!!!Help regarding Upgrade to GTX 480???

lewdawg

July 14, 2010 5:29:04 AM

Specs:
Case: NZXT ZERO
Psu: nzxt 800 watt
cpu: Q9300 3.3ghz
Gpu: Gtx 280 Oced
Mobo: Evga 780i sli
Ram: Kingston 4gigs DDR2 800Mhz
Asetek liquid cooling
HD: 2x500gb
western digital 7200rpm
Keyboard/Mouse:Razr arctosa/logitech lx8
OS: W7 64
Monitor: Acer P241w 24"
Numerous cooling fans haha

Hi all, had some questions regarding an upgrade to a gtx 480 while running a Q9300 at 3.3ghz.
First, i would like to know if I will have a cpu bottleneck even when oced to 3.3ghz?

I have researched and found that at stalk settings the Q9300 will bottleneck the 480 slightly.
But i would like some input as to what extent the bottleneck would do to performance, and if ocing it slighlty higher may help or just keep it at 3.3ghz and roll with it....

So any suggestion/opinions/recommendations are totally welcome and would be appreciated.. thanks

More about : upgrade gtx 480

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rolli59

Homebuilt system Master

July 14, 2010 10:37:41 PM

I think it will be fine at 3.3 GHz it is still a capable CPU. If you can effortlessly clock it higher to compare you will find out about the bottleneck.

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lewdawg

July 14, 2010 11:50:32 PM

Rolli59, what do you mean if i can effortlessly clock it higher to compare i will find out about the bottleneck? I dont understand...

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redechelon

July 15, 2010 12:45:48 AM

I think he's just saying if you can overclock it more, and your GPU performs better, than it was bottlenecked. If the GPU performs the same, it wasn't bottlenecked to begin with.

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lewdawg

July 15, 2010 2:46:25 AM

Thanks for clearing that up redechelon that makes sense!

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redechelon

July 15, 2010 3:06:38 AM

What games you playin man? IMO, the 280 is still a good card, so as long as you're not trying to play new games maxed out on a decently large monitor, I'd say keep your dough for a while.

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coldsleep

Homebuilt system Authority

July 15, 2010 3:25:20 AM

I'd agree with redechelon. Based on THG Best Graphics Cards for the Money, June 2010, the 480 isn't enough of a jump up in order to really be worth the expense.

I guess I wouldn't do it unless you can find someone to buy your 280 at a high enough price that buying the 480 is trivialized.

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lewdawg

July 15, 2010 3:54:15 AM

Well i play bfbc2, l4d 2, just cause 2, and fifa 10. I max all these games out at 1920x1200 along with max aa and all the goodies with a decent fps. It been a great card for me but the new gtx 480 really caught my attention. I probably will just save my money and ride the 280 till its unworthy. I just wanted dx 11 but i know what you guys are saying. What would be a good used selling price for a xfx gtx 280 anyways? Ive seen them used for around $233 but i dont know haha....

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lewdawg

July 15, 2010 3:59:17 AM

redechelon said:

What games you playin man? IMO, the 280 is still a good card, so as long as you're not trying to play new games maxed out on a decently large monitor, I'd say keep your dough for a while.

I see you have sli 480's, hows that working for you?

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redechelon

July 15, 2010 6:19:59 AM

lewdawg said:

I see you have sli 480's, hows that working for you?

F'ing awesome... haha. I had a 5770 before this and it's just unreal now.. sold the old setup to my gf because she needed something heftier for photo editing =]
I was sick of buying a new budget PC every year, so I just splurged. :pt1cable:

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lewdawg

July 15, 2010 4:21:39 PM

2146768,10,505777 said:

F'ing awesome... haha. I had a 5770 before this and it's just unreal now.. sold the old setup to my gf because she needed something heftier for photo editing =]
I was sick of buying a new budget PC every year, so I just splurged. :pt1cable:

[/quotemsg

Thats so awesome dude!! I couldnt imagine having two of those bad boys thats insane!! Did you buy the evga versions or what?

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lewdawg

July 15, 2010 4:23:55 PM

raclimja said:

Those are awesome charts, thankyou for posting them!

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redechelon

July 15, 2010 8:01:26 PM

lewdawg said:

Thats so awesome dude!! I couldnt imagine having two of those bad boys thats insane!! Did you buy the evga versions or what?

Yeah I did. I like EVGA.. they're usually priced pretty competitively (not the cheapest, though), and they're very active. Their forums are great, lifetime warranties of course, great service, even little additions like... free high-flow brackets, or the backplates that come on the SC versions. All of my e-mailed questions were answered quickly, and helpful too.

If you end up trying to sell your 280, good luck. If not, have you considered overclocking it to curb the urge? =]

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lewdawg

July 15, 2010 8:59:22 PM

redechelon said:

Yeah I did. I like EVGA.. they're usually priced pretty competitively (not the cheapest, though), and they're very active. Their forums are great, lifetime warranties of course, great service, even little additions like... free high-flow brackets, or the backplates that come on the SC versions. All of my e-mailed questions were answered quickly, and helpful too.

If you end up trying to sell your 280, good luck. If not, have you considered overclocking it to curb the urge? =]

Thanks,Yes i oc it all the time and bump up the fan speed to 100% but i always end up crashing 20 minutes later and if it doesnt crash i am plagued with artifacts the whole time.. It doesnt oc well at all anymore. I usually oc it to 670/1250/1458 but thats its max, so then i lower it to 648/1230/1400 and it still crashes..It's really bugging me so I'm just gonna stop trying. I remember when i first got it i was able to oc the core to 700 no problem but lately ive noticed the performance has been dropping and the ability to OC... The thing is it runs well at stalk but the moment its oced it just fails soon after haha!!! In bfbc2 I have been getting white screens and crashes along with artifacts when its got a minimal oc..

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coldsleep

Homebuilt system Authority

July 15, 2010 9:03:56 PM

Maybe this has already been addressed, but I didn't see it in a quick skim through the topic.

Have you cleaned out your case recently? Everything you're describing in your last post sounds like perhaps the case has a lot of dust in it, which is causing heat to not be dissipated as effectively as it used to.

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lewdawg

July 15, 2010 9:07:19 PM

coldsleep said:

Maybe this has already been addressed, but I didn't see it in a quick skim through the topic.

Have you cleaned out your case recently? Everything you're describing in your last post sounds like perhaps the case has a lot of dust in it, which is causing heat to not be dissipated as effectively as it used to.

I like your "i was raised by a cup of coffee" thats awesome!!! Yes i just recently cleaned it out, i kkep my computer very clean and dusted. I have plenty of fans and great airflow, i just dont know why its happening? But thats a good thought coldsleep.

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lewdawg

July 16, 2010 1:04:39 AM

Of these 3 brands of the Nvidia gtx 480 which one would be the best considering customer service,warranty, and overall satisfaction. I can oc myself so no need to spend the exrta money. plus these three versions are the most affordable at $459 a piece.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

thanks