CPU (e6850) causing bottleneck in newer graphics cards (GTX 460, HD 6870)?

[HollowRopes]

I have an e6850 Core 2 Duo that I run at 3.6GHz most of the time, 3.4GHz more recently since I've been using different RAM, and I've had the opportunity to try a PNY GTX 460 OC and an Asus HD 6870 OC with the voltage tweak or whatever. I honestly didn't see a big difference between the performance of each of the cards in most of the games I tried (the Stalker series, Fallout 3 and New Vegas, newer Call of Duty games, etc).

The PNY GTX 460 is cheaper than the Asus HD 6870 (by at least $40), and I've recently been seeing a specific Zotac GTX 465 going for around $140 at some places online, after rebates. That's $30 cheaper than I could get the PNY GTX 460, and almost $100 cheaper than the Asus HD 6870.

I'm pretty sure I'm limited either by my dual core processor or the 4GB of RAM I got, and I'd notice more of a difference from the HD 6870 than I had if I had a quad core processor or 8GB of RAM. Either way, my point or question or whatever this is getting to is this: I doubt I'm going to be getting a new CPU or more RAM, so I'm trying to figure out which card is the best bang for my buck and also isn't going to be overkill for my current system. The Zotac 465 looks really tempting at $139 as long as the rebates all come in, even though they supposedly don't give quite as much performance as a standard GTX 460. Then I hear possibilities of getting GTX 465 cards with GTX 470 PCBs or something and are basically locked GTX 470s. With a dual core processor and 4GB of RAM, am I going to notice a big difference between a GTX 460 and a GTX 465, considering I couldn't even tell much of a difference between a GTX 460 and an HD 6870?

 

[RavenSEAL]

My E8500 @ 3.8ghz bottlenecks my 6850 lol. You need atleast a nice quad @ 3.2GHz+ to not be bottlenecked.

 

[HollowRopes]

See, that's pretty much what I figured, and with the situation with CPUs and stuff right now, I'm wanting to wait and get a whole new motherboard, new CPU, etc. Basically just tying to find which card would be the best for my system, and wouldn't be causing me to pay extra money for performance I wouldn't be able to see with my current system anyway.

 

[RavenSEAL]

If you go with a bulldozer or a SB, you shouldn't have any issues with any sort of bottleneck with any card.

 

[HollowRopes]

Yeah, the SB is what I'm interested in, but any kind of purchase is still at least 4 or 5 months away for me (in terms of both a motherboard and CPU). I had a 9800 GX2 that actually did pretty well on this system but it died, I dunno what happened with it to be honest, but I had been using a 6800 Ultra on this system up until I got to try the GTX 460 and HD 6870. Then I realized that both cards seemed to perform exactly the same, yet there was almost a $50 price difference between the GTX 460 and the HD 6870. I'd like to just go ahead and get a GTX 460 or the super-cheap GTX 465, but I wouldn't want to get a new board and CPU in a few months and then not be satisfied anymore.

 

[happy medium]

I'm trying to figure out which card is the best bang for my buck and also isn't going to be overkill for my current system

Best bang for your buck is the gtx460. Now you could save a few more bucks and grab the gtx460 768mb version if you game at 1600x1050 or below. Whats your monitor size?

When you get your new system, you could just overclock the gtx460 easily 25% and get some more performance.

 

[RavenSEAL]

Best bang for your buck is the gtx460. Now you could save a few more bucks and grab the gtx460 768mb version if you game at 1600x1050 or below. Whats your monitor size?

When you get your new system, you could just overclock the gtx460 easily 25% and get some more performance.

I wouldn't say that...

6850s cheaper on newegg right now...$40 cheaper, better performance at stock.

 

[HollowRopes]

Well this is gonna be the kicker.. I'm using a 17" monitor and the highest resolution I ever use is 1280x1024 because that's my highest resolution. So I'm not needing something for high resolutions and all that stuff.

I was really impressed with the PNY GTX 460 that I tried, and it's $179. Is it really worth the $40 more if I could just get a GTX 465 for $139 and overclock it a bit?

I originally thought I was going to be trying the GTX 460 and an XFX 6850, but it ended up being the Asus HD 6870 with the voltage tweak. I just know that the 6870 was more than my system needs, and there's no reason to pay anywhere near that amount of money right now because I'm not going to benefit from it whatsoever.

 

[happy medium]

I'm using a 17" monitor and the highest resolution I ever use is 1280x1024 because that's my highest resolution. So I'm not needing something for high resolutions and all that stuff.

Then I would definitly buy a gtx460 768mb for about 130$ AR.
it will be just as fast as a 6870 in your system.

Holy crap here is one for 147$ and 107$ AR. Hurry!

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-058-_-Product

 

[HollowRopes]

I wasn't trying to make a comparison between AMD and nVidia's products, I was just trying to figure out if it was more wise to buy an HD 6870 or a GTX 480 or something like that so that it'll have future value once I upgrade, or if I should just pay $139 for a cheap GTX 465, or possibly around the same price as the GTX 460 for an HD 5850.

 

[HollowRopes]

Are you sure about the 768MB, though? If that Zotac GTX 465 wasn't just ten bucks more and if this had the whole 1GB of RAM like the original one I tried, then it would sound good.

