Fx-4100 + 7870 Bottleneck ?

adam45417 · Nov 4, 2013

I am considering upgrading my Hd radeon 6450 with a 7870.

Though my problems are a number of things which are upgrading my PSU and whether on not my CPU will be a bottleneck...

I have no doubt that it will have a bottleneck but I'm looking a more experienced view on this.

I'm running it on stock speeds which is 3.6ghz and a stock cooler so any high amount of overclocking is a no no. Though i'm guessing i could maybe get 4.0ghz but will it affect my performance in games enough to prevent me from getting a new CPU. Anyway enough of my theories

...

My motherboard is a gigabyte GA-78LMT-S2P which may support a Fx-6300 but i am not sure what rev it is which i will also need help with. Its a cheap motherboard which may also affect overclocking.

I would appreciate some feedback

PandaBear270 · Nov 4, 2013

Is a modern quad core with moderate high clock. Why do you think it would bottleneck? I cant see it.
People is so obsessed with CPU performance when it comes to gaming. Gaming relies on GPU.

adam45417 · Nov 4, 2013

Yes though its a low end processor and to my understanding not even a true quad core but 2 cores split into 4 modules "cores". With a 7870 I would be hoping to play at high settings on games like Bf4 and arma 3 etc... Which are suppose to be CPU demanding

JOOK-D · Nov 4, 2013

Personally I'd expect it to bottleneck, like my bulldozer FX 6200 did with my 7870. If you're gonna go with an FX series get a piledriver (4300,4350,6300,6350,8320,8350). Just personal experience.

Regardless, the 7870 will be a step up from your current card and you will see performance gain. If you suspect a CPU bottleneck at that point you could try monitoring CPU+GPU usage as well as FPS. If changing graphics settings doesn't improve FPS then you have a CPU bottleneck and at that point you could upgrade the CPU. But I agree, don't go crazy with OC'ing on that board.

fudoka711 · Nov 4, 2013

adam45417 :

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think I believe its actually 4 cores with 2 modules (sharing memory cache). It is technically a quad-core processor.

The 7870 is still likely to be a bottleneck when playing the latest games (even cpu-demanding ones). I would definitely try overclocking to 4.0ghz though, It will still give you a little more performance.

adam45417 · Nov 4, 2013

Would a fx-6300 be compatible with my motherboard ? As on the gigabyte website there are 3 different revs of my board the highest being 5.0 this one can support the piledriver series though i am not sure what rev my board is its defiantly the 4 one or 5 one.

adam45417 · Nov 4, 2013

fudoka711 :

Your the expert lol i was only going on what I had heard will around what I had heard you are most likely 100% correct

JOOK-D · Nov 4, 2013

If you find out which revision your board is you can decide whether or not the CPU is compatible.

EDIT: At least on the site I've been on, your motherboard cannot support any of the Piledriver FX series.
2nd EDIT: It can support the ones up to 95W tdp. These are the 4300, 6300 and 8300 IF it is Rev 5.x

adam45417 · Nov 4, 2013

Though i dont know what rev it is for certain as both the 4.0 and 5.0 look similar and I do not know where to find which one mines is on the board

Edit:
Link to rev 5.x http://www.gigabyte.com/support-downloads/cpu-support-popup.aspx?pid=4125

It does support the piledrivers

PandaBear270 · Nov 4, 2013

Here is the CPU compatible list with your board: http://www.gigabyte.com/support-downloads/cpu-support-popup.aspx?pid=3833
According to that, your priority is to replace the motherboard...

adam45417 · Nov 4, 2013

Why would that be my priority if it does support the Fx-6300 + series and not getting rid of my 6450 being the priority ? Anyway any ideas how to tell what rev i have ?

JOOK-D · Nov 4, 2013

adam45417 :

Look at it.

Each rev looks slightly different:
3.1: http://www.gigabyte.com/products/product-page.aspx?pid=3833#ov
4.0: http://www.gigabyte.com/products/product-page.aspx?pid=4028#ov
5.x: http://www.gigabyte.com/products/product-page.aspx?pid=4125#ov

adam45417 · Nov 4, 2013

JOOK-D :

Thank you lol Never looked at them in that much detail

But yeah my motherboard is rev 5.x

So it does support piledriver which is nice to know and will be a good upgrade if I do experience bottle necking

Thank you for your help + everyone else

adam45417 · Nov 4, 2013

Quick question bios will most likely need updated when I do install a new CPU so is this easy done ? As the 4100 says it runs on version F1 and the 6300 runs on F3 and the 8300 on F4a

JOOK-D · Nov 4, 2013

Yup, not hard. Just go to the manufacturers website and follow the instructions.

EDIT: If you get powercuts frequently be wary. If your PC's supply of power is cut off when updating the BIOS I've heard that your board is basically done for.

adam45417 · Nov 4, 2013

Ok thanks

whyso · Nov 4, 2013

adam45417 :

A 4100 will hold a 7870 back at 1080p in both games.

adam45417 · Nov 5, 2013

I am not playing at 1080p I am playing at a resolution of 1336x768.. A 7870 is a overkill for this res though I want to get it for the future as a 1080p monitor will be got ! lol Tbh a whole new system will be got by next summer though I will most likely keep the 7870. I do need a new motherboard + Cpu

whyso · Nov 5, 2013

adam45417 :

Then yes definitely the 4100 will hold you back. I do not expect it to get 60 fps on BF4 or crysis 3.

Fx-4100 + 7870 Bottleneck ?

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