radeon 6850 - difference using c2d e6550 or p4 3.4ghz

[h2ridaho]

I have a temporary dilemma. I'm in the process of acquiring all the stuff i need to build a decent new gaming system. I have my graphics card (radeon 6850), but my current systems are either a c2d E6550, or my p4 3.4ghz.

I could slap it in the c2d, but i would have to give up the spot for my tv tuner. My p4 3.4ghz has plenty of space for the card. Both machines have sufficent PSU's. will I see much difference between the two with that card...

The c2d has a geforce 8800, but I would like to enjoy the extra power of the 6850 right away and not have to wait the months it will be before i do the new build with a core i7 2600k.

 

[Termie]

Scroll down to the bottom of this bench to see your answer: http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/92?vs=61. The 6550 is about 2-3x faster than a Pentium 4. And in reality, the e6550 is barely fast enough to even allow decent gameplay on your new HD6850. See this benchmark on the GTX460, which is similar to your card: http://techreport.com/articles.x/20486/5. You'll notice some improvement from your 8800-class card, but not nearly the 2x theoretical performance.

You'll never even come close to knowing what your HD6850 can do if you put it in a Pentium box. To be honest, it's not even worth the time it would take to pop the side of the case off and hook up the card. Put it in your core 2 duo box or wait until you upgrade to Sandy Bridge.

 

[h2ridaho]

Thanks.. The 8800gt was a good card, but it does struggle a little in the newer games. Especially in Black OPS. I was hoping the 6850 would get me past the stutters on low settings in Black OPS.. That would be worth it for short term...

 

[Termie]

Thanks.. The 8800gt was a good card, but it does struggle a little in the newer games. Especially in Black OPS. I was hoping the 6850 would get me past the stutters on low settings in Black OPS.. That would be worth it for short term...

BLOPS is CPU-bound: http://www.techspot.com/review/336-cod-black-ops-performance/page8.html. Looks like your FPS will be stuck in the low-30s. You won't see much improvement, since an 8800gt/9800gt can put out that number of frames: http://www.techspot.com/review/336-cod-black-ops-performance/page5.html

 

[toyota]

lol, please put the 6850 with the 3.4 P4 and let us know how games play...

 

[h2ridaho]

lol, please put the 6850 with the 3.4 P4 and let us know how games play...

It sure isn't going to hurt anything. Just for shits and giggles I will do it and see what it does.. Right now the p4 has a radeon 2600hd in it. It won't EVEN play Crysis Warhead....

 

[toyota]

It sure isn't going to hurt anything. Just for shits and giggles I will do it and see what it does.. Right now the p4 has a radeon 2600hd in it. It won't EVEN play Crysis Warhead....

well the 2600 is not the problem as it will easily play Warhead on DX9 medium settings. that 6850 is not going to give much difference over the 2600 since the P4 will not even provide a playable framerate with most modern games.