Is a stock Q6600 a bottleneck for a ATI 4870X2?

[Udayakiran]

I'll be getting a 4870X2 in a couple of days. Currently I have the following configuration:

- Intel Q6600 @ 2.4 GHz.
- Intel DG33FB. (I know)
- 6 GB DDR2 RAM @ 667 MHz
- Nvidia 8600GT.
- 450W PSU of unknown make. (Would love some advice on this too. What is the recommended wattage?)

So, will my graphics card get bottlenecked by the Q6600. I have an Intel board, so overclocking is out of the question.
If it will, then will a Quad X4 - 965 BE with a 790GX mobo be able to bear the grunt? I dont want to go to i7, because the AMD proc and mobo combined will cost as much as a i7 proc by itself. And an i7 extreme processor costs more than my entire computer!

And thanks in advance.

- Udayakiran

 

[jimmysmitty]

A stock Q6600 might. You could try to Overclock it to 3GHz and it should be fine. if not why not just upgrade your CPU only instead of buying a new mobo and CPU? You could get a Q9550 which wont bottleneck it.

 

[Udayakiran]

A stock Q6600 might. You could try to Overclock it to 3GHz and it should be fine. if not why not just upgrade your CPU only instead of buying a new mobo and CPU? You could get a Q9550 which wont bottleneck it.

Well, it is an Intel board, so i cant overclock.

And a Q9550 costs only about 60$ less than a Quad X4 - 965 BE & MSI 790FX-GD70 combo.

 

[Udayakiran]

I am referring to overclocking in the last part of my post in case it was not clear. It is game and resolution dependant of course.

Well, my major targets are Dead Space and GTA IV. Resolution is at 1400x900.

 

[Udayakiran]

And thanks guys.

 

[werxen]

Yes it will bottleneck it.

 

[swifty_morgan]

Yes, it will hold it back. But look at the bright side........ the new card will breathe some life into your gaming experience............ providing the PSU can give it what it needs.

 

[Bluescreendeath]

You need a better PSU. 4870s are very power hungry. For a 4870x2, you'll need a good 650watt to run it. An unknown 450watt will certainly burn out.

 

[warmon6]

You need a better PSU. 4870s are very power hungry. For a 4870x2, you'll need a good 650watt to run it. An unknown 450watt will certainly burn out.

i agree as well.

 

[Udayakiran]

You need a better PSU. 4870s are very power hungry. For a 4870x2, you'll need a good 650watt to run it. An unknown 450watt will certainly burn out.

i agree as well.

I'll surely be changing the PSU. But i aint sure about the wattage necessary. I MAY buy another 4870X2 and put them in crossfire. Will a 800W PSU suffice?

 

[Udayakiran]

Yes it will bottleneck it.

Yes, it will hold it back. But look at the bright side........ the new card will breathe some life into your gaming experience............ providing the PSU can give it what it needs.

Okay. The PSU is gonna change for sure. So, will a Phenom II 965 BE (3.4 GHz) cut it?

 

[speedbird]

The only time you'll see the difference is in a benchmark, so unless that's important to you then just stick with the Q6600. I have my Q6600 overclocked currently to 3Ghz, but in most games I play exception of Flight simulator X (that loves CPU power) the difference between stock and overclocked is unnoticeable to my eyes.

 

[Chad Boga]

Okay. The PSU is gonna change for sure. So, will a Phenom II 965 BE (3.4 GHz) cut it?

Easily.

Just make sure you buy a DDR2(i.e. AM2+ motherboard) to go with your CPU, unless you also decide to upgrade your RAM.

 

[theholylancer]

i say may as well get new ram, ddr2 is out the door fat so.

 

[Chad Boga]

i say may as well get new ram, ddr2 is out the door fat so.

If he is getting new ram, then the i5-750 comes into the equation.

 

[ElMoIsEviL]

If he is getting new ram, then the i5-750 comes into the equation.

*nods*

 

[Udayakiran]

If he is getting new ram, then the i5-750 comes into the equation.

Thanks for pointing that out to me. I'd never considered the i5-750.

Well, I looked into the reviews and it seems that the i5-750 is better than the X4-965 BE even in stock conditions, though only marginally. And with the prices being nearly the same too, it is a tough decision.
The deal breaker is with the chipsets with the LGA1156 boards: the P55. All P55 boards support only 1 PCI-e X16 or 2 PCI-e X8. The Asus M4A79T-DELUXE which is about 1.5 - 2 times as expensive as the P55 boards, at times even the same price, has the AMD 790FX chipset. The 790FX chipset supports 2 PCI-e x16 at full speed.

Now, from my perspective, the problem has three solutions:
1) Stick to the Q6600, at the risk of bottlenecking the 4870X2 at the resolution of 1440x900. This is the least expensive solution.
2) Get the i5-750, at the risk of bottlenecking the 4870X2s if i decide to buy one in the near future. This is a moderately expensive solution.
3) Get the Phenom II X4-965 BE and a mother board with a 790FX chipset. This is the most expensive solution.

BTW, i think dual 4870X2 may still be bottlenecked by the Phenom or the i5.

 

[Chad Boga]

Thanks for pointing that out to me. I'd never considered the i5-750.

