So I've just bought the Gigabyte GTX 960 OC 4GB to run at 1080p. I'm pairing with an AMD Athlon X4 860k 3.7Ghz CPU and I'm just wondering if I should be prepared to encounter any issues with regards to the cpu throttling the graphics card in any way. Should I look at overclocking it, and if so, what would be safe? I've got it paired with a Titan dragonfly cooler.
PC part picker link is here http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/c9yWHx
You should overclock your CPU either way, probably in the 4.5ghz ballpark without much issues with that cooler.
With that cooler overclocking is a must do.
I really would like to see how that cooler looks on the micro-atx board.
4GHz is very safe
4.3GHz is also safe but might become a little unstable.
I've just had a look and I actually had the wrong Titan Dragonfly cooler in and it is in fact the TTC-NC85TZ(RB) 38.5 CFM (although that's gibberish so the updated build is here http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/c9yWHx)
Good to know though, thanks. I was looking at going for 4.0Ghz, seeing how it runs then possibly going to 4.2 Ghz.
4.2ghz whilst running safe voltages and temps, not unlikely on that cooler.
20-30% overclocks should be something standard to achieve on most hardware, especially CPUs.
An 860k and a gtx 960 is a good combination. Not really any need to oc the CPU but beneficial to do so.