If you’re constructing a gaming PC, you wish to make investments some huge cash right into a graphics card, and get not less than a mid-range CPU to keep away from the dreaded efficiency bottleneck. That’s the favored knowledge, anyway: It’s what you’ll hear in the event you ask a PC gaming buddy or an unusually pleasant nerd discussion board. But what occurs in the event you ignore the recommendation, and pair a brand-new, high-power graphics card with the most cost effective desktop processor you will discover on the shelf?

Such is the query posed by YouTube channel RandomGaminginHD. They constructed a “gaming” desktop with a Pentium Gold G7400 CPU, which is going for just $70 at Best Buy today, with a new $600 RTX 4070 graphics card, roughly simply to see what occurred while you stick ’em collectively. The outcomes (through Tom’s Hardware) are stunning, and nicely well worth the seven minutes it takes to get by the video. (By the best way, RandomGaminginHD, thanks for making an fascinating video that’s really concise, algorithms be damned.)

In quick, not less than some trendy video games are so GPU-dependent and well-optimized that the efficiency bottleneck isn’t an prompt show-stopper, even on a dual-core, ultra-budget CPU. Forza Horizon 5 and Red Dead Redemption 2, each identified for unbelievable graphics and pretty good stability at 1440p decision and “Ultra” graphics, managed above 60fps common and 1% lows within the 30-40fps vary. (To be honest, these video games run a lot sooner when paired with stronger CPUs, however these stay very respectable numbers.) Kingdom Come Deliverance, typically a CPU-heavy sport due to its many NPCs and subsystems, nonetheless managed a satisfactory 45fps common and a 1% low of 10fps.

But what about that fancy new DLSS 3 tech Nvidia has been pushing so laborious? The core concept behind it’s that your GPU has built-in techniques that may use AI to generate visible frames for smoother efficiency, in addition to another goodies like upscaling and latency discount. It’s actually meant to make high-end video games on high-end {hardware} run even higher…however what can it do for this unusual half-budget, half-gamer construct?

So much, because it seems. With the brand new path tracing “Overdrive Mode” active in Cyberpunk 2077, plus DLSS and body technology, RandomGaminginHD’s Franken-box managed a mean FPS of 70 with a 1% low of 30 at 1440p decision. That’s console-quality efficiency operating graphics that aren’t even an choice on a PS5 or Xbox Series X. While there have been some pretty vital jitters from the low-power CPU, it’s greater than playable, which is a stunning end result.

But it’s not all sunshine and roses. Less GPU-optimized video games and console ports didn’t fare so nicely. The Witcher 3 and Marvel’s Spider-Man took notable efficiency dives when CPU-intensive NPCs began populating, even with DLSS and body technology on. RandomGaminginHD concludes {that a} new GPU just like the 4070, paired with video games that help DLSS 3, may make for a fantastic mid-system replace for an older CPU, if not essentially such a pokey one.

So in order for you stable PC efficiency and you may’t afford, say, a top-of-the-line Ryzen 9 7950X3D, take coronary heart: saving a bit of cash on a CPU gained’t tank your construct. At least not almost as a lot because it used to.