Well, I looked into the reviews and it seems that the i5-750 is better than the X4-965 BE even in stock conditions, though only marginally. And with the prices being nearly the same too, it is a tough decision.
The deal breaker is with the chipsets with the LGA1156 boards: the P55. All P55 boards support only 1 PCI-e X16 or 2 PCI-e X8. The Asus M4A79T-DELUXE which is about 1.5 - 2 times as expensive as the P55 boards, at times even the same price, has the AMD 790FX chipset. The 790FX chipset supports 2 PCI-e x16 at full speed.

Now, from my perspective, the problem has three solutions:
1) Stick to the Q6600, at the risk of bottlenecking the 4870X2 at the resolution of 1440x900. This is the least expensive solution.
2) Get the i5-750, at the risk of bottlenecking the 4870X2s if i decide to buy one in the near future. This is a moderately expensive solution.
3) Get the Phenom II X4-965 BE and a mother board with a 790FX chipset. This is the most expensive solution.

BTW, i think dual 4870X2 may still be bottlenecked by the Phenom or the i5.

Well you can always just start off with the 4870x2 and see how you go with your current setup.

Even the term bottleneck needs to be clarified.

It is extremely likely that you will get better frames on a more recent/powerful processor, but your Q6600 may still be able to provide enough CPU grunt so that you never feel your game play is lagging or lacking.

After all, if your Q6600 will allow you to get 70fps, will you need to spend more now to get 95fps?

The other thing I would be careful of is that Direct X11 is probably going to be adopted more quickly than Direct x10, so you might be better off with a 5870 than a 4870x2.

Decisions, decisions.

 

[Bluescreendeath]

I'll surely be changing the PSU. But i aint sure about the wattage necessary. I MAY buy another 4870X2 and put them in crossfire. Will a 800W PSU suffice?

If you have enough money to do two 4870x2s in quad fire, you might as well go for the 5850 and 5870s.

The 5870 is equal to a 4870x2, but runs cooler, uses less energy, and supports dx11, and scales better. This costs $400-$420 and is 11.1 inches long.

The 5850 is slightly better than the GTX285 and maybe 20% worse than the 4870x2 or 5870. It has the benefits of the 5870 stated above. This costs $260-$310 and in 9.5 inches long.

The 5970 is two underclocked 5870s, and when overclocked it performs equal to two 4870x2s in Quadfire. It has the benefits of the 5870 stated above. This card costs $600-$620 and is 13inches long.

You can get two 5850s, two 5870s, or 1 5970. They will be more cost efficient and scale better than the 4870x2s.

 

[Udayakiran]

Well you can always just start off with the 4870x2 and see how you go with your current setup.

Even the term bottleneck needs to be clarified.

It is extremely likely that you will get better frames on a more recent/powerful processor, but your Q6600 may still be able to provide enough CPU grunt so that you never feel your game play is lagging or lacking.

After all, if your Q6600 will allow you to get 70fps, will you need to spend more now to get 95fps?

The other thing I would be careful of is that Direct X11 is probably going to be adopted more quickly than Direct x10, so you might be better off with a 5870 than a 4870x2.

Decisions, decisions.

Well, bottleneck as in, will the Q6600 affect the performance of the 4870x2 enough for the fps to drop below 30 fps at 1440x900? I believe the FPS should be at least 30 FPS for the game to be playable. If it will not, then the current set up is fine for me. I dont use Virtual Machines or do much Video encoding and stuff.

 

[Udayakiran]

If you have enough money to do two 4870x2s in quad fire, you might as well go for the 5850 and 5870s.

The 5870 is equal to a 4870x2, but runs cooler, uses less energy, and supports dx11, and scales better. This costs $400-$420 and is 11.1 inches long.

The 5850 is slightly better than the GTX285 and maybe 20% worse than the 4870x2 or 5870. It has the benefits of the 5870 stated above. This costs $260-$310 and in 9.5 inches long.

The 5970 is two underclocked 5870s, and when overclocked it performs equal to two 4870x2s in Quadfire. It has the benefits of the 5870 stated above. This card costs $600-$620 and is 13inches long.

You can get two 5850s, two 5870s, or 1 5970. They will be more cost efficient and scale better than the 4870x2s.

Well, I already have a 4870x2. But, yes, a 5970 makes more sense than 2 4870x2s

 

[Udayakiran]

Someone with common sense, such a rarity nowadays.

 

[Udayakiran]

Okay, i've decided on option 1. I'll stick to my q6600, and when that starts getting slow, i'll sell it off and rebuild the entire setup. I think buying another 4870x2 is pointless.

Now about the second part of the problem: What is the recommended wattage of the PSU, 600W, 650W, 700W or 800W? Or should I post the question in the 'Power supplies' section?

 

[jonpaul37]

wow, lots of responses...

no, @ 2.4 you should be fine, there may be a slight increase in FPS if you bump the CPU to 3.0 or 3.6 (like mine).

To put it in simpler terms, i installed my Q6600 and at stock (2.4) it ran all the games i play just fine, i then OC'd to 3.0 and i saw a slight increase, (about 3 - 7 FPS), then OC'd it to 3.6 and saw an even slighter increase (2-4 FPS from the 3.0). Keep in mind that i am running a 4850, so results may vary for the 4870x2.

The real issue here is the PSU you have, @ 400-watts, it will certainly not handle the 4870x2. You would need a Quality (Corsair or OCZ) 550-watt 80+ certified with high amp value on the 12v rail in order to run that 4870x2.

 

[Bluescreendeath]

A quality brand 650watt PSU will be able to run a 4870x2.

I usually get a quality 750watt PSU since the price difference between 650s and 750s are around $20 or so.