Bottleneck issue, GC upgrade i3+GTX970 is it worth

flameshearts — Thu, 12 Mar 2015 11:57:59 +0800

Hi guys, is it possible to manage without a CPU upgrade and just get a GTX 970? I want to play games on 1080p high/ultra settings, the games are mostly mainstream (FarCry4, Skyrim, upcoming GTA V) and i don't play multiplayer, only single.

Will my i3 3220 bottleneck a GTX 970 to the point where the frames are so bad? Because if upgrade my CPU, it's way out of budget as i need to change the mobo too. I'm aware that it definitely will cause slight drop in fps, but not to the extent that it will greatly impact my gaming experience.

I did some searching around internet and found some hilarious comment

Bloomfield i7 - "Nah, it won't bottleneck because it's an i7!"
Devil's Canyon i5 - "Nah, it won't bottlenck because it's a new i5!"
Ivy Bridge i3 - "Woah woah, that shit will bottle neck because it's only a dual-core!"

So, I'm really kinda lost, consider the price hike of 970 is it WORTH to upgrade? Any advise or other GC recommendation

BTW here are my specs:

CPU: i3 3220
GPU: HD 5770
MOBO: MSI H77MA-G43
PSU: Seasonic M12II-620W
RAM: 8GB

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Bottleneck issue, GC upgrade i3+GTX970 is it worth