Tom's Hardware > Forum > Graphic & Displays > Graphics Cards > Is my CPU being a bottleneck to my GFX cards?
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ehanger   06-22-2009 at 08:23:52 PM

Would an i7 920 @ 3.0GHz bottleneck 2 EVGA GTX 275's in SLI? My 3DMark06 score is in the mid to upper 19k range and I think that I should be getting around 22kish.

How much would my score go up if I overclocked to 3.2-3.6ish?

------------------------------ Intel core i7 920 @ 3.5GHz
ASUS P6T
Corsair 3GB DDR3-1333
(2x) EVGA GTX 275 SLI
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Bronze Graphics badge cjl   06-22-2009 at 08:29:05 PM
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Your 3dmark score is probably bottlenecked. Games are probably not. 3dmark06 is quite heavily CPU dependent (to the point where my setup with 4870x2 quadfire scores 17k with a 3.33GHz i7 [stock], and 27k with a 4.2GHz i7).

------------------------------ Asus P6T deluxe
i7 965 @ 4.2GHz (200*21), 1.384V
12GB Corsair Dominator DDR3-1600 CAS 7
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jitpublisher   06-22-2009 at 09:31:11 PM
- 0 +

You should use 3DMark06 to get a general idea of your systems performance, note the score, and if you upgrade, change something, use it as a baseline to compare if you made an improvement or not. Unless your score is just way out of line with a VERY comparable system in database, don't pay a whole lot of attention to it.
Pay more attention to how your games ACTUALLY run.

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daedalus685   06-22-2009 at 09:34:22 PM
- 0 +

People need to stop using 3dmark 06 entirely and stop using synthetics as the be all and end all of benchmarking.

It is just a guideline, use the score as a basis, notihng more. There are some million things that can affect your score, 3k is not that much really.. Obvisouy it will go up if you overclock... but unless 3dmark is your favourite game don't pay it any mind.

------------------------------ CPU: Q9550 at 3.6ghz (FSB 425mhz) | MB: P5E3 Premium | Ram: 4*2Gb Corsair DDR3 @1417mhz | GPU: 2 HD4890 1Gb (925core/1025mem) CF | PSU: OCZ ELiteXtreme 800W | Sound: Creative Titanium Fatal1ty Pro | 2*120gb OCZ Vertex SSD Raid0 and 2 500gb Raid0 HDDS
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leo2kp   06-22-2009 at 09:55:23 PM
- 0 +

According to a recent Tom's article, the 920 runs best at 3.6GHz when comparing power usage and speed. And the faster your processor, the less chance you have of bottlenecking those 275's no matter what synthetics tell you. So I figure, get as close to 3.6GHz as you can and stay there no matter what graphics cards you have :)

------------------------------ "He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose" -- Jim Elliott
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ehanger   06-22-2009 at 10:25:05 PM
- 0 +

OK well what do you think is the highest stable overclock I can achieve on the i7 920 by adjusting just the BCLK frequency? I am on stock cooling right now and probably will be for a long time (I have a Coolermaster V8 cooler lying around but am afraid to use it because last time I tried installing it the backplate shorted out the motherboard and I had to send it in for a replacement!).

Also what is the max sustained temperature the core i7 920 can handle? I am probably not going to keep the chip for more than 3 years so do you think it would last at all if it got to 80-85*C under load?

------------------------------ Intel core i7 920 @ 3.5GHz
ASUS P6T
Corsair 3GB DDR3-1333
(2x) EVGA GTX 275 SLI
Reply to ehanger
ehanger   06-23-2009 at 02:52:37 AM
- 0 +

Just ran 3DMark06 with my i7 920 running at 3.5GHz and got 22.5k 3DMarks... I guess you guys were right it really is a cpu intensive benchmark.

------------------------------ Intel core i7 920 @ 3.5GHz
ASUS P6T
Corsair 3GB DDR3-1333
(2x) EVGA GTX 275 SLI
Reply to ehanger
strangestranger   06-23-2009 at 07:30:31 PM
- 0 +

I don't think cpu intensive is the word, I think weighted would be more appropriate.

------------------------------ I'm a git, deal with it.

Antec 1200,PC Power & Cooling 750,Gigabyte DS4-x48,Intel Q9550@3.4 W/Xigmatek S1283,8GB OCZ DDR2 800,ATI 4870X2,X-FI>CA 640C amp>Tannoy R300/Senn 595's
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