Ask GN 9: G3258 vs. 860K, GPU Binning, VSR & DSR, & More

As we near double-digits for Ask GN, the community seems to be getting the hang of submitting worthwhile questions for each new episode. As always, leaving your comments on the YouTube video is the best way to get spotted, but we also check twitter and these comments.

This week sees the return of further G3258 vs. 860K CPU discussion, the process of binning components and disabling GPU features, whether VSR & DSR are worthwhile, and CPU overclocking. We also briefly dive into some opinions on Bethesda's choice to release a partially-complete Fallout 4 PC DVD, which requires Steam for the remainder of the game installation.

Time stamps:

00:32 - Simon White: “Get a Pentium G3258 and the 390. Not the 860k or the i5. Then upgrade CPU later (to i5 or i7) since GPU is more important in most games. The 860K fails mostly because it's on the FM2+ Socket.”

05:32 - Confused Gamer: “I have a question about GPUs that confused me a lot lately and i would really want to have some clear answers. About a year back i found out something very baffling to me - less powerful gpus are essentially broken versions of more powerful gpu's. For example, 980 has a gpu that just turned out better than 970 gpu while trying to create 980ti. Is it true? If it is then additionally i would like to know how do they get gpu's with so similar perfomance when there is so much chance tied to creating one.”

10:15 - SyncVir2: “Is AMD's SVR really worth using on a 1080p monitor? Also why can't Crossfire Cards memory go into Duel channel mode so you can use both cards memory instead of the first?”

12:58 - John Walko: “Hey Steve, I have a question for you. Can you please explain: Which BIOS settings should be enabled / disabled when stress testing a CPU overclock? Which BIOS settings should be enabled / disabled for regular PC usage (gaming and what not) after stress testing. Thanks!”

17:01 - Nishant Sukharia: “I'd like to know what's your opinion on developers making huge (over 6-7GB) downloads from STEAM necessary even when you buy a physical copy of the game. Because I have a digital copy of MGS 5 (came with the GTX 960) since the past month,but as I have a slow connection the download keeps on getting reset after a few days & I am still not able to play the game. This is really frustrating for me & when Bethesda announced that they will also go the same way with only 4-5 gb on the disc & rest from steam, my excitement towards Fallout 4 has diminished significantly.”

Check back through this week for more in-depth hardware content. Thanks again, everyone!

- Steve “Lelldorianx” Burke.