Overclocked 2500k (4.6ghz) good enough 1080p gaming with 1060?

BlueWeasel

BlueWeasel

Limp Gawd
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Feb 27, 2006
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I'm finishing up a build for my son's first gaming PC. It's made of parts from my past builds, but would be considered mid-range I guess. It's a 2500k running at 4.6Ghz with 8GB of DDR3 (might upgrade to 16gb later). Resolution will be at 1080p and turning down some settings on newer AAA titles is fine….he's too young to care. :)

The last part I need to order is the GPU. He's really not going to be running the latest games but I want to get the best performance possible for $250.

I'm pretty much set on the 1060 6GB but would also consider the 3GB variant or the 480. Is an overclocked 2500k still good enough to power these cards?
 
1080p 60hz or high refresh? Does he have a monitor already?

Yea you should have enough horsepower :)
 
Just make sure to crank the graphics settings that impact the GPU and you should not have any issues. If you become CPU Limited you will certainly get some hitching in spots of some games. And with DSR you're not limited to 1080p anyway. Do not go with the 3 gig version of the 1060 as it already limits you in current games and it's a shame to have to run lower textures and settings from day one. Also you do need to go ahead and upgrade your RAM as 8 gigs is not going to cut it in some games.
 
Delicieuxz said:
Yeah, I'm running an i7 2600k @ 4.6 Ghz with an overclocked GTX 1070, and get great FPS.

3GB of VRAM is starting to be a bit low, but it'll do fine in almost all situations, I think.
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You have 8 threads so that is quite helpful in many of the games that have came out in the last year where 4 threads will choke.
 
BlueWeasel said:
I'm finishing up a build for my son's first gaming PC. It's made of parts from my past builds, but would be considered mid-range I guess. It's a 2500k running at 4.6Ghz with 8GB of DDR3 (might upgrade to 16gb later). Resolution will be at 1080p and turning down some settings on newer AAA titles is fine….he's too young to care. :)

The last part I need to order is the GPU. He's really not going to be running the latest games but I want to get the best performance possible for $250.

I'm pretty much set on the 1060 6GB but would also consider the 3GB variant or the 480. Is an overclocked 2500k still good enough to power these cards?
Click to expand...

Never read a complaint about inconsistent frame rates from a Sandy Bridge owner who overclocks the CPU that high. So either a RX 480 or GTX 1060 will do the job quite well for many years. An 8GB or 6GB card would last for a very long time. Even a 4GB RX 470 or RX 480 would be fine if you don't mind turning down a few settings as the years go by.

I'm not too keen on the 3GB GTX 1060 though. 3GB is what I had when I bought my HD 7950 quite a few years ago. I gave that away in a system build a couple of weeks ago to a family member who had no job and a bunch of kids. At least they can succeed with their studies by having a working PC.
 
OP : Yes, a decently high OC'ed 2500K is still perfectly fine.
Hell, it's what I have in all my spare gaming rigs (2500K @ 4.5-4.6GHz, 3570K @ 4.4-4.6GHz).
 
Yes, he'll only be running at 1920x1080/60hz on a 23" or 24" monitor. He sure as hell isn't getting 1440p or a 144hz gaming monitor before me. :)

Honestly, he pretty much plays Overwatch only at the moment. I know this setup is overkill for that game but I want the system to be able to handle newer games for the next year or two.
 
Delicieuxz said:
Yeah, I'm running an i7 2600k @ 4.6 Ghz with an overclocked GTX 1070, and get great FPS.
Click to expand...

Before I upgraded to my 4790k, I had a 2600k running at 4.7ghz at around 1.27v. I had both a 2500k and 2600k and both were great chips. They would easily hit 4.7 with moderate voltage and 4.8 with more volts that I wanted to give them for 24/7 usage. Ended up passing the 2600k down to my brother and he's running it with a 970.

I'm really excited to LAN game with my son. My plan is to introduce him to the original Quake and then kick his butt at deathmatch.
 
My 2500k at 4.6 Ghz can power even 2 x GTX 1080 and running games at 3440x1440 with ease.
 
The 2500k at 4.6Ghz is really good for gaming. You won't be hitting bottlenecks anytime soon.
 
drlqpham said:
The 2500k at 4.6Ghz is really good for gaming. You won't be hitting bottlenecks anytime soon.
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And that is 100% false. I have to wonder if some of you people just live under a rock and do not even look at any reviews or keep up with tech at all.
 
misterbobby said:
And that is 100% false. I have to wonder if some of you people just live under a rock and do not even look at any reviews or keep up with tech at all.
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You're both right - somewhat.

In titles that CAN'T take advantage of > 4t, the 2500K @ 4.6GHz is perfectly acceptable (a 6600K @ 4.6GHz is only ~25% faster).

In titles that CAN take advantage of > 4t, the 2500K @ 4.6GHz will suck, but so will a 6600K @ 4.6GHz.
2600K / 2700K @ 4.6GHz vs. 6700K/7700K @ 4.6GHz is a more relevant comparison (and again the 6700K/7700K would be only ~25% faster vs. the 2600K/2700K).

Wish people would stop conflating uArch and c/t count.
 
BlueWeasel said:
I'm pretty much set on the 1060 6GB but would also consider the 3GB variant or the 480. Is an overclocked 2500k still good enough to power these cards?
Click to expand...

I've made the rounds this weekend after I just installed my 3Gb 1060- man is it impressive!
I can't believe what that card can do.

I would save some dough for your next build and get the 3GB 1060- I don't think your 2500k will be holding you back.

Is your build top of line and going to run 200fps on the newest AAA titles? No. But you don't expect it to be.
 
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