Good CPU for 680GTX SLI setup?

rdupont1981 · **Good CPU for 680GTX SLI setup? -** 01-28-2013, 05:08 | posts: 1

So im building a new gaming rig and wondering if someone could recommend a good processor for a 680GTX SLI rig. I want to stick with an intel, as i have had bad luck with amd. Would an i5 be good enough? Or would I need a higher end i7 to prevent any CPU bottleneck?

ESlik · 01-28-2013, 09:22 | posts: 1,590 | Location: Sault Ste. Marie Ont. CA

Intel 3770K.

Undying · 01-28-2013, 09:45 | posts: 2,676 | Location: Serbia

I7 3930k

SLI-756 · 01-28-2013, 10:06 | posts: 3,119 | Location: Sunny Scotland

Delidded 3570k OCed to the max with Noctua d 14 strapped to it's back.
Just kidding.

Odellot · 01-28-2013, 10:26 | posts: 140 | Location: Philippines

Quote:

Originally Posted by ESlik

Intel 3770K.

This.

DiceAir · 01-30-2013, 06:48 | posts: 81 | Location: South Africa

A pc for nasa

army_cadet · 01-31-2013, 09:44 | posts: 59 | Location: United Kingdom

3570k

War child · 01-31-2013, 11:18 | posts: 45 | Location: Oslo

3570k or 3770k

Basically it comes down to how much cash ya got!

jcSihle · 02-01-2013, 13:55 | posts: 151 | Location: Durban South Africa

2600K @ 4gh would suffice

Loophole35 · 02-01-2013, 15:15 | posts: 1,640 | Location: FLA,USA

Quote:

Originally Posted by jcSihle

2600K @ 4gh would suffice

You would want pci-e 3.0 so i would say 3570K or 3770K and a good quality mobo.

pimp_gimp · 02-01-2013, 15:16 | posts: 5,768 | Location: Tacoma, Washington

3770k does nicely.

jcSihle · 02-01-2013, 15:44 | posts: 151 | Location: Durban South Africa

Quote:

Originally Posted by Loophole35

You would want pci-e 3.0 so i would say 3570K or 3770K and a good quality mobo.

pci-e 3.0 works just dandy with a 2600k on a Z77 platform

GhostXL · *Last edited by GhostXL; 02-01-2013 at 16:00.*

Quote:

Originally Posted by jcSihle

pci-e 3.0 works just dandy with a 2600k on a Z77 platform

No it doesn't as Intel i7 2nd gen does not support PCI-e 3.0. The cards would run in 2.0. The CPU just does not have the instructions and capabilities at all.

2500K/2600K/2700K can't do 3.0 ever period.

You need a Z68/Z77 platform WITH an i7 3rd gen aka i7 3750/3770k.

You can get a hack on SOME X79 boards paired with for example 3930K for 3.0 to work properly, but it's hit and miss.

OP I hope this clears up any confusion and helps.

For Xfire or SLI of any high end PCI-e 3.0 cards, you should have at least a 3570K and Z68 with 3.0 or a Z77 to get the best out of your cards.

aayman_farzand · 02-01-2013, 16:20 | posts: 718

Isn't the difference between PCI-e 2.0 and 3.0 like... 1 FPS? My 2500K @4.5ghz does just fine with my setup, except for BF3 MP which is highly CPU intensive (aiming for 120fps, I always get above 60 anyway).

Loophole35 · 02-01-2013, 16:34 | posts: 1,640 | Location: FLA,USA

Quote:

Originally Posted by aayman_farzand

Isn't the difference between PCI-e 2.0 and 3.0 like... 1 FPS? My 2500K @4.5ghz does just fine with my setup, except for BF3 MP which is highly CPU intensive (aiming for 120fps, I always get above 60 anyway).

When running sli you drop down to 8x/8x pci-e 3.0 which has the same band width as 16x/16x pci-e 2.0. Keep in mind this is disregarding mobo that have say a plx chip or the like to give you more pci lanes but those tend to add latency and the overall results are the same as just 8x/8x.

---TK--- · 02-01-2013, 17:47 | posts: 14,712 | Location: New Jersey, USA

High end tri and quad gpus benefit the most from pci e 3.0. For a single card or 2 way sli pci e 2.0 is enough. OP the 680's love high clocked k model 1155 and 2011 cpu's

pimp_gimp · 02-01-2013, 21:49 | posts: 5,768 | Location: Tacoma, Washington

Quote:

Originally Posted by Loophole35

When running sli you drop down to 8x/8x pci-e 3.0 which has the same band width as 16x/16x pci-e 2.0. Keep in mind this is disregarding mobo that have say a plx chip or the like to give you more pci lanes but those tend to add latency and the overall results are the same as just 8x/8x.

The latency is unnoticeable.

gerardfraser · 02-01-2013, 22:52 | posts: 1,114 | Location: Canada

I owned 680SLI 2600k 5Ghz PCI-E 2.0 (16/16) and 3770k 4.7 SLI Runs-PCI-E 3.0 (8/8) no difference in FPS in any game.

Even played CPU 3770k 4700MHzMB

SLI Runs---PCI-E 3.0 (8/8)
Physx Runs---PCI-E 3.0 (8/4/4) Pyhsx running PCI-E 2.0
No different in FPS.
IF you do higher than 2560x1440 there may be a difference but I did not test that resolution.
Even so 1920x1080 will give you higher FPS then compared to any resolution higher than anything above 1920x1080

GhostXL · 02-01-2013, 23:58 | posts: 4,916 | Location: PA, USA

Quote:

Originally Posted by aayman_farzand

Isn't the difference between PCI-e 2.0 and 3.0 like... 1 FPS? My 2500K @4.5ghz does just fine with my setup, except for BF3 MP which is highly CPU intensive (aiming for 120fps, I always get above 60 anyway).

For today's cards yes the FPS gains are minimal. 1-5 FPS on average for any given situation.

But really if you are buying flagship 3.0 cards, then there is very little reason to buy a 2.0 cpu/board. May as well spend an extra 50 on 3.0 compliant parts.

zimzoid · 02-02-2013, 00:42 | posts: 612 | Location: New Zealand

This is a bonus of the x79 platform i get full 3.0 pcie x16 on each slot, but need to apply reg patch for the 3.0 to work