Please Help: CPU for the next generation GPUs

[UzairH]

The recent SLI reviews of 2 x 6800 GT / 6800 Ultra suggest that even with the fastest processors available toaday (A64 FX55, 4000+) most games are CPU limited severely and the double power of two cards are only exercised with Doom 3 and Far Cry at high resolutions. Now this begs the question that when NV50 and R520 are released what sort of CPU will be good enough to feed them the data; will the future games that require an NV50/R520 card also require an uber-processor, at least an FX-55?

I am asking because I am buying a new PC. I live in Pakistan and AMD has not entered the market, Intel rules in retail. So I am getting a Prescott 3 GHz with 1GB RAM. Right now I am getting a 6600 GT and plan to get an NV50 card when they become available. But I am worried that the 3 GHz P4 might be too slow for the next gen cards.

What do you guys think? I'd be grateful to anyone who can shed light on this matter.

 

[SickBeast]

NV50 has been cancelled.

R520...cutting edge would be best, but I wouldn't use anything lower than an A64 3200+ with it, otherwise you'd be much better off with a much cheaper card.

In other words, your Prescott won't cut it. Not even close. Prescotts are not gaming processors.

 

[vshah]

if you're buying a 3ghz processor, and only intel is available, get a northwood instead of a prescott.

 

[The Green Bean]

Hell Im from pakistan myself..AMD is here in full form....Socket 939 is coming in JAN...Socket 754 is here...Ofcourse you can get high end stuff but at a premium from some retail shops but it would be better to wait from the S939 to come into the main market and prices to drop...Expect the price of a 3500+ to be 22000 and mobo from approx 7-14Ks
Go here -> www.idlsys.com and click on the price lists...Official dealers of AMD stuff in Pakistan.

Which city are you from?

cheers
hatim

 

[UzairH]

Hey Hatim my countryman thanks for your reply! I'm from Rawalpindi and in the shops a simple 754 A64 3000+ costs upwards of Rs. 15000, way more than it should. I if I could get a 939 3400+ for that I'd be happy. Otherwise I don't have the budget to spend Rs. 90,000 on a full blown A64 kit + 6800 GT. Anyway thanks also for the site link, I'm looking into it now.

Still there seems to be a major uncertainty about when R520 and NV47 or NV50 are gonna come. Should I buy a 6600 GT now and get a R520 or NV47 later or buy a 6800 GT now and be done with it. Aaargh!

Cheers
Uzair

 

[The Green Bean]

I bought the inno3D 6800GT for 28Ks.....

 

[UzairH]

W00t! Where did you get the inno 6800 GT from? In Pakistan or import? Right now the price quoted in Rawalpindi is Rs. 33,000. I'd LOVE to get my hands on a 6800 GT for 28K. Tell me please!

 

[nRollo]

No one can asnswer this above "you're always better off with as fast as you can afford", the parts aren't out yet?

 

[dguy6789]

The question is, what kind of cpu will you need?

Well, to take full advanatge of an r520 or faster chip, Id say you would need something along the lines of an Athlon 64 FX57, or perhaps even 59. But, with an r520, and an athlon 64 2800 or even p4 2.8, you will still get gaming performance beyond belief.

You will not NEED an uber cpu for ANY video card, that is a myth. You can benefit a few more fps from an uber cpu, but no where or way is it needed.

 

[The Green Bean]

Originally posted by: UzairH
W00t! Where did you get the inno 6800 GT from? In Pakistan or import? Right now the price quoted in Rawalpindi is Rs. 33,000. I'd LOVE to get my hands on a 6800 GT for 28K. Tell me please!

Karachi - Galaxy computers

What current rig do you have?

Im on a barton at 2.315GHZ and games run great...Whats the point of a new CPU when you can run all your games at max settings with 70+FPS?? :/ .....Except some ofcourse...but the fx- 55 is only 50% faster...

I got 2500+ and MSI K7N2 combo for 12000....Dunno if they are still available though

cheers
hatim

 

[Keysplayr]

Originally posted by: SickBeast
NV50 has been cancelled.

R520...cutting edge would be best, but I wouldn't use anything lower than an A64 3200+ with it, otherwise you'd be much better off with a much cheaper card.

In other words, your Prescott won't cut it. Not even close. Prescotts are not gaming processors.

Your right about AMD being better at gaming, but WTF is this statement? You just made it sound like anyone who owns a Prescott cannot game. My 2.8/533 Northy kicks a$$ with my 6800GT. Sure, Im CPU bound at lower resolutions but my framerates are usually in orbit anyway.

To the OP: The current fastest CPU is still not enough to drive current high end cards. So I feel that the processors/platform needed to run next gen graphics cards does not exist yet.

 

[Gamingphreek]

THey aren't. They get slaughtered in gaming by almost every A64 out there.

Also i doubt NV50 has been cancelled. THat statement was made by the Inguirer... not to put them down but that is a rumor. Nvidia cannot leave the R520 unanswered.

-Kevin

 

[dguy6789]

Originally posted by: Gamingphreek
THey aren't. They get slaughtered in gaming by almost every A64 out there.

Also i doubt NV50 has been cancelled. THat statement was made by the Inguirer... not to put them down but that is a rumor. Nvidia cannot leave the R520 unanswered.

-Kevin

Why not? Ati left the NV25 unanswered...

 

[Shinei]

nVidia can't afford to lose more market share, and they're not going to sit by and let ATI go into another year of eating nVidia's profits. You can count on a low-k version of the 6800U being the "low end" hardware, if they're not going to do a full hardware release in the spring and just plan on riding the 6800 wave a little longer.

Anyway, a CPU that can support the R520/NV50? Dual Opteron 252s, maybe? It's pretty clear that no processor on the market is up to the task of shoveling data into the GPU as fast as the GPU can hammer it back out as pixels, so I imagine it'd take a 2.8GHz+ Athlon 64 to take the 6800U-SLI to the limit.

 

[SickBeast]

Originally posted by: keysplayr2003

Originally posted by: SickBeast
NV50 has been cancelled.

R520...cutting edge would be best, but I wouldn't use anything lower than an A64 3200+ with it, otherwise you'd be much better off with a much cheaper card.

In other words, your Prescott won't cut it. Not even close. Prescotts are not gaming processors.

Your right about AMD being better at gaming, but WTF is this statement? You just made it sound like anyone who owns a Prescott cannot game. My 2.8/533 Northy kicks a$$ with my 6800GT. Sure, Im CPU bound at lower resolutions but my framerates are usually in orbit anyway.

To the OP: The current fastest CPU is still not enough to drive current high end cards. So I feel that the processors/platform needed to run next gen graphics cards does not exist yet.

A 2.8 Prescott is eqivalent to maybe a 2400+ A64 (if one existed) in most games. You misread my statement. People who own Prescotts can game, however their performance will pale in comparison to an equivalent A64. In this case, an A64 2800+ would barely cut it; a prescott 2800 wouldn't do the card justice at all. He would be CPU limited to the point that an X800XT or maybe even an X800Pro would be just as fast as the R520, for the most part anyway.