how to determine if I'm CPU limited?

[papaschtroumpf]

My rig isn't new anymore:

GA-P35-DS3L Motherboard
Core2 Duo E6750 @2.66
4G DDR2 800

My current video card is a 7800GTX that is starting to show its age and I want to upgrade, but I don't want to goo too high end if I'm going to get seriously limited by the CPU. On the other hand I might upgrade the CPU/mobo/RAM in a few months.

I was thinking about going Radeon HD 5850, but is it like putting lipstcik on a pig? Is there a program to determine how bad the CPU will limit me?

If it makes a difference I run two monitors: 1600x1200 and 1950x1200

Also, I have a 500W power supply, do I need to upgrade that too?

 

[veri745]

If you're considering upgrading the rest of your rig in the near future, you don't have a whole lot to lose by going for a radeon 58x0.

As far as how CPU limited you will be, it really depends on which games you play. Multithreaded games like GTA IV, Dragon Age, and some RTS games will really benefit from a quad, but most games will play just fine on your 6750.

 

[lavaheadache]

You may run into a few cpu limiting games but it won't be a make or break situation. Your cpu is still plenty for almost anything, minus GTA4 which is a pos title anyways. That game definately can eat up a quad core.

Anyhow, your cpu is certainly capable of being overclocked quite a bit and should help you out if and when you did run into a little bottleneck. Like i said though i doubt you would even notice anyways.

We need more details regarding your PSU. 500 watts don't mean squat these days. We need Amp #'s and what not. What is the make and model?

All it would take is a nice late model Geforce or Radeon and your rig will stomp almost anything again. Go for something like a hd4890 or 5770 or if you like the geforces maybe a GTX260/275.

 

[cbn]

Underclock or Overclock your CPU and see how much difference that makes at X resolution and X detail settings.

If changing CPU clocks (with preferred detail settings and resolution) results in only very small changes in frame rate..... then you know the video card is the culprit.

 

[cbn]

Also, I have a 500W power supply, do I need to upgrade that too?

The 5850 only uses something like 151 watts.

 

[kalrith]

If you had, say, $300 to upgrade your system, then a 5850 will definitely serve you better than splitting the money between the cpu and gpu.

As for the psu, lavaheadache has it right: we at least need the model number of your psu. A good 500W psu is plenty for your system with a 5850. A really crappy 500W psu shouldn't be used in any system.

I also second the notion for overclocking. As long as your psu is good enough, you should be able to get a 5850, overclock a bit, and be set for a while. If you find your cpu's performance lacking, then you can upgrade down the road a bit.

 

[fffblackmage]

More often than not, the gfx card is the limiting factor, especially at higher resolutions. There's a lot to gain from upgrading the 7800gtx to anything better. And if you do find yourself being cpu limited, you could always give the E6750 a freq bump.

I'm finding myself more limited by my HD4830 than my E6320 (even when OC'ed to ~3GHz). But the performance gain was huge moving from my old X1950XT to the HD4830.

 

[toyota]

why have you waited so long to upgrade that gpu? even a fairly wimpy 9600gt would give you twice the performance of your 7800gtx. if you are not going to oc that cpu then I would go with something like a gtx260, 4870, or even 5770. those cards would be a MASSIVE upgrade over what you have now and not break the bank.

IMO a $300 5850 is approaching the cutoff if you are not going to have a decent quad. a 5850 would certainly be okay with your cpu if you just oc it a bit. even with a mild oc there will still be a handful of game you wont be able to fully push but that is the exception.

 

[Voo]

Why don't you just try a game on a lower resolution and check if the FPS improve accordingly? If not you'd be CPU limited in that particular case..

Though I'd say chances are good that the GPU IS the limiting factor even at 1680x1050..

 

[ussfletcher]

I have the same motherboard and processor and I have mine overclocked to ~3.4ghz with almost stock settings (bumped up vcore a bit because of severe vdroop) that should definitely help, and add some longevity to your system.

 

[Zebo]

You're not CPU bound, You're GPU bound. Put the 5850 in there.

 

[WildW]

Overclock that CPU if you can and you'll be fine. 5850 and 3.6GHz Core2Duo here, and everything is gooood.

 

[BFG10K]

A 7800 GTX massively bottlenecks you. You can confirm this by reducing your resolution to 640x480 and turning off AA, and witnessing a large performance gain.

A 5850 will provide a massive performance difference, even with your CPU at stock.

 

[Denithor]

Nab a 5850. Then you won't have to upgrade your GPU again for a while even when you get around to updating the rest of your rig.

But also make sure you've got enough PSU to handle the setup.

 

[kalrith]

I forgot to mention something. Even if you're cpu limited with a 5850, that doesn't mean you should settle for something like a 4890. A 5850 with your cpu at stock will give you a huge performance increase over a 4890. Would the performance increase be greater with an i7 at 4GHz? Of course! However, you shouldn't allow the fact that you won't get every last ounce of performance out of a 5850 keep you from buying one.

 

[betasub]

Lipstick on a pig? Are you calling your CPU a hog?