Upgrade to GTX1080...well, maybe

[M D Gourley]

Hello everyone,
Having a Triple Screen 3D monitor set up using the TriDef software has been great over the years and my trusty GTX690 has just coped with it and with VR here now I do not think my 690 will cut it now, so I thought I would look at the GTX1080 as a replacement.
I have Googled information on whether my existing PC set up would cope with the 1080...but I am getting mixed information....so I thought I would ask here if anyone is kind enough to give me any information on the matter.
PC specs are...
Win 7 pro
Asus P8z77 V Deluxe Motherboard...manual says it is PCi 3.0 ready
i7 3770k
16GB DDR3
2TB Seagate Firecuda SSHD Hybrid Drive
Cooler Master V-1000 PSU

What possible problems may there be???...BIOS, CPU bottleneck...or is it good to go with the latest nVidia Drivers.
Thanks in advance
M D Gourley

 

[PaulH]

That system should be fine with a 1080 fitted, that CPU has still a lot of grunt, the ivybridge/sandybridge CPU's are fantastic and still pack a punch from 2012, even now Intel hasn't broken any records since they came out.

Cant see you having many if any issues if you been running triples in 3D

 

[M D Gourley]

That system should be fine with a 1080 fitted, that CPU has still a lot of grunt, the ivybridge/sandybridge CPU's are fantastic and still pack a punch from 2012, even now Intel hasn't broken any records since they came out.

Cant see you having many if any issues if you been running triples in 3D

Thank you for showing some interest and replying.

 

[PicoBp]

Well, my 1070 can easily be CPU bottlenecked by the i7-4790 (detailed specs below) on 2560x1080. You might have to make compromises with that 3770k, but shouldn't have much issues with GPU power if you go for the 1080.

 

[M D Gourley]

Well, my 1070 can easily be CPU bottlenecked by the i7-4790 (detailed specs below) on 2560x1080. You might have to make compromises with that 3770k, but shouldn't have much issues with GPU power if you go for the 1080.

Thank you for taking the time to reply, and based on your feedback I found this article with some great information...

Will Your CPU Bottleneck that Video Card?
In short, depending on the game, if the CPU's load is consistently very high already, the CPU will very likely hold back the performance of video card upgrades. By profiling the CPU and GPU load of games you normally play, you can make better decisions for your upgrade path. Based on the results from this test:

* If the CPU load is maxed out at 100 percent across the board, the CPU needs to be upgraded first.
* If the CPU load is hovering between 70 percent and 100 percent, a video card upgrade will still offer an improvement, but the upgrade path is limited. Unless you plan on upgrading the CPU in the near future, avoid high-end video cards.
* If the CPU load is below 70 percent most of the time, any video card upgrade will likely not be bottlenecked

Above information and an interesting read can be found at this website from PC Gamer
http://www.pcgamer.com/will-your-cpu-bottleneck-your-graphics-card/

 

[Frank]

Well, my 1070 can easily be CPU bottlenecked by the i7-4790 (detailed specs below) on 2560x1080. You might have to make compromises with that 3770k, but shouldn't have much issues with GPU power if you go for the 1080.

On what games?

I am running a 6700k @ 4,7 GHz and with a 1080 it is no where near a bottleneck, same resoltion as you.

@M D Gourley
Your CPU is powerful, coming very close to newer generation CPU's, if it really forms a bottleneck, which I HIGHLY doubt on a triple screen setup and VR, you can always look in to overclocking it, which is rather simple with a 3770k and your motherboard.

 

[Wicked]

Depending on how fast you want to upgrade it might be worth it for you to wait a bit for the 1080ti to come out. It will probably come out somewhere End this year / early next year as a answer to AMD's Vega cards, which also might end up pressing prices on the 1000 series.

Personally I am waiting for then to see what I'll buy.

 

[M D Gourley]

Depending on how fast you want to upgrade it might be worth it for you to wait a bit for the 1080ti to come out. It will probably come out somewhere End this year / early next year as a answer to AMD's Vega cards, which also might end up pressing prices on the 1000 series.

Personally I am waiting for then to see what I'll buy.

Yes, good point....thanks for your reply

 

[M D Gourley]

I found this basic calculator...type in your CPU, GPU etc and it tells you whether it's a match....so going by this my i7 3770K CPU is a good match to a GTX980....not anything above this though...

http://thebottlenecker.com/intel/index.html

 

[PicoBp]

Thank you for taking the time to reply, and based on your feedback I found this article with some great information...

Will Your CPU Bottleneck that Video Card?
In short, depending on the game, if the CPU's load is consistently very high already, the CPU will very likely hold back the performance of video card upgrades. By profiling the CPU and GPU load of games you normally play, you can make better decisions for your upgrade path. Based on the results from this test:

* If the CPU load is maxed out at 100 percent across the board, the CPU needs to be upgraded first.
* If the CPU load is hovering between 70 percent and 100 percent, a video card upgrade will still offer an improvement, but the upgrade path is limited. Unless you plan on upgrading the CPU in the near future, avoid high-end video cards.
* If the CPU load is below 70 percent most of the time, any video card upgrade will likely not be bottlenecked

Above information and an interesting read can be found at this website from PC Gamer
http://www.pcgamer.com/will-your-cpu-bottleneck-your-graphics-card/

Those are good baselines, but life doesn't always seem to care about statistics, so treat them with some margin.

