Look, the CX isn't exactly top-tier stuff, but paired with an Intel Core i5-3570K and an RTX 3060, you're looking at maybe 300W max. That Corsair unit puts out about 450W on the 12V rail, so you've got plenty of breathing room. Honestly though, I'd go with an RX 570 over a GTX 1060 3GB any day.
YouTube benchmarks can be pretty weird sometimes. https://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/..._Pulse/30.html
So basically, it performs almost exactly like a GTX 1060 3 GB but costs less. It makes way more sense for long-term use too, given the extra VRAM. Plus, AMD cards usually see performance bumps over time through drivers, whereas Nvidia tends to lose steam on older generations.
What CPU are you running? And why do you think an RX 580 would be too much for a CX500?
Man, that's a tough one. Buying the 3GB version was definitely a worse move than grabbing an RX 470. Both should really be closer to $500, but asking 1800-something is just way too much—you're basically hitting the price of an RX 580 at this point.
Is that GTX 1060 the 3GB or the 6GB version? If it’s the 6GB model, it’s a solid buy. But if it’s just the 3GB one, you're better off grabbing an RX 570 or 580 instead. https://www.newegg.com/p/sapphire-graphics-card
Kimberly Gomez34, look, the Ryzen 5 1400 comes with that Wraith Stealth cooler, which is pretty mediocre. In that link you posted, they’re using a Wraith Spire on a test bench and there’s zero throttling (obviously!), but how does it actually hold up with the Stealth?
It says they're compatible with AM4, so for $33, you'd end up with a perfect cooler for the Ryzen 5 1400. Honestly, might even be a step up from the Spire.
But then you hit the point where you could just grab the 1500X for $50, which gets a decent cooler and more L3 cache—so it's really only $17 more expensive if you factor in buying a better cooler separately. I haven't seen anything regarding overclocking on the Wraith Stealth.
Nobody here is actually recommending the Ryzen 7 1700 for pure gaming. That Quote : The New Guy is clearly outdated—it’s from before the Ryzen 5 series even hit the shelves.
Ever since the Ryzen 5 dropped—especially the 1600 model which, when paired with an overclockable motherboard, ends up cheaper than an i5 7600K—buying those unlocked i5s just feels pointless.
They aren't nearly as capable as the i7s. They have zero headroom for when game requirements inevitably ramp up, meaning their performance is going to lag behind everything else.
Look, with the Ryzen 5 1600, you're getting 6 cores and 12 threads at 3.9GHz for less cash than what you'd drop on an i5 7600K plus a board and all that. That Ryzen has way more breathing room to prevent performance dips in demanding titles compared to the i5 7600K.
P.S.
The Ryzen 7 isn't bad for gaming, and it might be a solid pick if you're streaming, but honestly? Since the price is sitting right near the i7 7700K, there's no logic in buying it for pure gaming. It's for people using the CPU for work who also want decent, stable gaming performance similar to what you'd get from a Ryzen 5.
but in that $1500-$833 range, the Core i5 makes more sense now.
Testing here used a 7600K overclocked to 4.8GHz against a Core i5 7400 at 3.9 GHz—both are realistic clock speeds. The i5 was hovering somewhere around there; maybe slightly worse in minimum FPS overall, but not across the board. Still, the trend is moving toward the Core i5 pulling ahead of the i7.
Bottom line: the Core i5 7600 + B250 combo ends up being significantly cheaper than an i7 7700k paired with a Z270 and a decent cooler.
Adam Moore3, it’s going to take forever for any Core i9 to actually overtake the i7 7700K in gaming performance, even when running Vulkan. A Core i7 just isn't a great value proposition for gaming compared to the i7K; that's simply not how they were designed.
The Core i5 is worth it because you get decent futureproofing, especially since Intel's competition is looking weak right now. Even then, the i7 7700 stands alone, making these i5 chips feel outdated and pretty much pointless.
Why grab a locked i5 when you could go with a Core i5 7400 that allows for overclocking? And instead of an unlocked i5 paired with a Z-series board, you might as well jump straight to the hexa-core Intel chips—we're talking i7 5820K territory here, which is leagues above any i5.
Honestly, jumping from an i5 to another i5 is just a waste of time. The only move worth making is grabbing a 7700K and overclocking it as close to 5GHz as you can—that’ll actually give you a noticeable boost over a standard i5. Otherwise, look at a Ryzen 5/7. You'll get steady FPS on a 60Hz screen, and you're getting more horsepower for the future.
As for the GPU, I'd say just buy the monitor first and see how those two GTX 970s handle things. They should be enough for 1440p if SLI is working properly, though memory might end up being a bottleneck. If not, a GTX 1070 is a solid pick for pushing 1440p; the 1080 is way too overpriced for what you actually get out of it.
Yeah, finding a GTX 1050 Ti for under $150 might be a bit of a stretch right now, but here's one I found:
Definitely a better pick than the 1050 Ti if you can swing it within your budget. Plus, the GTX 1060 series is dropping soon, which should push prices down to around this level—or maybe even lower once those hit the shelves.