Would my P4 3.6GHZ cpu bottleneck a 8800GTS?

[Hajpoj]

I have a P4 setup and was wondering if I should get an 8800GTS since I'm mainly a gamer.


I've done some tests with Oblivion and when everything is turned down to minimum specs I maintain 60+ fps with my 7800GT.


Judging by this, I shouldn't be worried about my CPU being a limiting factor with this game should I?

-
P4 3.6GHZ
2GB DDR2-533
7800GT
1TB total space(3HDD no raid)

 

[jkresh]

I suspect that you will be somewhat cpu bound with an 8800gts in oblivion (depending on what settings you have), but it will still be a fairly big improvement over you 7800gt (especially at higher resolutions). If you can play it reasonably with the 7800 then wait for r600 and prices to move a little on the 8800 before buying, also if you do anything outside of gaming then consider a core 2 as it will be a major improvement over your 3.6 (especially if your chip is not a pentium D)

 

[Hajpoj]

I might just get a Pentium D since my board doesn't officially support C2D.

I can pick up a retail D 950 for $119.99 at Fry's. I can grab it and overclock it to 3.8 GHZ or so.

Edit: It's supposed to be $120 on April 22nd from what I'm hearing.

 

[ineedaname]

It just really depends on the game you're playing whether its very cpu intensive.

 

[Roguestar]

Higher resolutions and image quaity (AA, AF) put more pressure on the graphics card but if you're gaming at 1280*1024 then the 8800GTS will not be a bottleneck.

 

[LouPoir]

I really doubt that a P4 3.6 can be the source of any video related bottleneck - IMHO

 

[Hajpoj]

So as a gamer I only need to upgrade my video card to see great performance results?

 

[happy medium]

Originally posted by: Hajpoj
So as a gamer I only need to upgrade my video card to see great performance results?

No, A pent 4 at 3.6 will get no more fps then a overclocked 7950gt then with a 8800 gts. +/- 5%. I'd put money on it. It might make a difference if you had a 24 inch monitor. The only way I'd recommend a 8800 series card with a pent 4 is mabe a 8800gts 320 mb with a overclocked pent 4 @ 4.0 or higher and they dont' usually clock that high.

Buy your self a core 2 e6400 for 170.00, a gigabyte ds3 board for 120.00$ and overclock it to 3.0. Your ram should work. You will be set for your next video card upgrade after your 8800gts.

 

[Conky]

That CPU is a definite bottleneck. I went from a P4 HT Northwood at 3.45GHz to a 2.13Ghz E6400 and framerates went up across the board and in some games quite dramatically.

And don't bother messing with the Pentium D. A Pentium D would be more of a sidegrade than an upgrade. Your current CPU will do until you can figure out a way to upgrade to the C2D.

 

[Captante]

No question about it, at anything below 1600x1200 your CPU will be a limiting factor even in the newest & most intense games & with older games... I also agree thet it would be a waste of money buying a Pentium D because although it will be a bit faster, the gain will be small.

 

[myocardia]

Well, since a 3.1 Ghz dual-core Opteron is an extreme bottleneck in F.E.A.R. with an 8800GTX, even at 1280x960 (the last two posts on this thread), I can assure you all that a 3.6 Ghz P4 is gonna be seriously bottlenecking an 8800GTS. Of course, I do agree that it would be better to have the 8800GTS and the P4, than to have a ~3.2 Ghz C2D paired with a slower video card. 7800GT's aren't anywhere near fast anymore; if he had a 7900GTX, then I'd think that he'd be better off getting a C2D.

 

[Hajpoj]

Well, I'm about to get a 22" wide-screem monitor from costco soon. Does this change things considerably?

 

[Boyo]

It will let you run the LCD settings at a higher resolution.

 

[happy medium]

Originally posted by: Hajpoj
Well, I'm about to get a 22" wide-screem monitor from costco soon. Does this change things considerably?

Look at it this way. Take a game like FEAR, run it with your 7800gt at 1024x768 with low settings. Say it runs the game at 35 fps and dips into the high 20's when the action gets hot in the game. Now take that same cpu (3.6) and add a 8800gts. Yes you will run at your new monitors resolution (22 inch) with higher settings, but your fps will stay at around 30.They might even drop a little. Pop the e6400 duo in with the 8800gts and your fps will double even at high resolutions. If I were you i'd bite the bullet and go core 2 now with your (overclocked!) 7800gt and wait for some mid range (ATI/8600) solutions to come out. By then hopefully there will be games to use with your new video card purchase (with price drops) this summer.

 

[Roguestar]

FEAR is more GPU bound than CPU bound, from what we've seen of anecdotal evidence. There's a thread in the video forum about bottlenecking a slightly older CPU with a newer graphics card, complete with benchmarks. The graphics card is always your best bet for a quick performance leap if you're upgrading. Go for a better GPU first, better CPU second. Especially if he's playing at a higher resolution.

 

[deadseasquirrel]

Originally posted by: Roguestar
The graphics card is always your best bet for a quick performance leap if you're upgrading. Go for a better GPU first, better CPU second. Especially if he's playing at a higher resolution.

:thumbsup: If you're going to be gaming on a 22" widescreen at 1680x1050, you'll be MUCH better off getting the GTS.

If you have the money for a forklift upgrade, sure, go for it. But, at that resolution, with AA/AF, especially in graphically-intense games, a faster CPU won't offer much of a benefit at all.

Here is Oblivion at 1600x1200 (a tad bit more stressful of a resolution than your 16x10), showing how much better a GTS is over a 7950gt, which is better than your 7800gt. But someone can claim that the test isn't fair since they are using a C2D with all the cards, which is much faster than your CPU.

Okay, here is FEAR with an UNDERclocked C2D at 1.6ghz getting the exact same FPS as a C2D at 3.3ghz at 16x12 resolution (again, as close as I can find to your 16x10).

It's true-- your CPU is on the weaker side of things, but I can't imagine it being much weaker than a C2D at 1.6ghz. And that chip performs the same as an x6800 that costs a WHOLE lot more.

Now, granted, these benchmarks are for GPU-heavy games (shader-heavy, first-person shooters, etc). Things change a little bit when it comes to online games, RTS games, etc. But, at your soon-to-be playing resolution, that 7800gt has GOT to go. Your CPU will be fine until the next-gen games start showing up and demanding some dual-core action.

 

[Makaveli]

ya u will be cpu bottlenecked for sure, but with the native res of a 22` LCD. You are still better off with the GTS.

 

[Smartazz]

I have 8800GTS benchmarks on my 3GHZ Pentium 4 vs. my 2.6GHZ X2, I'll let you know the results if I can find them.

 

[Hajpoj]

That would be awesome if you could!