Video Card Bottleneck

[veldrane]

My current system is a E4400 OCed to 3.3 Ghz with 2 GB ddr2 in 1:1. I have an 8800 GTS 320 now that will be used for physx on the second 4x slot. What's the most powerful video card I can get that won't be bottlenecked by the CPU? I prefer nvidia to ati as a personal choice. Never had any luck with ati cards in the past. Thanks.

 

[br3nd064]

Can't speak for anything more powerful, but my 9800gtx+ doesn't bottleneck my e8500.

 

[hsetir]

3.3ghz with 2mb cache is good for modern high end graphics. Though higher cache would see some increase, your present config shouldn't stop from buying any graphics card.

 

[invisik]

there wont be any bottleneck there. ur cpu is fine for any high end gpu.

 

[mactronix]

No you wont have a problem with bottlenecking and if you plan to run a second card as a physx card i would check how the compatability works out as i beleive that it has to be the same generation card to work. Im not 100% on that thats why i say check it out.

Mactronix

 

[yipsl]

Well, if you don't like ATI, you're missing out, the 4850 is the best deal out there (maybe 2 4670's for budget Crossfire as well). For Nvidia, I'd consider the aging, but still good 9800gx2 or a GTX260. I don't think the 9800gtx brings enough to the table in this generation.

Always check to make sure you have enough amps on the 12 volt rail for any high end card.

Also, CPU limitations disappear a bit at higher resolutions. When a budget CPU (like my aging X2) is matched with a high end card at 1280x1024, then the CPU can't keep up with the number of frames the GPU can deliver, so there's a bottleneck. That can happen at higher resolutions, I recall a review where a Q6600 couldn't keep up with a 4870x2 until the resolution past 24" LCD. I don't recall whether it was overclocked or not, or what motherboard was used. I'll look for it later this weekend.

Saturday morning, I'll order an 8750 and put it on a Gigabyte 780G board and see if the bottleneck disappears. Before I upgrade, I'll test with all the benchmarks I can and then repeat after. Still have a 17" Viewsonic CRT, but I'm looking at either a 22" or 24" LCD right after Thanksgiving.

 

[JAYDEEJOHN]

Using physx, there will be a small bottleneck, as physx as we know uses alot of cpu power. The lack of cache and a higher oc would give you prime capability, but is there any current games with these demands? Thats the question. Whats not being asked here is the OPs resolution, which will have a major impact on the cpu usage vs gpu usage, which then changes everything. Currently, for the most part in all but maybe a rare game, will you encounter any bottlenecking, but who knows about future games?