Help identifying bottlenecks and potential new components

Batch21 · Apr 26, 2016

Hi all,

Apologies for the rudimentary information below, I'm a total self spec PC noob and this is my first THW post...so forgive any ignorances I present...

I've just pre-ordered Warhammer Total War (fan of the series) and I'm highly doubtful my existing PC spec can handle the game at a decent FPS. I've been looking at new graphics cards but I'm now becoming fearful that really a totally new build is going to be needed as replacing this may well just create bottle necks or not even be compatible with my older components.

Can someone assist in pointing out the bottlenecks in my existing components and possibly suggesting compatible upgrades?

Current Spec

Windows 7
Samsung 850 Pro SSD
Intel Core i7 920
Asus X58 Pro (not Pro-E I think)
Radeon HD 6870
500w PSU

I immediately think the 6870 is a bottleneck but the Mobo is now quite old (PCI 2.0 only) and if this needs to be replaced then really so does the CPU....however if the Mobo and CPU can cope (despite age) I'd be happier (maybe £200 on a GPU rather than £800 on all new components)

Any help/input will be greatly received.

Thanks.

dark_globe · Apr 26, 2016

i´m also fan of the series ( i own all the TW games plus all the DLCs available ,
i also played competetive in rome 2 and attila for a while with my current configuration ) .
the biggest problem is your gpu indeed , replacing it would help you a lot .
gtx 960 would give you a great performance boost .
your CPU is still powerfull although it is becomming to be old as well .

this comparison should help you : http://www.ocaholic.ch/modules/smartsection/item.php?itemid=1226&page=15
i have the 270x and it is vastly superior to 6870 , gtx 960 is even more powerfull .

Onus · Apr 26, 2016

^Agreed. If the GTX960 alone is not enough, you will not have wasted your money, since you'll be able to re-use it in a new build.
A PSU that has handled a HD6870 should not have any trouble with a GTX960, but may be getting old enough that capacitor aging may have reduced its ability to provide clean power under heavy loads. What brand and model is it?

dark_globe · Apr 26, 2016

yeah i also wanted to ask you about the power supply ,
but it will actually have easier time with gtx 960 than it had with amd 6870 .
but as mentioned above if it is some aged no name than capacitors might not be in best of conditions by now .

dextermat · Apr 26, 2016

hi,

while I agree the 6870 is outdated, for descent modern gaming, you will have to overclock the CPU.
I recommend getting an aftermarket cooler and try to overclock the cpu.
the Core i7 920 is a good cpu and easy to overclock to 3.4.
I own the same cpu and you can get to 3.4 without bumping the voltage by much.

I have look on youtube for guides and their are 2 that help me a lot.

youtube overclock @ 4ghz
youtube overclock @ 4ghz

Good luck

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Help identifying bottlenecks and potential new components

Batch21

Commendable

dextermat

dark_globe

Splendid

Onus

Titan

dark_globe

Splendid

dextermat

Splendid

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