Graphics/CPU ugrade question....

[MobBoss]

Well, I am starting to run into a few games that my Geforce 8800 GTS 512 is starting to choke on, so am considering a video card upgrade.

My real question is though will my new card be CPU limited?

My Mobo/CPU combo is about 3-4 years old. I have an intel Core 2 duo 8500 3.16 ghz in there rignt now.

Thinking of getting either a Radeon 6870 or Nvidia 560, both of which go for around 160 to 200 bucks at the moment. I am traditionally more of a nvidia guy, going framerate over eye-candy (i.e. higher AA/AS settings). On the Tomshardware videocard hierarchy chart, both of those cards are about 4 to 5 tiers higher than my current video card.

I use a 22" monitor for my gaming, and dont necessarily crank up the resolutions. I usually stay at 1600x1200 or just a tad lower, in order to get a decent framerate.

Overall, I just want to know if simply popping in a new 1 gig video card like those I mentioned will achieve the results I am looking for, or is my CPU not going to hack it?

Thanks.

 

[GenMarshall]

I would put into consideration if your PSU is up to the task as well, not just the CPU. I doubt that there would be any bottlenecking issues with the CPU.

 

[tokala]

CPU should still be "good enough" for the vast majority of games.

And even if you end up CPU limited, you can just crank up video settings and AA without getting a performance hit

Just make sure beforehand that your specific mainboard does not have compatibility issues with modern video cards.

If the PSU could handle a 8800 GTS 512, it should likely be fine for a 560 or 6870, which will only draw about 30W more under load.

 

[MobBoss]

Actually, I replaced my PSU only a year or so ago when my initial one burned out. I got a PC power and cooling 650w thats more than capable of handling a single graphics card solution.

Pretty sure my mobo was new enough to be compatible with PCI Express 2.0 x16.

In looking it up the Radeon 6870 has PCI Express 2.1 x16 support, while the Geforce 560 is PCE Express 2.0 x16. Considering the number of PCI Express 2.0 x16 boards still in use, shouldnt the Radeon still work on those mobos?

EDIT: In looking it up it would seem my mobo is only PCI Express x16 as its a intel P35 board. How much of a performance hit would I get on a PCI Express 2.0 x 16 board running on a PCI Express x 16 mobo?

 

[tokala]

Different PCIe Standards should not be problem, and for a single card its irrelevant performance wise (~1%).
But some older boards are electrically incompatible with some newer cards, because the board manufacturers screwed up somewhere

 

[GenMarshall]

Actually, I replaced my PSU only a year or so ago when my initial one burned out. I got a PC power and cooling 650w thats more than capable of handling a single graphics card solution.

Not that it matters in the discussion. Is your PSU standard or modular?

In looking it up the Radeon 6870 has PCI Express 2.1 x16 support, while the Geforce 560 is PCE Express 2.0 x16. Considering the number of PCI Express 2.0 x16 boards still in use, shouldnt the Radeon still work on those mobos?

EDIT: In looking it up it would seem my mobo is only PCI Express x16 as its a intel P35 board. How much of a performance hit would I get on a PCI Express 2.0 x 16 board running on a PCI Express x 16 mobo?

There should not be any kind of performance hit. If there is any, there wouldn't be any noticeable difference (unless running a program like Fraps that displays FPS).

 

[warpus]

My computer is about 5 years old, self-assembled for about $1,200 at that time.. I upgraded my video card to a $120 medium-range one (specs or name escape me.. it's monday morning) and went from 2gb to 6gb of ram and I can play pretty much anything. 24 inch monitor, native res.

 

[Mise]

Yeah, your CPU won't really limit you. It's only really used in loading screens anyway, AFAIK, not during the actual game. I'm in a similar position to you actually, having just upgraded to a Radeon 5750, but still have an old 2.8ghz Intel Core 2 Duo processor. Upgrading the CPU would mean having to upgrade the motherboard as well, which is a much bigger undertaking and probably not worth the extra effort (and expense). That was my thinking anyway.

 

[Quintillus]

The CPU will be used some in-game, both for moving objects in the game and for AI calculations, but yes, you are probably still fine on the CPU front. If it turns out you need a CPU upgrade too, you could upgrade to a Core 2 Quad without replacing the motherboard. Not as ideal an upgrade as a new Core iWhatever, but a C2Q would probably be more than enough for almost any game, and it would be more economical.

 

[GoodGame]

At 3.16 ghz, would quad core really matter? As long as you're gaming with only the game and maybe anti-virus running, not doing 4 different tasks at once?


Also my understanding of 2.0 vs. 2.1 is that it's just gimmick. They should all be backward compatible, so buying a 2.1 card should not be a problem.

