How fast of a Cpu do you need to keep up with a 6800GT?

[ThanosOfTitan]

I keep hearing people say that there isn't a cpu that can keep up with todays video cards. So what i want to know is how fast of a cpu (both AMD and Intel) do you need to be able to keep up with a 6800 GT?
I currently have a 2600+ mobile OC'd to 2.4Ghz. Which is the bottle neck, the Mobile or the GT?

 

[MDE]

The bottleneck depends on if you have AA\AF enabled and what resolution you game at.

 

[ThanosOfTitan]

I run CS:Source and HL2 at 1024x768 4xAA/8xAF

 

[Appledrop]

then the cpu is probably the neck, but tbh they are pretty well matched - if it is smooth for you, why upgrade just yet?

 

[DAPUNISHER]

Originally posted by: ThanosOfTitan
I run CS:Source and HL2 at 1024x768 4xAA/8xAF

Try 12x10 4x/8x if your monitor supports it. My Opteron@1.725ghz with GT even@stock speeds plays everything I've tried smoothly@those settings. I usually run 431/1.1ghz with the GT though.

 

[bjc112]

Originally posted by: ThanosOfTitan
I keep hearing people say that there isn't a cpu that can keep up with todays video cards. So what i want to know is how fast of a cpu (both AMD and Intel) do you need to be able to keep up with a 6800 GT?
I currently have a 2600+ mobile OC'd to 2.4Ghz. Which is the bottle neck, the Mobile or the GT?

I have an AXP @ 2.4 and i can run HL2 @ 1680x1050 4xAA- 4-8x AF

Runs like a champ.

 

[Goi]

My A64 at 2.5+GHz can't play HL2@1600x1200 with 4xAA/8xAF properly, with FPS dips to the teens. I doubt an AXP would do that.

 

[Sc4freak]

A P4 3.2ghz or higher shouldn't bottleneck it, neither will any A64. I doubt an XP will be able to keep up though.

 

[zakee00]

at 16x12 4x 8x your graphics card is the only bottleckck unless you have a crappy processor. why dont you tell us your graphics card AND processor instead of saying "my fps dips to the teens with my a64"

 

[Spike]

Originally posted by: Goi
My A64 at 2.5+GHz can't play HL2@1600x1200 with 4xAA/8xAF properly, with FPS dips to the teens. I doubt an AXP would do that.

My AXP 2500+ @ 2.2ghz with the BFG 6800GT @ 400/1100 plays HL 2 at 1600x1200 4x aa, 8xas with dips into the 30's at really intense parts, never saw it drop any farther than that though I was kinda absorbed in the game...

To the OP, stay with the cpu for now, it will be the bottleneck but not by much. In order to upgrade you will need to buy a new mobo as well as new CPU which is alot of $$, and then you need to look at PCIe cards unless you get a AGP setup. You might as well wait until the NF4 is on revison 2 boards and get a whole new GPU/CPU/Mobo setup. I am planing to do that but only after I get at least a year out of my GT.

-spike

 

[ThanosOfTitan]

Thanks for all the responces so far. My main motivation for posting wasn't because i wanted to upgrade my mobo or cpu. It was more for overclocking reasons. If my cpu couldn't keep up with my video card at the video cards stock speed, then there was no point in OC'ing the card. But if the cpu was the bottleneck i could definately try for a bigger OC with that. So i just wanted to know which is the slower component. From what i gather so far its my cpu. An interesting thing i noticed is when i run aquamark it gives an individual score at the end for both the cpu and the video card. I noticed that the video card always has a higher score, albeit not by much. Are the aquamark scores a good way to determine which is slower, the card or the cpu? Thanks again for all the feedback.

 

[kmmatney]

This may be of interest - scores showing various cpus in DX9 games. You probably have something like a Barton 3200+ speed equivalent.

cpu charts

A 6800 GT was used for all AGP cpus.

Edit - At 2.4 GHz, you are ahead of a 3200+ barton...I would guess youd be somehwere around equivalent to a Sempron 3100+ (Athlon 64 type). A good setup. I doubt you'd gain too much by overclocking the video card, unless you went to higher resolution.

 

[ohnnyj]

Wow my 1.4Ghz T-Bird was blazing.

 

[bjc112]

Originally posted by: Goi
My A64 at 2.5+GHz can't play HL2@1600x1200 with 4xAA/8xAF properly, with FPS dips to the teens. I doubt an AXP would do that.

What graphics card.. ?

And it absolutely runs it, and runs it well.




FX-53 82 FPS


1600x1200 benchie


Even though an FX 53 is quite a bit faster. I am damn sure it's playable on my machine.

 

[bjc112]

Originally posted by: Sc4freak
I doubt an XP will be able to keep up though.

False.

Maybe at lower res.

 

[Zebo]

Originally posted by: kmmatney
This may be of interest - scores showing various cpus in DX9 games. You probably have something like a Barton 3200+ speed equivalent.

cpu charts

A 6800 GT was used for all AGP cpus.

Edit - At 2.4 GHz, you are ahead of a 3200+ barton...I would guess youd be somehwere around equivalent to a Sempron 3100+ (Athlon 64 type). A good setup. I doubt you'd gain too much by overclocking the video card, unless you went to higher resolution.

Yup just look at any bone stock A64 3000 benchmark and I'll wager you're about there@2.4.

 

[Zebo]

Here mobile AXP @ 2400 benched extensivly

http://www.techreport.com/revi...xp-m-2500/index.x?pg=4

 

[Goi]

6800GT of course, seeing that the topic states one.

 

[bjc112]

You don't have to have a 6800GT to *think* you know the answer.

Glad you have one, it's in a nice system..






But the whole point was that a 6800GT with 2400mhz of AXP pushing, it is fully capable of playing HL2 1680x1050 with 4x Aa 8xAF.

 

[Goi]

Well, I'm just basing my statements on my own experience and observations. I'm sure 1024x768 would be doable with 4xAA 8xAF (not 4xAF 8xAA) but I have been unable to get 1600x1200 running with those graphical settings at an acceptable framerate. By acceptable, I mean no dips below 30FPS at all.

 

[bjc112]

Originally posted by: Goi
Well, I'm just basing my statements on my own experience and observations. I'm sure 1024x768 would be doable with 4xAA 8xAF (not 4xAF 8xAA) but I have been unable to get 1600x1200 running with those graphical settings at an acceptable framerate. By acceptable, I mean no dips below 30FPS at all.

Is your chip really @ 2.5?

I have a hard time believing it cannot do it.

 

[Regs]

A few games are more CPU intensive than they are GPU intensive and vice versa + different mixtures of each.

A A64 could max out a 9800Pro - but I haven't seen even an overclocked FX on water cooling max out a GT on some games.