8800GTX & AMD X2 4600+?

imported_Skorpio

Senior member
Aug 29, 2004
283
0
0
Im considering buying an 8800GTX and game at 1680 x 1050 resolution.

I was wondering would my X2 4600+ bog down the 8800GTX or would it be fine?

The X2 4600+ is roughly equal to a Core2Duo 6300 - 6400.

TIA
 

nitromullet

Diamond Member
Jan 7, 2004
9,031
36
91
You might drop a few frames compared to a C2D E6600 or better in a few games, but for the games that really need the juice the 8800GTX will be awesome with an X2 4600+. The way I see it, if you're CPU bound with an X2 4600+ and an 8800GTX, you aren't using enough eye candy. I can still get World or Warcraft to dip into the 20's at 1920x1200 even with an 8800GTX. I actually had to bump it down from 16xQ trSSAA to 'just' 16x trSSAA when I got my 24" screen, and that's WoW... There is no reason to ever be "CPU limited" with a high end card.
 

Matt2

Diamond Member
Jul 28, 2001
4,762
0
0
Originally posted by: nitromullet
You might drop a few frames compared to a C2D E6600 or better in a few games, but for the games that really need the juice the 8800GTX will be awesome with an X2 4600+. The way I see it, if you're CPU bound with an X2 4600+ and an 8800GTX, you aren't using enough eye candy. I can still get World or Warcraft to dip into the 20's at 1920x1200 even with an 8800GTX. I actually had to bump it down from 16xQ trSSAA to 'just' 16x trSSAA when I got my 24" screen, and that's WoW... There is no reason to ever be "CPU limited" with a high end card.

QFT

By the way, the xQ modes work again?
 

Arkaign

Lifer
Oct 27, 2006
20,736
1,379
126
Originally posted by: nitromullet
You might drop a few frames compared to a C2D E6600 or better in a few games, but for the games that really need the juice the 8800GTX will be awesome with an X2 4600+. The way I see it, if you're CPU bound with an X2 4600+ and an 8800GTX, you aren't using enough eye candy. I can still get World or Warcraft to dip into the 20's at 1920x1200 even with an 8800GTX. I actually had to bump it down from 16xQ trSSAA to 'just' 16x trSSAA when I got my 24" screen, and that's WoW... There is no reason to ever be "CPU limited" with a high end card.

Well, there is no good reason. I have a friend who has a 7800GS AGP (warranty replacement/upgrade on a FX5700!) in an Athlon XP 1800+ w/384MB of PC2100 DDR. He plays sports and racing titles, and can't get much more than moderate performance out of it with current games. Load times, AI, etc, just make for a slideshow in some games. I've seen Sempron 64s w/6600GTs own his system for gaming. But, the card only cost him like $40 shipping/exchage, so .. oh well.
 

lopri

Elite Member
Jul 27, 2002
13,312
687
126
Originally posted by: nitromullet
You might drop a few frames compared to a C2D E6600 or better in a few games, but for the games that really need the juice the 8800GTX will be awesome with an X2 4600+. The way I see it, if you're CPU bound with an X2 4600+ and an 8800GTX, you aren't using enough eye candy. I can still get World or Warcraft to dip into the 20's at 1920x1200 even with an 8800GTX. I actually had to bump it down from 16xQ trSSAA to 'just' 16x trSSAA when I got my 24" screen, and that's WoW... There is no reason to ever be "CPU limited" with a high end card.
2nd'ed.

And if you're still worried, you can always overclock that 4600+ to 2.70~2.80GHz with ease.
 

Munky

Diamond Member
Feb 5, 2005
9,372
0
76
Even if you are cpu-bound somewhat, you'll still be getting high fps with a 8800gtx. It's not like your cpu is gonna pull your fps into the 20's - your cpu is fast enough to provide good performance with a 8800gtx. You may be getting "only" 100 fps instead of 120, but that's nothing to complain about. Moreover, some games like FEAR and Oblivion are completely gpu-bound even at moderate resolutions, so I wouldn't worry about the cpu.
 

WaTaGuMp

Lifer
May 10, 2001
21,207
2,506
126
I have a 4600+ and was thinking of getting an 8800 in a month or so and I have NO doubt the 4600 will do just fine. I also run at 1680 res. Just cause its not the BEST chip right now its still a beast.
 

BFG10K

Lifer
Aug 14, 2000
22,709
3,003
126
Click.

If you generally play modern games at GPU bound settings you should see a big performance gain from your 8800 GTX.

By the way, the xQ modes work again?
They've always worked.
 

Matt2

Diamond Member
Jul 28, 2001
4,762
0
0
Originally posted by: BFG10K
Click.

