CPU bottleneck

[Calculator83]

HOW bad is cpu bottleneck at 25x16. I own a 3007wfp

I'm still pushing the old opteron 144 at 2.9ghz

And am pretty much set on buying the new 4870x2 "when it becomes available "christmas, probably"

So i want to know if I REALLY truely need a new system.

 

[Calculator83]

bump?

 

[Goldfish4209]

Not enough information. Depends on what you're doing.

 

[taltamir]

CPU bottleneck depends more on the game and less on resolution... this is why I was dropping into 23 fps min in mass effect at both 1920x1200 and 720x480 resolution. Physics, AI, etc take about the same CPU regardless of your resolution, and generally there is no way to disable any features in them.

is that opteron a dual core?

 

[Calculator83]

nope single

 

[taltamir]

Then upgrade.
I would recommend a Q6600 (OC it) + 4870 / GTX260 (whichever is cheaper) for a total price of less then just a 4870x2.
Things need to be kept in a balance.

Although, you DO have DDR2 right? only the motherboard needs replacing?
Mobo: 100$
CPU (E8400 or Q6600): 150$ / 180$
GTX260 / 4870: about 250$ (225$ / 270$ after MIR right now).
Total: 500$ / 530$$.

There are amazing deals all the time, the E8400 is now on a killer sale for 140$, the GTX260 on a killer 225$ sale, etc... i see no reason to put a 4870x2 on a single core machine.

 

[Calculator83]

Originally posted by: taltamir
Then upgrade.
I would recommend a Q6600 (OC it) + 4870 / GTX260 (whichever is cheaper) for a total price of less then just a 4870x2.
Things need to be kept in a balance.

Although, you DO have DDR2 right? only the motherboard needs replacing?
Mobo: 100$
CPU (E8400 or Q6600): 150$ / 180$
GTX260 / 4870: about 250$ (225$ / 270$ after MIR right now).
Total: 500$ / 530$$.

There are amazing deals all the time, the E8400 is now on a killer sale for 140$, the GTX260 on a killer 225$ sale, etc... i see no reason to put a 4870x2 on a single core machine.

heres the thing,, How much benefit in frames am i going to see from adding 530 in addition the 4870 x2.

Because i have no use for a faster cpu at the moment,, my windows is still real snappy, and my x1900xtx stil chugs along alrite. I just haven't been able to play most games at 25x16.

I'm not looking to get TOP frames really if i can get 85% of the frames in those benchmarks i'd be happy.

The big question is is it a difference here of 20% or more? or less than.

Note: the reason this decision is hard is because I have no budget constraint. I just don't see it worth a whole new platform just to get another 10 frames. I'm just too lazy to manually put together a whole pc. Time, and cuts on my hand.

 

[alcoholbob]

There's a huge difference between single and dual core. Quads...well the difference is neglible for games at the same clock rate, msot gains are better performance in desktop productivity.

 

[taltamir]

read it again, its not 530$ + the 4870x2... its 530$ INSTEAD of the 4870x2 to upgrade to a single 4870 (250$) + motherboard + CPU.... which will give you a lot more for less money then a 4870x2 will with your single core.

 

[Calculator83]

Originally posted by: taltamir
read it again, its not 530$ + the 4870x2... its 530$ INSTEAD of the 4870x2 to upgrade to a single 4870 (250$) + motherboard + CPU.... which will give you a lot more for less money then a 4870x2 will with your single core.

OH ok ic

Are you sure? it'll give me more frames than a 4870x2, well i can't buy a 4870 anyway since it doesn't play games at 25x16

 

[daveybrat]

Like everyone else said already, a dual-core processor is almost a must for the newest games. And you would be signifigantly bottlenecked using a single-core processor. Try to sell what you have on ebay or locally and look into getting a E8400 or Q6600 processor to go along with that card.

 

[taltamir]

there are 1GB versions of the 4870 and 4850 cropping up around... and the eVGA GTX260 SC is currently going for 225$ (255$-30MIR) and come with 896MB ram.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16814130372

Instead of the 10$ rebate linked from that page, use this 30$ rebate instead:
http://images10.newegg.com/upl...IRsJul8Jul3108tl24.pdf

 

[Calculator83]

Originally posted by: taltamir
there are 1GB versions of the 4870 and 4850 cropping up around... and the eVGA GTX260 SC is currently going for 225$ (255$-30MIR) and come with 896MB ram.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16814130372

Instead of the 10$ rebate linked from that page, use this 30$ rebate instead:
http://images10.newegg.com/upl...IRsJul8Jul3108tl24.pdf

Much appreciate the time you took looking this up. I'm pretty sold on the 4870x2 though, I'm getting it for sure.

My question was towards whether or not I need a new platform. Since everyone here seems to think so. I guess I'm getting that too.

Thx ya'll.