5970 CPU Bottleneck

[TheUnk]

Will a 5970 be bottlenecked on a Core2Duo @ 3.6GHz? Not in games where you are getting 100+fps already, at which point I wouldn't care, but ones where it's "struggling" around 30fps?

 

[toyota]

although you will certainly stay above 30fps in most cases it would be very wasteful to use a $700 gpu with a dual core cpu. if you have that kind of money for graphics then get a decent quad too. basically any games where you would be above 100fps the whole time a 5970 isnt needed anyway. for the really cpu intensive games your playable settings and minimum framerate arent going to be much and in some rare cases any better than you would get with a single 5870.

 

[TheUnk]

My best CPU upgrade without a new mobo and ram would be the Q9650, but I kinda feel like if I have to get a new CPU it should be an i7, and I really didn't want to get a new mobo and ram.

Plus it looks like the Q9650 is pretty overpriced for some reason

 

[toyota]

My best CPU upgrade without a new mobo and ram would be the Q9650, but I kinda feel like if I have to get a new CPU it should be an i7, and I really didn't want to get a new mobo and ram.

Plus it looks like the Q9650 is pretty overpriced for some reason

yes sensible upgrade options are limited on your 775. truthfully though if you have no problem dropping 700 bucks on a gpu then you would do better to sell your 775 platform and go i7. if not then IMO just go with a 5850/gtx470/5870 and keep the 775 platform you have for now. my guess is that you have a mediocre gpu right now and you somehow think a 5970 is needed to play modern games on decent settings.

 

[cusideabelincoln]

What games are you playing and what video card do you have now?

 

[RussianSensation]

Considering you can get an XFX 5850 for $280: http://www.ewiz.com/detail.php?name=...ess-Video-Card

A 5970 is simply overpriced. Not to mention if your PSU can handle it, GTX470 SLI for $600 is still $100 cheaper and faster.

But as has been said, I'd strongly recommend either getting a single 5870/GTX470 for now or upgrading to a Core i5 750 platform if you plan to use the fastest graphics cards.

 

[TheUnk]

Eyefinity BFBC2 with three 1920x1080 monitors is what I want to do...

 

[TheUnk]

Well it seems that it's either $300 for a core 2 quad or $700-800 for a new mobo/ram/i7 cpu.

I don't think at 5760x1080 that the C2Q vs. the i7 will be worth the hassle and price difference for a minimal fps increase, if any, at that res.

BFBC2 using 4 cores though should unleash the 5970 signaficantly more than the dual core

 

[toyota]

well for about the same price in the end as getting a Core 2 quad you could just get an i5 750 setup and sell your old mobo/cpu/ram.

 

[netxzero64]

My best CPU upgrade without a new mobo and ram would be the Q9650, but I kinda feel like if I have to get a new CPU it should be an i7, and I really didn't want to get a new mobo and ram.

Plus it looks like the Q9650 is pretty overpriced for some reason

a Phenom II X4 955 beats the Q9650 right =)

 

[RussianSensation]

Well it seems that it's either $300 for a core 2 quad or $700-800 for a new mobo/ram/i7 cpu.

I don't think at 5760x1080 that the C2Q vs. the i7 will be worth the hassle and price difference for a minimal fps increase, if any, at that res.

Oh for such resolution, even a 5970 and a Core i7 are not enough if you want AA.

"The Radeon HD 5970 was not able to have any level of AA enabled. Even with just 2X AA enabled the performance hit was great, and the game was clearly unplayable. That 2GB framebuffer with CrossFireX is looking quite tasty for this game at 5760x1200." http://www.hardocp.com/article/2010/04/12/ati_radeon_hd_5870_eyefinity_6_performance_review/4

This makes for an even stronger argument of why you should get 5870 in CF instead of 5970:

5870 CF > 5970 in BFBC2
http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/video/display/geforce-gtx480-sli_6.html#sect2
http://www.hardocp.com/image.html?image=MTI3MTAzNjc0MjVDaThvQWU0U3JfNF81X2wuZ2lm