I am planning to upgrade my current rig (<< Specs) with a Nvidia GTX 670 and bump the ram to 16GB, in addition to getting a new case. Do you guys think the Core i7 870 that I currently have will cause issues in the future maybe like limiting the full potential of the 670? Also are the motherboard specs fine or do I have to upgrade that too? Appreciate your suggestions
It would help alot, and decrease the bottleneck. But that's what i would do... Maybe other gurus here have better ideas or suggestions.
thanks for the suggestions, so which is the best CPU cooler do you guys recommend? Also, I am new to overclocking, so if I use the ASUS TurboV EVO OC software would it be fine? As far as I know, this software is hardware overclocking and I believe there is a chip which helps determine the maximum clock that my pc can reach.
There are too many coolers to list! Here is a list of recommended coolers, any would do a great job at cooling: 1 - Noctua NH-D14 2 - Corsair H70 3 - Spire Thermax Eclipse II 4 - Thermalright Silver Arrow 5 - Thermaltake Frio Ock Edition Oh yeah, I'm with the other gurus on overclocking. Once you get your fancy cooler, overclock to 3.8Ghz or higher, as much as you can get without using too many volts as it will increase temps & decrease lifespan. Let us know what you get.
Agree with the overclocking, and if you are looking for the best bang for your money, check out either the COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 Plus: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103065 or EVO: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103099
4ghz oc will eliminate or at least lessen any bottleneck and should hold you over till Haswell is out... that’s my plan as I’m fighting off the up-grade itch. Most of the best coolers have been mentioned above and should fit in the Gigabyte GZ-X6 (if you’re still using that case) but you may want to check the coolers height first just to make sure. Google around for bios settings guides for real overclocking, don’t bother with the software or push button overclocking as it usually over volts the crap out the hardware... best to tweak it yourself. With i5 equivalent of your chip at 4ghz and a 580, I don’t have any issues with bottlenecks.
Dude stick with it and OC to 4GHz. I am sitting on a e8400 @4Ghz and also have the 670. I am also fighting off the urge to upgrade now. Your CPU is much much faster than mine and you really should not worry. (I am most definitely sitting on a bottleneck here, but it is still doable) Dont spend too much on the cooler though, the suggested coolers will cost you over 60 bucks. I'd rather get a cheaper option (HR-02 Macho for example? 30 bucks), will also get the job done. I am not a big fan of the CM Hyper 212, but should probably also be ok and is also 30$ or so. If you wanna get one of the premuim coolers, get the Noctua. (and dont throw away the current cooler). Noctua usually issue new adapters to new sockets and you might be able to reuse for Haswell (no guarantees of course, but better chance than with the others)
Bah, you've got nothing to worry about as long as you can get a decent OC on that CPU. Heck, I'm running a GTX670 OC Ed on an FX8120 @3.7ghz for Chrissakes, so far, ain't no game cannot be run at max setting, the CPU is slow compared to an i5 2500K/3570K and above, but still gets the job done.
definitely OC it, i get major stuttering at stock speeds in BF3, once i OC to 4ghz it runs butter smooth.