Do I NEED a GPU?

Is that a new build? Because that's a very old GPU you have in there!

If you put a 6950 in there, you should see a step change in performance...you'll definitely be able to max out WoW. I can on my rig, and the 560Ti is broadly comparable to the 6950. I can also run games like Deus Ex: HR and Skyrim maxed out, so I daresay Brink and Gotham City will run fine as well.

Yeah, it's new as of December something. Ok, so there seems to be some hope then. The FX-4100 suggests on the side of the box that I pair it with a Radeon HD 6000 series for max performance... you think that was just an advertisement or should I actually get a 6000 card? Wso now the question is "What card is best for me?" Also, I'm running Windows 7 64-bit. I might need to upgrade my 400W PSU for the new card, but I don't wanna spend $80 for a new PSU...

If you think the FX-4100 suggests a Radeon 6000 series card out of strictly advertising and not performance, feel free to recommend any card then. I'm looking to spend around $120, but if 20-30 extra bucks gets me a noticeable difference from a ~$120, let me know. (I also prefer Newegg)

the fx 4100 is bottlenecking a lot of high end cards, so stick to mid range if you want a balanced system... even then your gonna struggle on a lot of games that dont require more than 2 threads. the single core performance really does let the 4100 down for gaming...
honestly if i were you i would consider sending the cpu back and replacing it with a phenom2 as it will give so much more in gaming...

Dont get DE: HR.
It runs off of 1 core with the 4100 and will yield a whopping 8 fps.

Single core performance, what exactly do you mean by that? I had heard that the FX-4100 wasn't as epic as it sounds, didn't know if it was bad though... Maybe I should replace my CPU. It's still an option, if Newegg allows.

So even if I get a nice Radeon HD or a 560Ti, it will still yield horrible frames per second?

i had a 4100 with a gtx 570; it ran off of one core because the game wasnt utilizing the new architecture. i researched it and this is a common thing also with the 6100. Crysis crashed uncontrollably as well on startup. upgraded to a 980 BE = ZERO issues .
lets say you got DE HR and suffered the same issues i did. it wouldnt matter if you had a 590, the 4100 wouldnt process the data fast enough to run the game with only one core being utilized

I don't plan on playing DE, but what games DO run well with a 4100 and a Radeon 6000 Series? None? I planned on running some sweet graphics with this set up, but apparently I'm not going to do that?

I wouldnt go higher thab the 6870 at the most. Pissibly the 6850

Why do you say that? I probably won't anyways, but what's your reasoning? Also, can I get an explanation on whether or not this setup can or cannot run games well?

Here, I don't play BF3, but theoretically, could this setup (with a new graphics card) run BF3 on mid settings, maybe ultra settings?

Because a 4100 will bottleneck anything more powerful. You would be spending money to have choked performance instead of see all the performance from a mid range card.
That setup will be able to run games just fine. Im just advising a mid range card because even when overclocked the 4100 bottlenecks the higher end card and.it is a waste of money to buy performance You wont see

So should I return my 4100 and then buy like a Phenom II X4 or something along with a 67xx card?

No because a 67xx card is mid ranged and be balanced. Thats all Im saying is limit yourself to mid ranged card.
A piix4 965 and above would be a good move but not entirely necessary but if you.want a beast machine the 4100 will never cut it in gaming. It is a budget processor that at most works well with mid ranged gpus
as i said earlier you will be able to game but the higher end graphics cards will.be bottlenecked

Very late reply on my part, and I apologize, but I have returned my FX-4100 and gotten a Phenom II X4 960T, and it's running the same as the 4100 so far. I'm going to get a Radeon HD 6870 and rock out hard, because it's going to boost my gaming performance through the ROOF. And the ceiling. Not to mention... The drywall that's on the ceiling. Probably even through the trussing too if it hits that. It might not, depending how thick the beam is that shoots through my roof. And roof tiles.

ANYWAYS. I was curious, out of the new cards in the 7000 series, which out-perform a 6870? I want some juicy answers people! Now bow to me and respond! Jk (only about the respond part. Just bow to me. Except jk again, only respond.)

Thanks everyone.

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TL;DR= At what model do the Radeon HD 7XXX cards start to out-perform the Radeon HD 6870? Thank you!

-Brady

The 7850 should be the point at which it performs similar or better.
Increase your multiplier a bit on your 960... Ou can get a fee hundred mhz faster than stock on auto voltage and see good gains.
Gaming.is where you will see the difference between what you currently have and the 4100

Ok cool. Thanks for the info. I know that there are plenty and plenty of overclocking threads, sites, posts, guides, videos, etc, but you seem to know about overclocking, so what would you refer me to in terms of learning how to overclock? I have the ASRock eXtreme Tuner which is so simple and you can just click and drag the bars to increase CPU frequency, CPU ratio, PCIE frequency, and HT Ratio. How am I supposed to know which to turn up? I'm guessing PCIE and HT aren't part of the CPU, but I'm probably wrong.

Thanks tons for the help

the 960T is a black edition.
that means the multiplier is unlocked and requires no increase in the base frequency but just multiplier increases. 200x16= 3200mhz or 3.2ghz
if you were to increase the multiplier to 18 you could achieve 200x18= 3600mhz or 3.6ghz.
it really is that easy in the bios. now there is a certain point to which you wont be able to clock and be stable on stock voltage and require a voltage bump but i own amd and know that you can get at least a 300-400 mhz bump with the multiplier on auto voltage on any black edition cpu. that will give it a bit more oomph.
so you would see the multiplier at 17 to achieve 3.4
the 960T is at 3.0 so id be willing to bet you could bring it up to 3.4 on auto voltage easily with just a multiplier increase and nothing else.
what i think is interesting is the 960T at 3.0 you say is running the same as the 4100 at 3.6-3.8ghz.
with that increase we are talking about you should see marginal differences
discalimer; OC at your own risk, and also a voltage adjustment is for people that have done research and or know what they are doing. with that said, have a great time gaming on that solid rig you built

Best answer selected by bradyarch.