If you generally play modern games at GPU bound settings you should see a big performance gain from your 8800 GTX.

By the way, the xQ modes work again?
They've always worked.

Sorry, I meant xS as Nitro pointed out. Been on this red PCB for too long.
 

patentman

Golden Member
Apr 8, 2005
1,035
1
0
Originally posted by: Skorpio
Im considering buying an 8800GTX and game at 1680 x 1050 resolution.

I was wondering would my X2 4600+ bog down the 8800GTX or would it be fine?

The X2 4600+ is roughly equal to a Core2Duo 6300 - 6400.

TIA

I have 4800+ and a 8800GTX. You won't see the kind of 3dMark06 numbers that people are positing with the core2 duo's, but real world gaming performance is EXCELLENT. I'm wishing I bought a bigger monitor now, but I just sunk $580 bucks into my 20WGMX2 and I'm not selling it just so I game at higher than 1680X1050. I'm just kind of disappointed right now because there are no games out there that really challenge this card at my native resolution. Even oblivion runs maxed out with no difficulty.

I will note that you should make sure to enable the multicore optimization in the nvidia drivers. That helped a whole lot for me.
 

fluxquantum

Platinum Member
Oct 27, 2000
2,398
1
71
hi guys,

i was wondering if my system could handle a 8800 gtx especially my power supply and motherboard. thanks. :)
 

adairusmc

Diamond Member
Jul 24, 2006
7,095
78
91
Originally posted by: fluxquantum
hi guys,

i was wondering if my system could handle a 8800 gtx especially my power supply and motherboard. thanks. :)

I almost the exact same setup, and I am running an 8800GTX flawlessly. The only major difference is that I have a PC Power & Cooling power supply, 510w. I also have one more DVD burner and two more hard drives sucking up power in my case as well.

 

fluxquantum

Platinum Member
Oct 27, 2000
2,398
1
71
Originally posted by: adairusmc
Originally posted by: fluxquantum
hi guys,

i was wondering if my system could handle a 8800 gtx especially my power supply and motherboard. thanks. :)

I almost the exact same setup, and I am running an 8800GTX flawlessly. The only major difference is that I have a PC Power & Cooling power supply, 510w. I also have one more DVD burner and two more hard drives sucking up power in my case as well.

that's cool. did you install the AMD driver and optimizer for your dual-core processor?

 

adairusmc

Diamond Member
Jul 24, 2006
7,095
78
91
Originally posted by: fluxquantum
Originally posted by: adairusmc
Originally posted by: fluxquantum
hi guys,

i was wondering if my system could handle a 8800 gtx especially my power supply and motherboard. thanks. :)

I almost the exact same setup, and I am running an 8800GTX flawlessly. The only major difference is that I have a PC Power & Cooling power supply, 510w. I also have one more DVD burner and two more hard drives sucking up power in my case as well.

that's cool. did you install the AMD driver and optimizer for your dual-core processor?

Yes I did.
 

fluxquantum

Platinum Member
Oct 27, 2000
2,398
1
71
Originally posted by: adairusmc
Originally posted by: fluxquantum
Originally posted by: adairusmc
Originally posted by: fluxquantum
hi guys,

i was wondering if my system could handle a 8800 gtx especially my power supply and motherboard. thanks. :)

I almost the exact same setup, and I am running an 8800GTX flawlessly. The only major difference is that I have a PC Power & Cooling power supply, 510w. I also have one more DVD burner and two more hard drives sucking up power in my case as well.

that's cool. did you install the AMD driver and optimizer for your dual-core processor?

Yes I did.

sorry to ask you so many questions but i was wondering what order did you install them?

i.e, chipset drivers, video drivers, xp dual-core patch, dual-core driver, dual-core optimizer.

i've had stability issues when i installed the driver and optimizer. did a fresh install of xp and avoided installing them.
 

adairusmc

Diamond Member
Jul 24, 2006
7,095
78
91
Originally posted by: fluxquantum
Originally posted by: adairusmc
Originally posted by: fluxquantum
Originally posted by: adairusmc
Originally posted by: fluxquantum
hi guys,

i was wondering if my system could handle a 8800 gtx especially my power supply and motherboard. thanks. :)

I almost the exact same setup, and I am running an 8800GTX flawlessly. The only major difference is that I have a PC Power & Cooling power supply, 510w. I also have one more DVD burner and two more hard drives sucking up power in my case as well.

that's cool. did you install the AMD driver and optimizer for your dual-core processor?

