Buying a New GPU without bottleneck

[jackal79]

I can't upgrade everything now. I can either overclock my CPU to 3 GHz or so, or buy a new CPU supported by my current Lga775 motherboard.
Please suggest one of the above options. With these iam hoping to play atleast 1 or 2 year older games.

 

[toyota]

I can't upgrade everything now. I can either overclock my CPU to 3 GHz or so, or buy a new CPU supported by my current Lga775 motherboard.
Please suggest one of the above options. With these iam hoping to play atleast 1 or 2 year older games.

well its not that simple. a new cpu will not really do anything as long as you have a 9600gt. sure getting the gpu will give you the biggest benefits but some games are not going to play all that great. and any decent gpu will be greatly held back by your cpu so the money spent will be somewhat wasted. honestly if money is that tight then you probably should wait until you are in better position.

 

[Termie]

well its not that simple. a new cpu will not really do anything as long as you have a 9600gt. sure getting the gpu will give you the biggest benefits but some games are not going to play all that great. and any decent gpu will be greatly held back by your cpu so the money spent will be somewhat wasted. honestly if money is that tight then you probably should wait until you are in better position.

I basically agree with this in the long run, but for now, a GPU upgrade could be the first step. I had an E6600 system at 3.0 with an HD4830 (25% faster than your gpu), and it was a well-balanced system. Definitely played COD4 just fine. It could have taken a bit more GPU - and in particular a 1GB card.

I would buy the HD7750 (or the HD7770 if it's very close to the same price). Then overclock the CPU. Some games will definitely perform better. Some, like Skyrim, will perform much better at some points and only slightly better at others, where the CPU, even overclocked, just isn't fast enough.

 

[Denithor]

Ok, I think these guys are overstating the amount your cpu will hold you back assuming you overclock it. That chip should hit 3GHz without any effort at all and should be able to hit 3.5GHz or even higher if you take some time and do it right.

Here's you a starter guide to overclocking:
http://hexus.net/tech/tech-explained/cpu/9808-intel-core-2-duo-basic-overclocking-guide-beginners/

And here's our recommended list of stability checking software:
http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2195063

Get a decent aftermarket HSF (the Coolermaster 212+ suggested earlier is fine, $15 after MIR at newegg right now), follow the guide, do the stability testing and you should have no problems pushing up your cpu performance considerably.

At that point I would say you could probably go for either a 7770 (if you don't intend to upgrade your cpu/mobo/monitor anytime soon) or a 7850 (if you intend a more complete upgrade within 6-12 months).

 

[frozentundra123456]

Ok, I think these guys are overstating the amount your cpu will hold you back assuming you overclock it. That chip should hit 3GHz without any effort at all and should be able to hit 3.5GHz or even higher if you take some time and do it right.

Here's you a starter guide to overclocking:
http://hexus.net/tech/tech-explained/cpu/9808-intel-core-2-duo-basic-overclocking-guide-beginners/

And here's our recommended list of stability checking software:
http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2195063

Get a decent aftermarket HSF (the Coolermaster 212+ suggested earlier is fine, $15 after MIR at newegg right now), follow the guide, do the stability testing and you should have no problems pushing up your cpu performance considerably.

At that point I would say you could probably go for either a 7770 (if you don't intend to upgrade your cpu/mobo/monitor anytime soon) or a 7850 (if you intend a more complete upgrade within 6-12 months).

I have a lot of experience in Skyrim with 2 systems. The first was an E4500 and a 9800GT. With that system, both CPU and GPU were running at almost 100% utilization simultaneously. I was able to run on high settings after the patch, with a few setting turned down. With a GPU upgrade and no overclocking, this is about what the OP could expect. I now have a low end i5 and HD7770. I can run the game at Ultra at 1080p with AA turned down a bit.

So anyway, I would recommend a HD7770 or if you plan to upgrade and go to1080p a 7850.
If you want to keep costs mimimal now, get the 7770 and overclock the cpu. You should see a good performance boost. For best future proofing and a bit more cost now, go with the 7850.

 

[jackal79]

Thanks to all for taking the time to answer my queries. Now please help me in selecting a good CPU cooler for overclocking my CPU.

http://www.coolermaster.in/category.php?category_id=3565

 

[Silverforce11]

I was gaming with a Q9400 not long ago, its fine if you OC core duos/quads, they still pack a good punch and even if its a bottleneck, its definitely NOT sub 30 fps, way exagerated.

In fact, i was playing BF3 64MP with a Q9400 and 5850, both OC and NO MSAA, high, smooth 60fps.

 

[Termie]

I was gaming with a Q9400 not long ago, its fine if you OC core duos/quads, they still pack a good punch and even if its a bottleneck, its definitely NOT sub 30 fps, way exagerated.

In fact, i was playing BF3 64MP with a Q9400 and 5850, both OC and NO MSAA, high, smooth 60fps.

Old dual /= old quad.

Skyrim benchmarks: http://www.techspot.com/review/467-skyrim-performance/page7.html

Those are all much faster than the OP's CPU at stock.

 

[Silverforce11]

Old dual /= old quad.

Skyrim benchmarks: http://www.techspot.com/review/467-skyrim-performance/page7.html

Those are all much faster than the OP's CPU at stock.

Is that before or after the patch that removed a lot of the bottleneck on CPUs?

Also, even the slower CPU on there is managing 40 fps, perfectably playable. Now, if he is using his crap 7750, he's not going to get anywhere near that with max graphics and MSAA is he?

