best card without bottlenecking?

[Astu222]

Hi i'm about to get a AMD XP 3200+ system and I was wondering what the best card I could get without it being bottlenecked by the CPU.

 

[yhelothar]

This really depends on the game and resolution. For farcry and doom3, you'll be unlikely to be bottlenecked by the CPU by even the best cards.

 

[dguy6789]

For that system, I would recomend the Radeon 9800 Pro. It was and still is a great card, and can run any game to date at 1024X768 at MAX settings with 16X anisotropic filtering. But make sure you get an 8 pipe, 256 bit one.

Also, you may want to look at a Geforce 6600GT or a 6800.

 

[HeroOfPellinor]

#1. I've seen reviews where they tried to determine the same thing and the XP hangs in okay. So don't worry about the video card holding you back unless you're just trying to benchmark.

#2. If that's a Mobile chip, you've got plenty more performance to squeeze out of the mofo.

#3. Why are you "about" to get an XP 3200 system? Sempron 3100+ or Athlon64 2800+ aren't much more at all.

 

[nanaki333]

well, if he's getting the system for free, why not? if he's buying the system, then i agree, he should just get an a64. sempron wouldn't be worth it. same crap as an athlon xp for the most part.

 

[Pete]

Sempron has the integrated memory controller, no? Maybe AMD sells XPs relabelled as Semprons, too, but I'm sure HoP was referring to the version that's basically an A64 with half the cache disabled.

 

[HeroOfPellinor]

Originally posted by: Pete
Sempron has the integrated memory controller, no? Maybe AMD sells XPs relabelled as Semprons, too, but I'm sure HoP was referring to the version that's basically an A64 with half the cache disabled.

Right. The 3100+ is the same as the A64 just without the 64 bit extensions. Awesome chip that OCs like Mischa Barton.

 

[Astu222]

my mother is buying the system and I am agreeing to it because of the open AGP 8x slot. its the 3200+ benchmarks that get me worried. would a 6800GT be overkill for a XP 3200+? (i plan on playing mostly FPS games in 10x7 or 12x10 res, with maybe some AF and AA but noting too drastic)

 

[Concillian]

Read this review:
http://www.anandtech.com/cpuch...c.aspx?i=2275&p=10

The XP3200+ is able to give acceptable FPS in all situations at these. CPU being the limit is not a significant problem in most games.

What's important to note here is not that the XP3200+ is at the bottom in all tests, but the actual FPS. In almost all cases these are totally and completely playable Frames per Second. Other CPUs are "better" but often you're talking at levels imperceptible to MOST people. For the most part, FPS below these levels will be primarily graphics card induced... and most people use resolutions and AA/AF levels that create a graphics card limitation rather than a CPU limitation.

In other words, buy the best card that fits in your budget, don't worry about your CPU limiting you, because you'll likely crank up the graphics to a place where the GPU will be the limitation anyway.

CPU limits are fairly independent of resolution. That is, as you go to higher resolution CPU is less likely to be the limit and the graphics card is more likely. In the case where you want 10x7 or 12x10 and maybe some AA/AF it depends on how much you want to spend, but the 6800 is about the lowest I'd consider. A 9800 PRo is good if you're on a tight budget, but I wouldn't buy a new one at this point, there are plenty being sold used as people move up. a 9800 Pro will definitely not be limited by CPU at 1024x768 + AA/AF

 

[dklingen]

I have an Nforce2 motherboard with a 2500XP / 9700 PRO combination and it works great at 1024x768 in Far Cry and Doom. I just bought a 6800GT, but have yet to install it. I believe what Concillian is saying is correct, in that the CPU will become less significant as the resoltion increases becasue the majority of the work will be on the graphics card.

On the low end you should go with the Sempron 3100+, but if you have to go with the AthlonXP 3200, make sure the motherboard/ram are a dual channel setup (nforce2).

Good luck.