What is the highest video card that would make sense with an E8400 CPU?

[JJ650]

Great thread. Since we are talking E8400 systems, I'll toss my ? in here as well.

E8400 @ 4ghz
4gb ram
HIS 4890

I assume a GTX 460 or a 6870 should suffice (playing SC2, BFBC2, etc..)?
Currently my res is 1680x1050 but that could change.

 

[toyota]

Great thread. Since we are talking E8400 systems, I'll toss my ? in here as well.

E8400 @ 4.2ghz
4gb ram
HIS 4890

I assume a GTX 460 or a 6870 should suffice (playing SC2, BFBC2, etc..)?
Currently my res is 1680x1050 but that could change.

a gtx460 is hardly any faster than what you have now. a 6850 is a little faster than a gtx460 but if you oc both the gtx460 and 6850 then its about a wash at best. really at 1680 I would not get another video card as long as you are sticking with your current cpu. I am not saying that an oced gtx460 or 6850 would not help in many games but I would not do it. in SC 2 and BC 2 you are not going to see a single bit of framerate increase since your cpu would be the limitation with a faster card anyway.

 

[Avalon]

Good lord, I didn't realize how far behind my E8400 has fallen.

 

[toyota]

Good lord, I didn't realize how far behind my E8400 has fallen.

its still a fine cpu but not very appropriate for a very high end gpu.

 

[Termie]

I can do some benchmarks @ 3.6GHz with a GTX460 1GB @850 and see how they compare. I can only do 1680x1050 and 1920x1080 though. Does BC2 have a built-in benchmark?

No built-in benchmark, but you can use FRAPS to grab an average over a set period of time (60 seconds, for example).

Here are my Dirt 2 benchmarks on my e8400/GTX460 system. What you'll see is a CPU limitation at 1680 until I hit 8xCSAA. The 1920 benchmarks show that the CPU might be holding the system back a bit, again until 8xCSAA, when the GTX460 really starts to sweat.

1680x1050/0xAA
Min Max Avg
53 71 63.15

1680x1050/4xMSAA
Min Max Avg
52 70 61.117

1680x1050/8xCSAA
Min Max Avg
29 51 43.083

1920x1080/4xMSAA
Min Max Avg
47 64 56.583

1920x1080/8xCSAA
Min Max Avg
24 48 41.167

 

[toyota]

Termie, I can beat your gtx460 results with my gtx260 and oced E8500?

1920x1080 highest settings and 8x AA

E8500 @ 3.80 GTX260 @ 666/1392/2200
avg 65.5
min 50.5

 

[Termie]

Termie, I can beat your gtx460 results with my gtx260 and oced E8500?

1920x1080 highest settings and 8x AA

E8500 @ 3.80 GTX260 @ 666/1392/2200
avg 65.5
min 50.5

DX11 FTL? I'm running ambient occlusion, which probably accounted for the hit.

But it could also be your overclock.

If you take a look back at the benchmarks on the previous page, a stock e8500 is capped at about 60fps at 1680x1050 in Dirt 2 (the i5-750 is over 100!). That seems to corroborate my 63fps benchmark at 1680/0xAA with my e8400@3.3.

 

[toyota]

DX11 FTL?

Or maybe it's your overclock.

If you take a look back at the benchmarks on the previous page, a stock e8500 is capped at about 60fps at 1680x1050 in Dirt 2 (the i5-750 is over 100!). That seems to corroborate my 63fps benchmark at 1680/0xAA with my e8400@3.3.

yeah DX11 is probably it.

 

[happy medium]

Do you understand the meaning of bottleneck?

If you read my post#20 ,you would see I do. Thats how you test for a bottleneck.

 

[happy medium]

No built-in benchmark, but you can use FRAPS to grab an average over a set period of time (60 seconds, for example).

Here are my Dirt 2 benchmarks on my e8400/GTX460 system. What you'll see is a CPU limitation at 1680 until I hit 8xCSAA. The 1920 benchmarks show that the CPU might be holding the system back a bit, again until 8xCSAA, when the GTX460 really starts to sweat.

1680x1050/0xAA
Min Max Avg
53 71 63.15

1680x1050/4xMSAA
Min Max Avg
52 70 61.117

1680x1050/8xCSAA
Min Max Avg
29 51 43.083

1920x1080/4xMSAA
Min Max Avg
47 64 56.583

1920x1080/8xCSAA
Min Max Avg
24 48 41.167

hey thats great, this shows a gpu limitation with a gtx460 1gb @ 1600x1050 4x aa with dirt 2.

Dirt 2 is not the most demanding game either. There are many games where the gpu will bottleneck much more.
I'd say that e8400 is a perfect match for a gtx460 768 , which is slower then termies gtx 460 1gb model.

