5850 bottleneck help please

[Guest]

Hey guys i have at the moment a inspiron 530, i upgraded the g card a while back to a ati hd 2600 xt, my specs are as follows

Motherboard:
CPU Type DualCore Intel Core 2 Duo E6750, 2666 MHz (8 x 333)
Motherboard Name Dell Inspiron 530
Motherboard Chipset 2048 MB
DIMM1: Kingston KPN424-ELG 1 GB DDR2-667 DDR2 SDRAM (5-5-5-15 @ 333 MHz) (4-4-4-12 @ 266 MHz) (3-3-3-9 @ 200 MHz)
DIMM3: Kingston KPN424-ELG 1 GB DDR2-667 DDR2 SDRAM (5-5-5-15 @ 333 MHz) (4-4-4-12 @ 266 MHz) (3-3-3-9 @ 200 MHz)

POWER SUPPLY

+12 v = 18 A
-12v = 0.8 A

my question is i want to upgrade my g card to a 5850 would there be a huge bottleneck, if so is it a worth wile purchase many thanks .

 

[Guest]

hey thanks for the reply im mainly upgrading to play games such as mass effect 2 that is coming out in a couple weeks and l4d 2 and other fps at max, so is the 5850 wrong completely for me and if there would be a bottleneck due to my cpu how big of a bottleneck i may decide to upgrade in future thanks.

 

[Guest]

thanks alot BDDazza, some useful information really appreciated, one last thing if i intend to upgrade my pc in say 7 months time would it still be a better investment in the 5770 then having a 5850 bottlenecked now and running fully later ? thanks again mate

 

[brett1042002]

I can not comment on the other people that mention 3 GHz.

But considering that the threadstarter is considering a ATI 5850 it is safe to presume that he is planning on running intensive games today as well as the upcoming games. There isn’t many Core 2 Duos clocked below 3 GHz that can get away with not bottlenecking a 5850, is there? Apart from the Core 2 Duo E8400/E8500/E8600 which are clocked above 3 GHz which could just about get away with powering a 5850 there isn’t may CPUs below 3 GHz in the Core 2 Duo that is up to the task, if there is please tell me

Also if you do not support my advice wouldn’t it be wiser to direct more attention to the OP and give him/her "real advice" rather than waste time with me?

Or, we could stop giving the OP false advice instead

Not saying 3ghz is a magic number or not. But benchmarks/data could re-enforce whether it does or not.

All the he said/she said advice isn't very reliable information, in my opinion.

 

[jonpaul37]

First & foremost, it is a Dell Inspiron system, i'm surprised the PSU in that thing even supported a 2600xt, it may not be able to handle the 5850 at all.

Second, i'm not sure the 5850 will even fit into the case, it's a rather big card, not as big as the 5870, but big enuff.

third, Dell usually prevents overclocking on their proprietary crap systems. Best bet is to start building a new Rig as a whole, even if you buy the components months apart, start with a good quality Corsair PSU, then get a decent mid-tower case, like the Antec 900, then go woth an i5/i7 mobo/CPU/RAM combo, the rest is cake...

Though to answer your original question, no, you would not see that much of a bottleneck with that Core 2 duo, especially if you can OC it. A small bottleneck, maybe, but it would not be overkill to buy that card (provided it fit in the case and the Dell PSU can handle it) with the intensions of upgrading at a sooner date.

 

[brett1042002]

Like I said to strangestranger, if you are unhappy with my advice wouldn’t it be wiser to direct more attention to the OP and give him/her "real advice" rather than waste time with me?

+1 jonpaul37

jonpaul37 raises a good point, your case might not phsyically be able to store a 5850 due to the case being a bit cramped. Also you'll have a PSU bottle neck.

Like I said, I'm not agreeing or disagreeing with anyone, but lets see some hard data or benchmarks to support these claims, and not just because Susie from down the street said so.

This is a forum to help people, not mislead them with false information or assumptions.

Sorry, if i'm "wasting my time" to prevent confusion for the OP .

EDIT: Thank you Strangestranger for the benchmarks. I meant to say that in this post earlier lol.

 

[sabot00]

I haven't even heard of legionhardware, their charts are hard on my eyes.

stranger, in a lot of the other threads you really purse the arguments too far.

Back to OP, I doubt 18 amps on the 12V rail will push a 5850.

 

[sabot00]

Both of you SHUT UP.
Explain to me how a 5850's performance will matter with 18 amps on the 12V rail?

OP, you're not going to run the 5850 on your PSU.

 

[sabot00]

Here's a nice cheap PSU.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341016&cm_re=500W_psu-_-17-341-016-_-Product
It has a $20 mail-in rebate + New Year's instant savings.

 

[sabot00]

Your argument is a moot point.
Let's let him understand the PSU problem first.

 

[Guest]

ok so i upgrade my psu, and i checked and it would fit it my case, but now im slightly confused if the bottleneck would be huge or not, mixed comments. would it be more worthwhile getting a whole new rig, just trying to get as much gaming quality on a small budget that's all.

