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7950 GX2 bottleneck?

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Track   08-15-2006 at 03:36:31 AM

I have a P4 3.0Ghz 800FSB 1M L2 cache (OC 3300Mhz).

If i buy the 7950 GX2 will it be totally bottlenecked by my old, but still top of it's line CPU, being single core and the card being dual-core?

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raven_87   08-15-2006 at 03:38:51 AM
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gonna be a bottleneck? You better believe it....

Reply to raven_87
Track   08-15-2006 at 03:42:25 AM
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Quote :

gonna be a bottleneck? You better believe it....



What abt the 7900 GTX?

And WHY? Cause its not dual-core?

Reply to Track
raven_87   08-15-2006 at 03:58:03 AM
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7900GTX? Yeah....

Because its not DC?

Not necessarily, but maybe its along the lines of being a slow ass Prescott.


Don't feel to bad, and TBH there's a slight bottleneck in most CPU's now a days with even a single high end GPU.

Reply to raven_87
Track   08-15-2006 at 04:00:51 AM
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Quote :

7900GTX? Yeah....

Because its not DC?

Not necessarily, but maybe its along the lines of being a slow ass Prescott.


Don't feel to bad, and TBH there's a slight bottleneck in most CPU's now a days with even a single high end GPU.



It may not be that good, but its a good freaquency..
Arent games more GPU dependent these days anyway? Its not going to matter that much..

Reply to Track
raven_87   08-15-2006 at 04:07:53 AM
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First off, that 3300mhz on a P4 isnt much....I can achieve the same CPU results on an AXP @ 2.ghz :lol:


Next off; Yes, games are very GPU dependent, but you still need the balance between CPU/VGA and memory. Most people tend to run very GPU heavy, and if you would have picked up that 7950 and kept the P4, you would have been the perfect example.

Reply to raven_87
prozac26   08-15-2006 at 04:11:40 AM
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Quote :

gonna be a bottleneck? You better believe it....


Not really. At such high resolution, settings, and the card producing such high framerates, the difference between a 3.3 P4, and a Core 2 6600 (for example) might be like 2 to 5 framerates.

Reply to prozac26
raven_87   08-15-2006 at 04:37:04 AM
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Depends on the situation actually.

People seem to think you can undercut on your CPU and not spend as much, but games and other apps still require quite a large amount of CPU backing. Like I said, good balance between CPU/VGA and memory.

3Dmark05 and 06. I dont really use them for system comparions, because synthetic marks are just silly....BUT, they hold great use for system tweaking.

An example: I can have my 148 @ default speeds and overclock to high hell my X1800XT. As a matter of fact, I did.

After I achieved max OC on the GPU I was around 10.5k 3Dmark05.
Then I deicided to push my Opty. Making just over 3ghz, put the CPU score up a considerable amount and pushed my system well near 12k.

Like I said, I dont use those tools for direct system comparison, but there are excellent for in house system tweaks and diagnosis.

A good CPU is something still critical to your system, dont think otherwise.

Reply to raven_87
kmjohnso   08-15-2006 at 08:11:29 AM
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You will be bottlenecked to some extent. I have been in search of articles showing where the CPU becomes an issue. Your cpu would even bottleneck a 6800 GT at certain resoltuions, as I mentioned in a previous (unanswered post):

I said

Quote :


I am looking to establish the relation between GPU performance and CPU. This is of course dependent on the game/banchmark and resolution/settings, but I'd like to get a rough idea where it becomes an issue. So far i've found these articles:

HardOCP
Firing Squad

And then using Tom's CPU charts you can derive a similar curve:

http://img155.imageshack.us/img155/8387/cpugraphnm9.th.jpg
http://img59.imageshack.us/img59/3294/cpucharthg1.th.jpg

Does anybody know of anymore example/benchmarks showing the bottleneck in detail?

Reply to kmjohnso
Track   08-15-2006 at 01:38:45 PM
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Ok, look im confused.

1 guy says its a 5 frame difference and another says its a 50 frame difference. Do i just pick the one i like, because ive already bought a matching motherboard for my P4 and my 7900?

Reply to Track
prozac26   08-15-2006 at 01:49:40 PM
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It won't be 50 framerates. The CPU isn't that sucky. The P4 will cost you some framerates, but won't be noticable.

