget. 1070s are fairly cheap used as well.

What is with all the 2080ti trolls?
 
I run i3-8350k coupled with 1080Ti for my 4k gaming.
It's overclocked to 4.7ghz and I think it's probably the best gaming cpu for the money. It is basically the old i5 cpu.
Honestly if you can afford, get 1070 or 1070Ti. That will last you a few years for 1080p/60hz ultra gaming.
 
With the current system, i5 3470, 16gb ddr3, gtx 760 at 1080P i was able to play pub g with everything on low except textures and view distance on medium and I can stay at 60 fps for the most part with cpu usage around 70-90%
I loaded up fallout 4 and on high settings was able to get 50+ fps cpu usage was between 70-90 for the most part. When fighting enemies on screen I saw it hit up to 98% cpu usage for a second or two
Gpu usage is pegged at 99% of course since the card is old

I was talking to a guy at work yesterday about ryzen cpus and he said they need fast ram to shine. I told him I've got 16gb of ddr4 2600mhz ram and he said to buy 3000 or 3200mhz ram for ryzen. Is it really that big of a performance difference or would I be fine using that?
 
Bman123 said:
With the current system, i5 3470, 16gb ddr3, gtx 760 at 1080P i was able to play pub g with everything on low except textures and view distance on medium and I can stay at 60 fps for the most part with cpu usage around 70-90%
I loaded up fallout 4 and on high settings was able to get 50+ fps cpu usage was between 70-90 for the most part. When fighting enemies on screen I saw it hit up to 98% cpu usage for a second or two
Gpu usage is pegged at 99% of course since the card is old

I was talking to a guy at work yesterday about ryzen cpus and he said they need fast ram to shine. I told him I've got 16gb of ddr4 2600mhz ram and he said to buy 3000 or 3200mhz ram for ryzen. Is it really that big of a performance difference or would I be fine using that?
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It makes a difference, but it's not a deal-breaker. IMO upgrade your GPU first. See how you go. That i5 still pulls its weight most of the time. GTX 1060/RX 580. Any higher you'll be unbalancing the system. Though used 1070s look good right now...
 
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