 

[happy medium]

I wasn't trying to make a comparison between AMD and nVidia's products, I was just trying to figure out if it was more wise to buy an HD 6870 or a GTX 480 or something like that so that it'll have future value once I upgrade, or if I should just pay $139 for a cheap GTX 465, or possibly around the same price as the GTX 460 for an HD 5850.

No, this is not a Nvidi /AMD pissing contest.
The gtx460 I linked will give you the same performance as a 6870 for much less.:thumbsup:

107$AR is a great price for that card.

 

[RavenSEAL]

No, this is not a Nvidi /AMD pissing contest.
The gtx460 I linked will give you the same performance as a 6870 for much less.:thumbsup:

107$AR is a great price for that card.

^This

At your resolution, it will.

If you plan to get a better monitor/rig in the future, 6870 is your best bet.

 

[HollowRopes]

Okay, it sounds like the 786MB/192-bit bus one is a better bet especially for the price, but I just want to make sure now.. A regular GTX 460 with 1GB/265-bit bus bus might save me in the future when once I get a new monitor/CPU/motherboard/RAM, and maybe not this one? Just curious because I'm about to make the purchase, it's just the lower amount of RAM and lower memory bus that kinda worries me.

 

[happy medium]

Okay, it sounds like the 786MB/192-bit bus one is a better bet especially for the price, but I just want to make sure now.. A regular GTX 460 with 1GB/265-bit bus bus might save me in the future when once I get a new monitor/CPU/motherboard/RAM, and maybe not this one? Just curious because I'm about to make the purchase, it's just the lower amount of RAM and lower memory bus that kinda worries me.

Ok,i'll give you some advice, If your gonna upgrade your system within the next 2 or 3 months, buy the 6870. If this upgrade is gonna happen after the summer, just grab the gtx460 768mb and be happy. Don't forget this card will overclock 20% or more in 90% of cases and = a 6870 in most cases.

For 107$ AR it is a great deal man, go for it.:thumbsup:

 

[HollowRopes]

Alright, it sounds like a plan. I'm going with the $107 card, the price is just too good. Plus, it's probably going to be at least five months before I'm able to upgrade ANYTHING on this computer (or get a new monitor), so I think I'll be good with this until then. Thanks guys.

 

[RavenSEAL]

Ok,i'll give you some advice, If your gonna upgrade your system within the next 2 or 3 months, buy the 6870. If this upgrade is gonna happen after the summer, just grab the gtx460 768mb and be happy. Don't forget this card will overclock 20% or more in 90% of cases and = a 6870 in most cases.

For 107$ AR it is a great deal man, go for it.:thumbsup:

LOL! A gtx460 768 will NOT reach 6870 levels.

 

[happy medium]

LOL! A gtx460 768 will NOT reach 6870 levels.

at his resolution overclocked, it sure will. :thumbsup:

And for half the price!

 

[RavenSEAL]

at his resolution overclocked, it sure will. :thumbsup:

And for half the price!

LOOL

The HD6870 even beats a GTX470/HD5850 stock @1024*768 and 1280*1024

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/ATI/Radeon_HD_6870_CrossFire/4.html

 

[happy medium]

LOOL

The HD6870 even beats a GTX470/HD5850 stock @1024*768 and 1280*1024

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/ATI/Radeon_HD_6870_CrossFire/4.html

Thats with a i7 cpu. Not a 6850 dual core @ 1280x1024.:thumbsup:

 

[RavenSEAL]

Thats with a i7 cpu. Not a 6850 dual core @ 1280x1024.:thumbsup:

Which means the card is free of bottleneck, which PS, dual cores are pretty much non-bottlenecking at lower resolution.

It also means that if the OP upgrades his CPU, he'll be fine for the next 2 years.

 

[happy medium]

Which means the card is free of bottleneck, which PS, dual cores are pretty much non-bottlenecking at lower resolution.

It also means that if the OP upgrades his CPU, he'll be fine for the next 2 years.

:thumbsup: You are relentless! hahaha. good luck man.

 

[HollowRopes]

I think it works out best with the lower end GTX 460, since the card is so cheap it doesn't make me think about how bad it will be even if I -do- have to upgrade cards when I upgrade the rest of my system, since at that time hopefully I'll be able to sell this card for $50 or so and then get a HD 6970 or something else that will eventually have a lower price (talking say, six months down the road). If I went ahead and bought the HD 6870, I'd be spending $100 more on something whose potential wouldn't be able to be seen until I upgraded, which is probably more than half a year away, so I'd basically be putting myself out for $100 for no reason since by the time I upgraded, I'd want something better than a HD 6870 anyway.

 

[nenforcer]

First off, I don't recommend you purchase the GTX 465 even though the price may be tempting. It is very hot and power intensive since it uses the original GF100 but does not offer enough or any at all peformance advantages when compared to any GTX 460 (except the SE edition).

For your resolution the GTX 460 768MB edition is easily the best price/performance your going to find.

 

[Skurge]

Get a 5770 or 5750 or 450 for that resolution. I still think spending $100 is too much when you are going to upgrade your system in a few months. At 1280x1024 any of those cards will beat up any game you throw at them and especially with that CPU, they won't be found wanting. So I say get a cheap place holder for now and then when you upgrade your entire system get something beefier.

Happy can tell you that a 5750 still does great in todays games.