 

[Zelig]

Kind of depends on the game, there are a few games that I don't find playable on dual cores, GTA4 and Supreme Commander come to mind, haven't really followed much more recent gaming stuff.

 

[GoodGame]

I was doing some reading on other sites and apparently an older dual core (e.g. Wolfdale) can really bottleneck a modern GPU, while a modern quad core might not particularly be a data bottleneck.

 

[GoodGame]

*bump*

I was GPU curious about what MobBoss bought.

I just decided to upgrade my Gigabyte Nvidia 8600 GT to a EVGA 450 GTS, figuring it was a definitely a good upgrade (260 GTX would have been plenty) and a good balance between power consumption and how much of a power gamer I'd really be.

 

[MobBoss]

GG, at the minimum, I will upgrade to a Geforce 560 or a Radeon 6870. Both are about the same price point (150 to 190 bucks) and about the same level of performance.

Still thinking through my options, and my newest idea is the following upgrades:

CPU: Intel Core i5-2500k ($220)
MOBO: no frills LGA 1155 board w/crossfire support (est. $120 bucks)
GPU: Radeon 6870 ($160)
Memory: 2x2GB G.Skill ripjaws ($30 bucks or so)

Total: $530

Will also need to upgrade my OS to Win 7 as well, but I can get that heavily discounted from the PX on base.

Will keep my current HD (less than half full), DvD burner, case, power supply, etc. etc. For future upgradeability, I can just crossfire in an additional radeon 6870 and that should give me a nice boost if needed over the next few years.

Comments?

 

[GoodGame]

GG, at the minimum, I will upgrade to a Geforce 560 or a Radeon 6870. Both are about the same price point (150 to 190 bucks) and about the same level of performance.

Still thinking through my options, and my newest idea is the following upgrades:

CPU: Intel Core i5-2500k ($220)
MOBO: no frills LGA 1155 board w/crossfire support (est. $120 bucks)
GPU: Radeon 6870 ($160)
Memory: 2x2GB G.Skill ripjaws ($30 bucks or so)

Total: $530

Will also need to upgrade my OS to Win 7 as well, but I can get that heavily discounted from the PX on base.

Will keep my current HD (less than half full), DvD burner, case, power supply, etc. etc. For future upgradeability, I can just crossfire in an additional radeon 6870 and that should give me a nice boost if needed over the next few years.

Comments?

Just that I think if you go for Win 7, you might as well bump over 4 GB ram, maybe through a ATX mobo with 6 to 8 ram slots.

 

[civ_king]

GG, at the minimum, I will upgrade to a Geforce 560 or a Radeon 6870. Both are about the same price point (150 to 190 bucks) and about the same level of performance.

Still thinking through my options, and my newest idea is the following upgrades:

CPU: Intel Core i5-2500k ($220)
MOBO: no frills LGA 1155 board w/crossfire support (est. $120 bucks)
GPU: Radeon 6870 ($160)
Memory: 2x2GB G.Skill ripjaws ($30 bucks or so)

Total: $530

Will also need to upgrade my OS to Win 7 as well, but I can get that heavily discounted from the PX on base.

Will keep my current HD (less than half full), DvD burner, case, power supply, etc. etc. For future upgradeability, I can just crossfire in an additional radeon 6870 and that should give me a nice boost if needed over the next few years.

Comments?

If you hurry you can snag Corsair 2x2GB for $12

 

[Zelig]

Just that I think if you go for Win 7, you might as well bump over 4 GB ram, maybe through a ATX mobo with 6 to 8 ram slots.

What? You can easily put 8 or 16gb in 4 ram slots.

I'd be tempted to put more than 4gb in too, but honestly the upgrade is so easy if he decides he wants more later on, and it's so cheap, that it doesn't matter much either way.

 

[MobBoss]

I remain unconvinced of more than 4 gb of ram on the board really helping that much (for gaming). If i'm that concerned about loading the OS or other programs fast, i'd just get a solid state drive and call it good.

 

[Zelig]

Depends how you use your computer. I seldom drop below 3GB of ram use with my regular desktop applications open - 4GB should be enough for all but a handful of games if you close other applications before launching games though.

 

[GoodGame]

What? You can easily put 8 or 16gb in 4 ram slots.

I'd be tempted to put more than 4gb in too, but honestly the upgrade is so easy if he decides he wants more later on, and it's so cheap, that it doesn't matter much either way.

Um...I didn't imply the contrary. I was just saying that the more slots the better, for long term upgradeability.



And I did install a 450 GTS as a replacement for a 8600 GT. In World of Tanks I noticed a very nice FPS bump (~20 to 40 FPS gain) while turning up the graphical features much.