Reply to prozac26
Track   08-15-2006 at 01:55:07 PM
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Quote :

It won't be 50 framerates. The CPU isn't that sucky. The P4 will cost you some framerates, but won't be noticable.



Ok, lets see if anyone agrees with u. :D

Reply to Track
Morton   08-15-2006 at 02:14:23 PM
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Here's an interesting article: http://www.anandtech.com/cpuchipse [...] i=2802&p=9

They had 2 x ATI Radeon X1900 XT CrossFire and Corsair XMS2 DDR2-800.
The average difference between Athlon X2 3800+ and Athlon X2 4600+ was 10 FPS in Quake 4, 15 FPS in Half-Life 2, 10 FPS in Battlefield 2, 9 FPS in F.E.A.R, 14 FPS in Rise of Legends and 7-10 FPS in Oblivion (7 in towns and 10 in dungeons). The difference between Core 2 Duo E6300 and E6400 was 11 FPS in Quake 4, 12 FPS in Half-Life 2, 10 FPS in Battlefield 2, 3 FPS in F.E.A.R, 12 FPS in Rise of Legends and 5-6 FPS in Oblivion.

Reply to Morton
FeareX   08-15-2006 at 02:18:07 PM
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I agree with prozac26.

As long as the CPU still is fast enough for the recommended specs of a game, it wont be bottlenekking much. And 3.3Ghz will be just fine for that.

Reply to FeareX
dougie_boy   08-15-2006 at 02:21:28 PM
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Quote :

It won't be 50 framerates. The CPU isn't that sucky. The P4 will cost you some framerates, but won't be noticable.



Ok, lets see if anyone agrees with u. :D

hello everyone. i agree. games like fear which are mainly shader intensive will be fine on a 3gig pressy.

okay ur not going to hit steller speeds but too the human eye im willing to bet 70% of the time ur frame rates should be fine. u might get more stuttering are crap like that while the CPU catches up.

Reply to dougie_boy
Track   08-15-2006 at 04:31:41 PM
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So im cool until i buy a new CPU next summer?

What if i get Quad-SLI?

Reply to Track
prozac26   08-15-2006 at 05:03:11 PM
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Even with Quad-SLI the P4 should be enough. But you'll need to play a super, unimaginable resolutions to get full benefits of Quad-SLI.

Reply to prozac26
enforcerfx   08-15-2006 at 05:39:53 PM
- 0 +

Quote :

I have a P4 3.0Ghz 800FSB 1M L2 cache (OC 3300Mhz).

If i buy the 7950 GX2 will it be totally bottlenecked by my old, but still top of it's line CPU, being single core and the card being dual-core?



Unless your need of a dire upgrade, get a new mid-range video card. But not something top of the line thats 500+ bucks. In regards to your post, i dont think it would be a bottleneck, but you would loose something. And quad-sli, well, good luck....

Reply to enforcerfx
SuperFly03   08-15-2006 at 06:02:35 PM
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Quote :

I have a P4 3.0Ghz 800FSB 1M L2 cache (OC 3300Mhz).

If i buy the 7950 GX2 will it be totally bottlenecked by my old, but still top of it's line CPU, being single core and the card being dual-core?



I have a P4C 3.0GHz northwood paired with a 6800 GT and a AMD Venice 3800+ OC'd to 2750 paired with a 7900GTX and I can tell you one thing CPU's matter.

P4C's are notoriously hard to OC without modding the motherboard so I haven't been able to OC it and the Venice 3800+ is about equal (at stock settings) to the P4C. Once I OC'd the venice I could realy tell a diffrence in the smoothness of play and the recovery time from frame skips.

You may say "oh but look 6800GT v 7900GTX," and you might br right except a 6800 GT can handle BF2 just as well as a 7900GTX, sure the frames are slighlty slower but when your CPU is the bottleneck the exact card doesn't make as much of a diffrence.

I can't give you any exact numbers because I honestly don't have them. What I can tell you is that 7950 GX2 is probably a waste of money, in fact I would say it is. based on the amount of crap that is supposed change (DX 9L, DX 10, Vista, Geforce 8 Series, R600) I would strongly suggest getting a 7900 GT.

It is more the fast enough for current gen games. It won't be the best frames you can get but it would probably be the best match for your CPU.

Just my 2 cents though from experiance.