Yes I did.

sorry to ask you so many questions but i was wondering what order did you install them?

i.e, chipset drivers, video drivers, xp dual-core patch, dual-core driver, dual-core optimizer.

i've had stability issues when i installed the driver and optimizer. did a fresh install of xp and avoided installing them.

I used the exact order you just described. I have not had any stability issues so far. I have been running this windows install for about 4 months now, since I got the 4800+
 

fluxquantum

Platinum Member
Oct 27, 2000
2,398
1
71
Originally posted by: adairusmc
Originally posted by: fluxquantum
Originally posted by: adairusmc
Originally posted by: fluxquantum
Originally posted by: adairusmc
Originally posted by: fluxquantum
hi guys,

i was wondering if my system could handle a 8800 gtx especially my power supply and motherboard. thanks. :)

I almost the exact same setup, and I am running an 8800GTX flawlessly. The only major difference is that I have a PC Power & Cooling power supply, 510w. I also have one more DVD burner and two more hard drives sucking up power in my case as well.

that's cool. did you install the AMD driver and optimizer for your dual-core processor?

Yes I did.

sorry to ask you so many questions but i was wondering what order did you install them?

i.e, chipset drivers, video drivers, xp dual-core patch, dual-core driver, dual-core optimizer.

i've had stability issues when i installed the driver and optimizer. did a fresh install of xp and avoided installing them.

I used the exact order you just described. I have not had any stability issues so far. I have been running this windows install for about 4 months now, since I got the 4800+


mine is stable too until i install that AMD driver and optimizer. by the way, what's your front side bus, memory, and multiplier settings? i.e., 270 x 10 = 2700 MHz, memory at 270 DDR540 @ 3-3-2-7
 

adairusmc

Diamond Member
Jul 24, 2006
7,095
78
91
Originally posted by: fluxquantum
Originally posted by: adairusmc
Originally posted by: fluxquantum
Originally posted by: adairusmc
Originally posted by: fluxquantum
Originally posted by: adairusmc
Originally posted by: fluxquantum
hi guys,

i was wondering if my system could handle a 8800 gtx especially my power supply and motherboard. thanks. :)

I almost the exact same setup, and I am running an 8800GTX flawlessly. The only major difference is that I have a PC Power & Cooling power supply, 510w. I also have one more DVD burner and two more hard drives sucking up power in my case as well.

that's cool. did you install the AMD driver and optimizer for your dual-core processor?

Yes I did.

sorry to ask you so many questions but i was wondering what order did you install them?

i.e, chipset drivers, video drivers, xp dual-core patch, dual-core driver, dual-core optimizer.

i've had stability issues when i installed the driver and optimizer. did a fresh install of xp and avoided installing them.

I used the exact order you just described. I have not had any stability issues so far. I have been running this windows install for about 4 months now, since I got the 4800+


mine is stable too until i install that AMD driver and optimizer. by the way, what's your front side bus, memory, and multiplier settings? i.e., 270 x 10 = 2700 MHz, memory at 270 DDR540 @ 3-3-2-7

I am running my FSB at 225 x 12, with plain Crucial PC3200 DDR memory. Memory timings at 3-3-3-8
 

fluxquantum

Platinum Member
Oct 27, 2000
2,398
1
71
Originally posted by: adairusmc
Originally posted by: fluxquantum
Originally posted by: adairusmc
Originally posted by: fluxquantum
Originally posted by: adairusmc
Originally posted by: fluxquantum
Originally posted by: adairusmc
Originally posted by: fluxquantum
hi guys,

i was wondering if my system could handle a 8800 gtx especially my power supply and motherboard. thanks. :)

I almost the exact same setup, and I am running an 8800GTX flawlessly. The only major difference is that I have a PC Power & Cooling power supply, 510w. I also have one more DVD burner and two more hard drives sucking up power in my case as well.

that's cool. did you install the AMD driver and optimizer for your dual-core processor?

Yes I did.

sorry to ask you so many questions but i was wondering what order did you install them?

i.e, chipset drivers, video drivers, xp dual-core patch, dual-core driver, dual-core optimizer.

i've had stability issues when i installed the driver and optimizer. did a fresh install of xp and avoided installing them.

I used the exact order you just described. I have not had any stability issues so far. I have been running this windows install for about 4 months now, since I got the 4800+


mine is stable too until i install that AMD driver and optimizer. by the way, what's your front side bus, memory, and multiplier settings? i.e., 270 x 10 = 2700 MHz, memory at 270 DDR540 @ 3-3-2-7

I am running my FSB at 225 x 12, with plain Crucial PC3200 DDR memory. Memory timings at 3-3-3-8


thanks for the information. it was very helpful. hopefully i will be able to afford a 8800 gtx in the near future:)