Not everyone needs >60 fps. The guy has little $$ to spend, suggesting an entire system upgrade is counterproductive. All he needs is a dirt cheap CPU cooler, OC that c2d like crazy, @ 3.2ghz its going to be like Phenom IIs, especially in gaming since most games don't even use 4 threads.

 

[yepp]

Thanks to all for taking the time to answer my queries. Now please help me in selecting a good CPU cooler for overclocking my CPU.

http://www.coolermaster.in/category.php?category_id=3565

Have you ever tried overclocking your CPU to 3GHz? Doubt you have much head room overclocking an E6550 with a G41 motherboard. The E6550 has a high FSB of 1333MHz, which your motherboard is already overclocked and close to its FSB limit.

If you really really really have to stick with your current platform as of now, you can pick up a cheap Intel Pentium 'Wolfdale' from ebay, anything from a E5200 or better. The higher the multiplier the better, they run at 800MHZ FSB so more head room to overclock. Or a higher clocked lower running FSB Core 2 Duo. The Intel stock cooler should suffice for a mild 3GHz overclock, if you plan to get as much out of them as possible pick up the Coolermaster 212+ if you can shop at Newegg.com, otherwise an AC freezer 7 Pro won't break the bank.

If you want to go quad, you can also pick up a Q6600 but you'll be limited to around 3GHz with your motherboard but they ain't cheap and are power hungry too. Honestly you'll be far better off with a new build than dropping a Q6600 in your current motherboard.

If a new build isn't too far off get the 7850, however if you're sticking with your current platform for a while, a 7770 would work well at your resolution.

Edit: BTW Skyrim ran fine on high with my E6300@2.8GHz and a 9800GTX+, Crysis at medium-high chugged in a few areas but was generally fine, res was 1280x1024.

 

[jackal79]

Hi all, opinions have been both encouraging and discouraging here.my idea here is not to play all the games released to date on >60 fps. I want to play most games on a reasonable fps. I have a long list of games now old starting from crysis 1 & far cry 1 to play before I even reach skyrim. I intend to do this on my current MoBo / CPU combination with a CPU overclock if required and a new GPU. So would a 6850 or 7770 be enough for this? Also my PSU is corsair vx 450.

 

[toyota]

most of the games you want to play can already be played so I am not sure why you think a new gpu is needed. Far Cry 1 can be maxed out at your res with the equivalent hardware of a 2 year smartphone. lol

 

[jackal79]

most of the games you want to play can already be played so I am not sure why you think a new gpu is needed. Far Cry 1 can be maxed out at your res with the equivalent hardware of a 2 year smartphone. lol

What about games like cod, moh, dirt, grid, mass affect etc?

 

[Gryz]

Old dual /= old quad.

Skyrim benchmarks: http://www.techspot.com/review/467-skyrim-performance/page7.html

Those are all much faster than the OP's CPU at stock.

That benchmark was done in November 2011.
It does not include the patch from January 2012, where CPU utilization was made 30-50% more efficient. Which made everybody's framerates improve 20-30%. In other words, CPU benchmarks about Skyrim from before Feb 2012 are all pretty much useless.

 

[DooKey]

What about something like this? I know it's $90 more than just the 7770, but it gives you a future upgrade path and will play games the way you are hoping to play. Just throwing it out there.

6770 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814125396

4gb DDR3 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820231253

Asrock H61 motherboard http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813157315

Celeron G555 cpu http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819116779

All of this for $212 versus $120 for a 7770.

 

[dpk33]

You can get a used Q6600 for about <$50 nowadays. That paired up with a decent graphics card will be fine.

 

[frozentundra123456]

What about something like this? I know it's $90 more than just the 7770, but it gives you a future upgrade path and will play games the way you are hoping to play. Just throwing it out there.

6770 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814125396

4gb DDR3 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820231253

Asrock H61 motherboard http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813157315

Celeron G555 cpu http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819116779

All of this for $212 versus $120 for a 7770.

1. I would look for a HD7770 instead of the 6770. I got mine (HD7770) for the same price as that 6770. The 7770 is slightly faster than 6770, uses less power, and probably will overclock more, although I havent tried overclocking mine.

2. Without overclocking, the celeron is probably faster than the OPs CPU. However, if he can overclock his CPU to 3ghz or faster, I doubt the celeron would be much of an improvement.

 

[jackal79]

I am leaning more towards buying hd 7770. But it's a PCI express version 3 where as my MoBo Asus p5g41t- mlx is version 1.1. Will there be any compatability issue? I saw some such issues in a Google search.

 

[jackal79]

Anyone? Please reply.

 

[Termie]

I am leaning more towards buying hd 7770. But it's a PCI express version 3 where as my MoBo Asus p5g41t- mlx is version 1.1. Will there be any compatability issue? I saw some such issues in a Google search.

Anyone? Please reply.

Actually, yes, in theory it could be a problem, due to broken backwards compatibility. I had that problem using a PCIe 2.0 GPU with an nVidia PCIe 1.1 chipset. But that Intel-based board you have should be ok - perhaps buy the GPU at a store you can return it to if you have problems.

 

[jackal79]

I have finally bought MSI hd 7750 oc version. Thank you all for all the help.

 

[Achilles97]

Just curious... How is it working for you? Do your games run satisfactory now?

 

[jackal79]

Just curious... How is it working for you? Do your games run satisfactory now?

Just started Crysis 1. I tried with 1280 * 720 with AA * 4x.So far good.