 

[sabot00]

Depends on the game, there will probably be a bottleneck at lower resolutions.
What resolution do you game at? It is suggested that you game at your monitor's native resolution (if LCD).

 

[swifty_morgan]

My 5850 is 9 5/8 inches long...... Would I buy one for your set up, yes. It'll be something of value you can carry over to your next build. You'll need to upgrade your power supply along with it. This one for a minimum... http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139005........ if it will fit in your case. Not familiar with the 530 at all. Wish you would have said what your future plans are and been more informative about what you have now...opsys/resolution, etc. If you don't want to do a "$400" upgrade now the 5770 will be better than what you have now, especially at lower res and DX9....... just my opinions........ but it wouldn't be something I would consider very usable in a couple of years............ correct me if I'm wrong but some people were having trouble with the 5000 series and XP.............. yes/no ?

 

[Guest]

1440 x 900

 

[sabot00]

Here's a nice cheap PSU.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341016&cm_re=500W_psu-_-17-341-016-_-Product
It has a $20 mail-in rebate + New Year's instant savings.

I would like to repost the steal of a PSU I found.

 

[sabot00]

At that resolution the most I would get is a 5770.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814131327&cm_re=5770-_-14-131-327-_-Product
*pats my back for being first to ask resolution & point out PSU problems*

 

[Guest]

ok guys would my psu run a 5770 thanks again ...

 

[swifty_morgan]

Thought I would never recommend a 5770, but at that resolution, go for it....... WATCH OUT because I saw a 512 model somewhere the other day. Get the 1gig version. Good Luck.

 

[bystander]

Here is a good link to get an idea of about weither your CPU will bottleneck: http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/video/display/radeon-hd5870-cpu-scaling.html

It show's a 5870 with several different speed processers including Core 2 duo's, phenom II, i5 and i7 systems.

You'll notice that at lower visuals, the CPU bottle necks, but at high settings, the GPU bottle necks most systems, allowing the 2.7 ghz system to hold pace. That is until you CF, which is show on the right of the charts.

 

[sabot00]

Thought I would never recommend a 5770, but at that resolution, go for it....... WATCH OUT because I saw a 512 model somewhere the other day. Get the 1gig version. Good Luck.

No, 512MB's fine up to 1920x1200 without AA, at 1440x900 it's a breeze.
If the price is the same then get the 1GB.

You would still probably need a new PSU, what is the exact model of the PSU?
If the PSU dies it might take the entire system with it.

 

[megamanx00]

1) your current PSU will not handle a 5850. It's surprising that nobody noticed that before sabot00, but anyway.......

2) your CPU will generally bottleneck that card. Of course some games are more CPU bound than others, and you have to consider the resolution and settings used, but for the most part it's safe to say that your current CPU at it's current clock speed would hold back a single 5850.

3) You could certainly use more RAM. With today's memory demanding games there is a significant, and sometimes dramatic, difference in trying to play with 2GB of System RAM vs 4GB. Not only that but your RAM is DDR2-667 which is a bit slow now adays which will only compound the issue of moving data back and forth between your RAM, Video Card, and system page file (which would be worse if your hard drive is slow).

4) Are you even sure that monster will fit in your case?

Simply put, I don't think you going for a 5850 is a good idea, but hey it's up to you. At the very least you need to upgrade your PSU and make sure it will fit in your case. After that, yes the rest of your system will generally be a big bottleneck for the 5850, but it may not be such a big deal for you now if you upgrade your CPU, Motherboard, and RAM relatively soon. If not, then you are better off going with a 5770 and using the rest of the money to upgrade at least your CPU and RAM.

 

[jonpaul37]

Wow Megaman, showing up a little late to the party, huh?

Pleaes read the 10th post down from the top, this is what i posted:

First & foremost, it is a Dell Inspiron system, i'm surprised the PSU in that thing even supported a 2600xt, it may not be able to handle the 5850 at all.

Second, i'm not sure the 5850 will even fit into the case, it's a rather big card, not as big as the 5870, but big enuff.

third, Dell usually prevents overclocking on their proprietary crap systems. Best bet is to start building a new Rig as a whole, even if you buy the components months apart, start with a good quality Corsair PSU, then get a decent mid-tower case, like the Antec 900, then go woth an i5/i7 mobo/CPU/RAM combo, the rest is cake...

Though to answer your original question, no, you would not see that much of a bottleneck with that Core 2 duo, especially if you can OC it. A small bottleneck, maybe, but it would not be overkill to buy that card (provided it fit in the case and the Dell PSU can handle it) with the intensions of upgrading at a sooner date.

 

[swifty_morgan]

No, 512MB's fine up to 1920x1200 without AA, at 1440x900 it's a breeze.
If the price is the same then get the 1GB.

Sabot' you're not smoking crack are you ?

 

[edeawillrule]

At 1440x900 he would be perfectly fine with a 5750. My old 4670 could max out everything on my old 1440x900 monitor so if it could do it then a 5750 would be great in this situation.

1GB HIS IceQ+ Radeon HD 5750: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161316

1GB Sapphire Vapor-X Radeon HD 5750: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102865

Both of these cards would be a massive upgrade from the 2600 XT he has now.