Bottleneck Question

[planetkob]

Hello there. I'm buying a new video card. To be specific, it is a Sapphire Radeon HD 4890 with 1gb of RAM. I'm thinking about also purchasing a new LG monitor, but that depends on if I need to purchase a new processor.

I currently have an Intel Core 2 Duo E6400 (2.13ghz). If I want to run games on maximum settings, I know that the video card exceeds expectations, but will my CPU limit me from running games at maximum settings?

I was also thinking that maybe I could overclock it to make up the difference, but I'm a little bit scared that I might fry something... Knowing me.

 

[Maziar]

It really depends on what games u play at and the resolution u play.
Well some games benefit from a better CPU like most RTS games or FSX but there are many games that are mainly GPU-limited.
So what resolution do u play at ? and what games do u play ?

 

[royalcrown]

even if the card is bottle necked, so what ? your'fps will be maxed anyhow and you can still turn up things like anti aliasing and some graphics details without slowing it down much.

 

[hundredislandsboy]

That's not a cheap videocard. Why spend that amount of cash if you aren't going to be able to see or use all of what it's designed to do in terms of output? A good performing CPU in the $125 - $160 range might be a better buy for your future gaming.

What's your current motherboard and GPU?

 

[daedalus685]

Resolution is important. If you play on a small screen the GPU woudl be a waste of cash and the CPU would limit it geatly.

That card would not provide scaling over the 4870 enough to (in my eyes) warrant the cost if you play at anything less than 1920*1200.

The CPU is fine, but certainly it will limit your performance a bit, you might consider over clocking it. Anything less than 3ghz in todays games will limit high end settings such as particles.

 

[royalcrown]

thing is, he'll still be able to use his "too much card for that monitor or cpu" in current and future games

 

[daedalus685]

thing is, he'll still be able to use his "too much card for that monitor or cpu" in current and future games

Yes, it will still be faster than a 4870. But I would question the value of spending that much on a better card unless he plans on getting a bigger display, overclocking, or upgrading in the near future. No ponit in spending more money than you need to (says the guy with Raid 0 ssds.. i know..).