(P.S.: Working in IT for the past 14 years )

On what games?

I am running a 6700k @ 4,7 GHz and with a 1080 it is no where near a bottleneck, same resoltion as you

Sir, your CPU eats mine for breakfast. Seriously, the i7-4790 @ 4.0GHz (Turbo Boost) is nowhere near the raw speed or technical advantage of the 6700k.

Games where the CPU is the weak point in my system (aiming for 75Hz adaptive sync):
- pCARS (opponent number and/or weather dependendt, and not that it really matters, but still )
- rFactor 2 (over 16-20 opponents, unless I turn some details way lower than my ego would accept with this config)
- Assetto Corsa (in replays, easily)
- ARMA III (okay, not fair, there's no CPU to cope with this one)
- Forza Horizon 3 / Apex

On a positive note, The Division seems to be the perfect balance with CPU and GPU hovering near 90%. Yaaaay! Too bad I can't really enjoy that game recently.

I found this basic calculator...type in your CPU, GPU etc and it tells you whether it's a match....so going by this my i7 3770K CPU is a good match to a GTX980....not anything above this though...

http://thebottlenecker.com/intel/index.html

Forget these calculators and listen to real world experience instead. They just make you feel concerned without even taking the usage scenarios into account. There's a buckload of knowledge in these forums which can give you a much more realistic baseline.

 

[M D Gourley]

Forget these calculators and listen to real world experience instead. They just make you feel concerned without even taking the usage scenarios into account. There's a buckload of knowledge in these forums which can give you a much more realistic baseline.

Good piece of advice.... so I downloaded 'MSI AFTERBURNER' to see exactly what my CPU and GPU were doing, and it seems in Automobilista my GPU is always fluctuating at around 48% - 75% on both GPU's (GTX690) depending on what track and how many cars etc in both 2D and 3D TriDef (5760x1080) and the CPU is only around 15% - 20% area. On the SSD the game play was noticeably smoother....then swapped it out and went back to my old mechanical HD and it had slightly choppier game play, even with the same GPU and CPU percentages...hmmm.
Although I also tried rFACTOR2 and in 2D and 3D on my mechanical HD and the GPU was 98% on both GPU's all the time and the CPU was around 30% - 35%...and un playable in 3D but fairly smooth in 2D (5760x1080) with those figures...what's up with that

 

[Frank]

Those are good baselines, but life doesn't always seem to care about statistics, so treat them with some margin.

(P.S.: Working in IT for the past 14 years )


Sir, your CPU eats mine for breakfast. Seriously, the i7-4790 @ 4.0GHz (Turbo Boost) is nowhere near the raw speed or technical advantage of the 6700k.

Games where the CPU is the weak point in my system (aiming for 75Hz adaptive sync):
- pCARS (opponent number and/or weather dependendt, and not that it really matters, but still )
- rFactor 2 (over 16-20 opponents, unless I turn some details way lower than my ego would accept with this config)
- Assetto Corsa (in replays, easily)
- ARMA III (okay, not fair, there's no CPU to cope with this one)
- Forza Horizon 3 / Apex

On a positive note, The Division seems to be the perfect balance with CPU and GPU hovering near 90%. Yaaaay! Too bad I can't really enjoy that game recently.


Forget these calculators and listen to real world experience instead. They just make you feel concerned without even taking the usage scenarios into account. There's a buckload of knowledge in these forums which can give you a much more realistic baseline.

I find it hard to believe that rFactor 2 and AC are bottlenecking your CPU, when I had my 3570k it wasn't even a bottleneck in those games, except in some badly modded tracks and cars.

The other games you mention are the opposite of optimized.

Also, with what the OP is looking to do with it, the CPU simply won't be the bottleneck.

 

[PicoBp]

I find it hard to believe that rFactor 2 and AC are bottlenecking your CPU, when I had my 3570k it wasn't even a bottleneck in those games, except in some badly modded tracks and cars.

The other games you mention are the opposite of optimized.

Also, with what the OP is looking to do with it, the CPU simply won't be the bottleneck.

rF2 - Down to as low as 40 fps at starts due to CPU limit with medium settings and 20 cars on grid.
AC - One screenshot says more than a thousand words.

 

[Frank]

rF2 - Down to as low as 40 fps at starts due to CPU limit with medium settings and 20 cars on grid.
AC - One screenshot says more than a thousand words.
View attachment 153924

I can do all settings maxed with an i5 3570k and still reach 60 FPS on the grid. I think rFactor 2 is a bad example as reasons stated above.

As for AC, something seems to go wrong there in CPU utilization in the replay, base on what I see in the left top.

Still either of your examples won't help the OP as he is going to run a setup that will bottleneck his GPU before his CPU.