I stand by what I said in post #14, the gtx460 768mb is perfect for his e8400.
EVERY system has some sort of bottleneck but this is about as good and balanced as he's gonna get.

A 5770 would be too slow and a 6850 is faster then Termies gtx460 1gb so its too fast.
gtx460 768mb is the ONLY good choice and only $110.

 

[Termie]

I'd recommend to the OP to shoot for the GTX460-768. The reason is price. It's practically the same price as a 5770, but it's obviously a huge step up (15-30% faster), so there's really not much to lose. The GTX460 1GB is overpriced right now versus the HD6850, and as I've shown, at 1680x1050, you probably won't see the benefit anyway except at AA settings so high they could hinder smooth gameplay. I'm totally satisfied with my GTX460, despite it being bottlenecked. It was priced right, it runs cool and quiet, and it even fits in my HTPC (not a small feat...or is it?!?). The cheapest 768MB model on Newegg right now is $118AR/shipping, while the cheapest 1GB model is $162AR/shipping. On average, the 1GB model is 6% faster, and that combined with the potential CPU bottleneck makes the choice pretty clear.

By the way Happy Medium, I have the 768 model, not the 1GB model (although it's overclocked pretty high, which is easy with these cards). And I'm not sure there's a GPU bottleneck at 1680x1050/4xAA - those numbers are pretty close (63 vs. 61). But either way, I agree with your recommendation!

 

[Skurge]

hey thats great, this shows a gpu limitation with a gtx460 1gb @ 1600x1050 4x aa with dirt 2.

Dirt 2 is not the most demanding game either. There are many games where the gpu will bottleneck much more.
I'd say that e8400 is a perfect match for a gtx460 768 , which is slower then termies gtx 460 1gb model.

No, it shows a bottleneck at 8xCSAA. at both resolutions. I agree the 460 is a match for a e8400, but don't say it won't bottleneck the card, because that is untrue. and just cause dirt2 is not as demanding on the GPU doesn't mean is isn't on the CPU either. Remember that.

 

[happy medium]

By the way Happy Medium, I have the 768 model, not the 1GB model (although it's overclocked pretty high, which is easy with these cards). And I'm not sure there's a GPU bottleneck at 1680x1050/4xAA - those numbers are pretty close (63 vs. 61). But either way, I agree with your recommendation!

Sorry about the mix up 768/1gb.

Still there is no other choice, the 768mb is the best bet.
As for the bottleneck question, some games it will be, some game it will not be, thats how I see it.
To me thats a balanced system.
Thanks Termie.

 

[Termie]

No, it shows a bottleneck at 8xCSAA. at both resolutions. I agree the 460 is a match for a e8400, but don't say it won't bottleneck the card, because that is untrue. and just cause dirt2 is not as demanding on the GPU doesn't mean is isn't on the CPU either. Remember that.

Skurge - I should mention that I like the HD5770 too...it's just that it's too expensive right now. I actually placed an order for one back when Newegg had it for $96AR, then I cancelled that and decided to order the GTX460 for $123AR. That was a tough call, though. Now that the GTX460 can be had for less than the 5770, I'm afraid it's not such a tough call...got to go GTX.

 

[Termie]

Sorry about the mix up 768/1gb.

Still there is no other choice, the 768mb is the best bet.
As for the bottleneck question, some games it will be, some game it will not be, thats how I see it.
To me thats a balanced system.
Thanks Termie.

Ah, the sweet sound of consensus. BTW, Happy, are you still waiting on the GTX560? I'm looking forward to numbers on that. You need to de-bottleneck that quad-core of yours!

 

[soulcougher73]

I hate to thread jack, but my question is very similar so thought maybe you wouldnt mind. Yesterday i bought a ATI 6850. My CPU is a E6600. The 3ghz one if i remember right. Will my CPU bottle neck me playing games at 1080p resolution?

 

[Termie]

I hate to thread jack, but my question is very similar so thought maybe you wouldnt mind. Yesterday i bought a ATI 6850. My CPU is a E6600. The 3ghz one if i remember right. Will my CPU bottle neck me playing games at 1080p resolution?

Well, if it's a stock Core 2 Duo e6600, it's at 2.4. If it's a Pentium e6600, it's at 3.06. Either way, it's a bit slower than an e8400, so the same arguments above would apply to your system. At 1080p, you'll be bottlenecked in some games. That being said, the HD6850 is a great card, so while you could have saved a bit, don't worry about it. Just crank up the AA and enjoy!

 

[happy medium]

I hate to thread jack, but my question is very similar so thought maybe you wouldnt mind. Yesterday i bought a ATI 6850. My CPU is a E6600. The 3ghz one if i remember right. Will my CPU bottle neck me playing games at 1080p resolution?