Reply to SuperFly03
Heyyou27   08-15-2006 at 06:29:42 PM
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Quote :

Even with Quad-SLI the P4 should be enough. But you'll need to play a super, unimaginable resolutions to get full benefits of Quad-SLI.

This is where I have to stop you; even the FX60 seems to be a CPU bottleneck with Quad SLI, so I would never recommend him running his old Prescott with it.

Reply to Heyyou27
prozac26   08-15-2006 at 06:33:20 PM
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Quote :

Even with Quad-SLI the P4 should be enough. But you'll need to play a super, unimaginable resolutions to get full benefits of Quad-SLI.

This is where I have to stop you; even the FX60 seems to be a CPU bottleneck with Quad SLI, so I would never recommend him running his old Prescott with it.
Whatever, Quad-SLI (even SLI) is a waste. :P

Reply to prozac26
rodney_ws   08-15-2006 at 06:51:53 PM
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Quote :

I have a P4 3.0Ghz 800FSB 1M L2 cache (OC 3300Mhz).

If i buy the 7950 GX2 will it be totally bottlenecked by my old, but still top of it's line CPU, being single core and the card being dual-core?



A 286 running at 20 Mhz is a processor at the top of its line... being the top of anything isn't really important once you're talking about a different generation of hardware. I think you knew the answer to your question before you even posted it.

Reply to rodney_ws
Ches111   08-15-2006 at 06:54:47 PM
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I would find it very difficult to spend alot of money on ANY video card right now.

Again, As said before, DX10 is on its way and since you are talking about upgrading next summer, I would really suggest you buy a "get by" card for now and spend the real money on the next upgrade.

I normally do not suggest the wait and see.... But being so close to a totally new generation of cards it might be a good thing.

Same as with people thinking of CPU upgrade a month or two ago. I would/did recommend they wait since it was a completely new generation (C2D) being released. Had it been a Ghz bump that was coming I would have said go ahead. But typicaly generational changes tend to quite large.

Reply to Ches111
Track   08-15-2006 at 07:10:56 PM
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Quote :

I have a P4 3.0Ghz 800FSB 1M L2 cache (OC 3300Mhz).

If i buy the 7950 GX2 will it be totally bottlenecked by my old, but still top of it's line CPU, being single core and the card being dual-core?



A 286 running at 20 Mhz is a processor at the top of its line... being the top of anything isn't really important once you're talking about a different generation of hardware. I think you knew the answer to your question before you even posted it.

Your comparing my Pentium 4 to a 286? :roll:
Plus i have more CPU cycles then the X6800, so im happy :D

I already wasted months trying to find a motherboard with PCI-E and 478 for my CPU, so unless its over a 20 FPS difference im not going to upgrade.

Whats the best CPU for 478?

Reply to Track
redman2025   08-15-2006 at 07:31:04 PM
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If you run your games at a high res maybe 1280x1024 or higher with 4x AA and 16x AF then the cpu will not be a bottle neck or at least not a big bottle neck.

Reply to redman2025
dmacfour   08-15-2006 at 07:43:56 PM
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I have A 3800+ AM2 and a 7900gt. Is the GPU bottlenecked? what proc would I need if I wanted to not have it bottlenecked?

Reply to dmacfour
Heyyou27   08-15-2006 at 07:55:40 PM
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Quote :

Whatever, Quad-SLI (even SLI) is a waste. :P

Yeah, because 1920x1200 runs so well on a single GPU solution. :roll:

Quote :

I have A 3800+ AM2 and a 7900gt. Is the GPU bottlenecked? what proc would I need if I wanted to not have it bottlenecked?

No, your CPU will not be a bottleneck for a 7900GT.

Reply to Heyyou27
raven_87   08-15-2006 at 08:17:03 PM
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Quote :


Plus i have more CPU cycles then the X6800, so im happy



Having higher clock speeds means nothing in most cases, especially when comparing a P4 to a C2D.



Quote :


Whats the best CPU for 478?



Dothan for single core 478
Yonah for dual core 478.... I had an M740. Damn fine CPU it was too.


Perhaps I should just clear this up now.

Your current P4 will be adequate for your games, that I'm not doubting.
However it would still be the bottleneck in the system you mentioned, but
you should be fine.

Reply to raven_87
Ches111   08-15-2006 at 11:27:45 PM
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That is SO Raven!! :)

Reply to Ches111
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