Graphics cards confusion

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Ultimametal

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I've just installed a MSI Radeon 7850-2GD5/OC in my computer. A big upgrade from a Radeon HD 6670 which was a good card but in stat comparison the 7850 is supposed to blow it away. I updated the drivers and plugged in the single power input. Everything works fine but my problem is I don't see any difference in graphics when gaming.

My motherboard -M2N68-LA (Narra3)
8 gb ram
600w psu
AMD Phenom 8450 triple core @2.1ghz

The footnotes on the site mentioned this - Utilization of PCI Express 3.0 bandwidth requires a mainboard equipped with a PCI Express 3.0 PHY. Not all mainboards feature this technology — check with your component or system manufacturer for specific model capabilities

I'm going to assume this is the flat connection on the top end of the gpu. I don't believe my MB has this. Is this what is effecting performance?
 
Solution
COLGeek

+1. I agree that a Phenom 9600 would show little to no improvement. Also, don't be concerned...
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Roland Of Gilead

Roland Of Gilead

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Unfortunately you won't see much improvement. The problem isn't the GPU, but rather your CPU. it's holding your GPU back. This is called bottlenecking. You can overclock the CPU to alleviate the bottleneck, but you really want to think about upgrading the CPU/Mobo to get the best out of your 7850.
 
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COLGeek

COLGeek

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The flat connection you see on the top of the HD7850 is used to connect a Crossfire bridge to a second HD7850. In your configuration, you don't use it and it has no bearing on your system's performance.

Did you also update your drivers AFTER installing the HD7850?

Keith12 is correct, your CPU is the weak point in your system and will hold the GPU back.
 
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Ultimametal

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The highest possible CPU according to HP is •Phenom with Quad Core (Agena) technology (AM2+) up to 9600 (up to 95 watt). How do you tell if bottlenecking will still be present or if the graphics card will be at its max potential? A new Mobo/CPU/Ram combo isn't in my immediate future. I can look into overclocking the cpu for now, it'll be the first time but I wanted to learn how anyway.
 
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Roland Of Gilead

Roland Of Gilead

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well the Agena procs aren't really very good, and only go to a max of 2.6ghz for the quad. You won't get much benefit from upgrading the CPU alone.
A new mobo and maybe something like an FX6300, 6350 or above would be a good macth with your 7850.
 
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COLGeek

COLGeek

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+1. I agree that a Phenom 9600 would show little to no improvement. Also, don't be concerned about the PCIe 3.0 bandwidth info cited earlier. That is not really an issue in this matter either. This really is a matter of a relatively slow CPU.
 
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Solution
COLGeek

COLGeek

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BTW, forget about OCing that Narra motherboard. That is a HP OEM motherboard and it lacks the controls to allow users to overclock it. You could try AMD's Overdrive application to eek out a bit more from the rig, but it really is time to think about a new CPU/motherboard/memory config.
 
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Scremin34Egl

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Check your cpu and gpu usage while playing the game. Usually a bottleneck is when your cpu usage hit's around or exceeds 90% and your gpu usage is around 50% or less

Another way would be to lower the resolution or graphics settings and check if the frame rate improves. If it doesn't then its a cpu bottleneck

Although, it's highly likely that you are encountering a bottleneck, that CPU is quite old
 
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Ultimametal

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Guess that's what I get for upgrading everything else but the board hahah. I'm going to switch out the gpu with the older radeon and hold off until I can afford a new rig. Thanks to everyone for all of the quick and detailed input! I look forward to furthering my experience with everyone. :)
 
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Roland Of Gilead

Roland Of Gilead

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no probs, were here to help :) and be helped of course! :)
we're all learning here. That's why I love Tom's forum. Its great having so many knowledgeable people in one spot.
 
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Roland Of Gilead

Roland Of Gilead

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no probs, were here to help :) and be helped of course! :)
we're all learning here. That's why I love Tom's forum. Its great having so many knowledgeable people in one spot.
 
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