That depends, do you have a old 2.4ghz e6600 conroe or the new e6600 3.0 wolfdale version?
I'm thinking you have the newer version.

@ 1080p , I would say you made a good choice. Like I said earlier, no system
is gonna be perfectly balanced. Seeing there is no good cards in between a 5770 and gtx460/6850, you made the right choice.

You guys need to learn to overclock.
A e6600 will easily do 3.6 and so will the e8400.

 

[soulcougher73]

That depends, do you have a old 2.4ghz e6600 conroe or the new e6600 3.0 wolfdale version?
I'm thinking you have the newer version.

@ 1080p , I would say you made a good choice. Like I said earlier, no system
is gonna be perfectly balanced. Seeing there is no good cards in between a 5770 and gtx460/6850, you made the right choice.

You guys need to learn to overclock.
A e6600 will easily do 3.6 and so will the e8400.

Ok i lied apparently lol Its the 2.4ghz conroe version. I looked at my old newegg invoices. Could have sworn it said 3.0ghz in windows. Ill check when i get home to verify.

Edit: Or maybe it does say 3ghz in windows because i did OC it back in the day and have just forgot lol. Like i said ill check when i get home.

 

[toyota]

Ok i lied apparently lol Its the 2.4ghz conroe version. I looked at my old newegg invoices. Could have sworn it said 3.0ghz in windows. Ill check when i get home to verify.

yeah you are throwing a massive amount of performance with that cpu. some cpu intensive games aren't even going to be that smooth with that cpu. all a higher res means is that you are getting the same awful performance at 1080 as you would at 720 for so.

 

[betasub]

If it is the original Conroe E6600, it has a 9x multiplier, so stock is 2.4GHz. But bumping from the stock 266 bus to 333 gets you 3.0GHz, which is a pretty standard overclock on Conroe.

 

[Avalon]

its still a fine cpu but not very appropriate for a very high end gpu.

For sure, which is why it's still paired with an HD4850 until I upgrade my whole system, but I didn't think that with a good video card it literally gets half the fps as an i5-750 in FC2, RE5 etc

Granted, I do have mine OC'd to 4Ghz, but that's only a 33% boost.

 

[Skurge]

Skurge - I should mention that I like the HD5770 too...it's just that it's too expensive right now. I actually placed an order for one back when Newegg had it for $96AR, then I cancelled that and decided to order the GTX460 for $123AR. That was a tough call, though. Now that the GTX460 can be had for less than the 5770, I'm afraid it's not such a tough call...got to go GTX.

Nah, don't get me wrong. I would not recommend a 5770 right now, The OP should get the 460. I just think that telling him it won't be bottlneck is misleading and would put him in a position to expect more performance than he is going to get with that CPU. I only got a 5770 cause is was $100 cheaper than the 460.

 

[schmunk]

Q9550 @ 2.86GHHz, GTX460 925MHzGPU/2000MHzMem

DirectX 10 ENTHUSIAST 1X @ Map: frost @ 0 1920 x 1200 AA 4xx
==> Framerate [ Min: 12.27 Max: 32.04 Avg: 27.16 ]

Unigine Heaven Benchmark v2.1
FPS: 27.3 Scores: 687 Min FPS: 13.3 Max FPS: 52.6
​

Q9550 @ 3.6GHz, GTX460 925MHzGPU/2000MHzMem

DirectX 10 ENTHUSIAST 1X @ Map: frost @ 0 1920 x 1200 AA 4xx
==> Framerate [ Min: 21.19 Max: 30.44 Avg: 26.48 ]

Unigine Heaven Benchmark v2.1
FPS: 27.5 Scores: 692 Min FPS: 15.7 Max FPS: 53.5

ALthough my average did not increase much with the overclock, my minimum frame rate did.
​

 

[Skurge]

Q9550 @ 2.86GHHz, GTX460 925MHzGPU/2000MHzMem

DirectX 10 ENTHUSIAST 1X @ Map: frost @ 0 1920 x 1200 AA 4xx
==> Framerate [ Min: 12.27 Max: 32.04 Avg: 27.16 ]

Unigine Heaven Benchmark v2.1
FPS: 27.3 Scores: 687 Min FPS: 13.3 Max FPS: 52.6
​

Q9550 @ 3.6GHz, GTX460 925MHzGPU/2000MHzMem

DirectX 10 ENTHUSIAST 1X @ Map: frost @ 0 1920 x 1200 AA 4xx
==> Framerate [ Min: 21.19 Max: 30.44 Avg: 26.48 ]

Unigine Heaven Benchmark v2.1
FPS: 27.5 Scores: 692 Min FPS: 15.7 Max FPS: 53.5

ALthough my average did not increase much with the overclock, my minimum frame rate did.
​

Could you tun the crysis bench again?