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Is my Core 2 Duo E6400 @ 2.13ghz a bottleneck for a HD 4890?

Forum Graphic & Displays : Graphics Cards - Is my Core 2 Duo E6400 @ 2.13ghz a bottleneck for a HD 4890?

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voy   06-08-2009 at 11:59:33 PM

Hi,

I'm currently considering an upgrade from my current gfx card, an old faithful Radeon X1950 Pro. After reading a few reviews, my heart is set on a HD 4890. My only concern is if my CPU will hold back the performance gains from an upgrade. Any thoughts?

Kind regards,
Voy.

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ct1615   06-09-2009 at 12:15:16 AM
- 1 +

will your cpu bottleneck your new GPU? yes
will the 4890 run circles around the x1950 pro? yes
will you enjoy playing new games with your new card? yes
can you always upgrade your CPU or OC it? yes
is your heart set on the 4890? yes

...so whats your question?

Reply to ct1615
Ruckol1   06-09-2009 at 12:18:23 AM
- 0 +

Overclock your processor a sh*tload, you can. That will minimize it

Reply to Ruckol1
AKM880   06-09-2009 at 01:45:13 AM
- 0 +

Overclock your E6400 abit more.

Reply to AKM880
voy   06-09-2009 at 10:21:12 PM
- 0 +

Thanks for the answers guys. I have OCed my cpu to 2.7Ghz now. Will see if I can go higher with a few more settings changes. I guess my question was if it would bottleneck the new GPU too much, not that I can do much about it besides pushing the limits on my current cpu.

Thanks again guys.

Kind regards,
Voy.

Message quoted 1 times
Reply to voy
efeat   06-09-2009 at 10:22:31 PM
- 0 +

What resolution do you play in and what games do you like to play?

Reply to efeat
carpenter20m   06-09-2009 at 11:21:13 PM
- 0 +

I have the same CPU and I used to have an X1950pro. When it died I replaced it with a 4850 and my CPU was a huge bottleneck, since I hardly saw any difference in some single-thread/cpu dependent games (I am describing older versions of Source Engine btw).

I OCed it slighlty (went to 2.56 GHz...for some reason I need to turn the voltage waaaaaaay up even for that, so I am not going for more) and you can see the difference. Everything ran much better. It's still not a beast and it does bottleneck my gpu a bit, but it's a pretty good combination.

My guess would be that a 4870 and a 4890 won't have that much a difference in performance with that cpu. But feel free to try.

Reply to carpenter20m
megamanx00   06-09-2009 at 11:31:34 PM
- 0 +

Yes your CPU will limit the gains you would otherwise see going from a 1950pro to a 4890. How much depends on the particular game itself. Still, it will be a good improvement and you can upgrade your CPU latter.

------------------------------ Playing X-Men Origins: Wolverine Athlon 64 X2 5000+ @3.24 Brisbane | GIGABYTE GA-MA790X-DS4 | 4GB Mushkin DDR2 1066 | Plextor 760A| 2x 3850 512M CF| WD 1TB Black| Fortron Blue Storm II 500W | APEVIA X-Dreamer Black | Win XP Pro & Vista Buisness 32bit
 Reply to megamanx00
mlcloud   06-09-2009 at 11:49:08 PM
- 0 +

I would consider just grabbing a 4870, or even a 4850 for that cpu. The performance difference should be pretty marginal...

Unless you plan to upgrade the CPU in the future! Then the 4890 might be a worthy investment.

Reply to mlcloud
Milos-stancene   06-10-2009 at 12:30:47 AM
- 0 +

nonsens

my case : E6600 2,4 Ghz + GTX 285
E6600 2,4 @ 3,4 Ghz + GTX 285 ... maybe 5-8% boost

Reply to Milos-stancene
AKM880   06-10-2009 at 12:50:45 AM
- 0 +

voy wrote :

Thanks for the answers guys. I have OCed my cpu to 2.7Ghz now. Will see if I can go higher with a few more settings changes. I guess my question was if it would bottleneck the new GPU too much, not that I can do much about it besides pushing the limits on my current cpu.

Thanks again guys.

Kind regards,
Voy.



Nice overclock BTW. It should be fine, but like others suggested that 4850/70

Reply to AKM880
xyzionz   06-10-2009 at 01:22:41 AM
- 0 +

And get a decent cooler

Reply to xyzionz
kevin1212   06-10-2009 at 01:24:23 AM
- 0 +

2.7GHz is decent, but a bit more would be welcome. At high resolutions though, games are much more gpu dependent, in other words, it would be no big deal to stay at 2.7GHz. When i say high resolutions btw, i mean at least 1680x1050, usually higher. I'm sure there are some comparisons done by tomshardware that can show you the differences. All in all, i'm saying go with the 4890.

Reply to kevin1212
kevin1212   06-10-2009 at 01:28:56 AM
- 0 +

take a look at this article... a bit old but still says a lot.
http://www.tomshardware.com/review [...] ,1928.html

Reply to kevin1212
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