Will my CPU hold the GTX260 back

[g4kioN1]

Hi guys i was thinking about upgrading from my superclocked 9600gt to a superclocked gtx260, i currently have 3gb ddr2 ram since 32 bit caps it at that, i have a phenom 9550 quad core, and 750 power supply, i don't have anything on my PC that would suck up my power supply so I'm not worried about that. I'm just curious about my CPU, it has a low clock speed in my opinion, 2.2 ghz, so i don't know if it'll hold back my fps with the new GPU in mind.

 

[Maziar]

Hey
You'll be fine with almost all games,however in some games which are CPU-dependent like World in conflict(mostly RTS games),your CPU may hold you back but for FPS games you'll be fine,since they are mostly GPU limited

 

[g4kioN1]

Well will my processor cap my Graphic cards performance?

 

[Maziar]

Did you even read my post ? i exactly talked about it

 

[shubham1401]

What price are you getting that 260?
(HD5770 porforms the same and they are available for much less)

 

[simon12]

It depends on the resolution. At low resolution the CPU will cripple the card but at high resolutions the processor is much less important.

 

[g4kioN1]

i did read your post maziar but i didnt fully understand. In general fps use more of the GPU and in RTS they use more of the CPU? also at simon12 ill be playing at 1600x900 but probably higher in the future. at shubham1401 i looked and its about 185 after rebate.

 

[number13]

I have a GTX260+, slightly OCed, (1680X1050) runs great, no driver issues and if you use Win7x64, Nvidia isn't affected (as much) by the "problem" that MSFT has just admitted

 

[Maziar]

i did read your post maziar but i didnt fully understand. In general fps use more of the GPU and in RTS they use more of the CPU? also at simon12 ill be playing at 1600x900 but probably higher in the future. at shubham1401 i looked and its about 185 after rebate.

I meant that,many current games are GPU limited,so they benefit more from a faster VGA rather than a faster CPU.
Both some other games like numerous RTS games or games like GTA IV,Prototype benefit from a faster(and more cores)too

 

[pauldh]

A 2.2 GHz Phenom is weak for some games and will certainly hold back the GTX 260 (edit: in these situations). Overclock or tweak/reduce settings that stress the CPU.

Take a look how a stock 2.6 GHz X4 9950 BE holds back the HD 4870 in games such as WIC and to some degree even Crysis: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/amd-cpu-overclock,2304-9.html

Also true in some games a GTX260 / HD 4870 / HD 5770 will choke even at your resolution, if you max out details and enable AA. But any of these would be a nice match and handle higher settings than your 9600GT.

 

[g4kioN1]

would it be smarter to just to wait and buy a whole new system later?

 

[OvrClkr]

No, just save up for a faster CPU and you will be good to go. Have you thought about upgrading the CPU lately? You can also try upping the clocks on your 9550 if a new CPU is out of the question.

 

[g4kioN1]

No, just save up for a faster CPU and you will be good to go. Have you thought about upgrading the CPU lately? You can also try upping the clocks on your 9550 if a new CPU is out of the question.

should i look for another amd quad core?

 

[g4kioN1]

Best answer selected by g4kioN1.

 

[OvrClkr]

should i look for another amd quad core?

If you are willing to spend around 100/120.00$ then yes, if not i would suggest overclocking your CPU to at least 2.5/2.6Ghz.

 

[number13]

and the money tradeoff is, how many more FPS does he get with the faster chip?

 

[OvrClkr]

and the money tradeoff is, how many more FPS does he get with the faster chip?

Well if he gets an x4 940 for example he starts out at 3Ghz with potential to hit 3.6Ghz or higher with a decent cooler, so the performance gain will be significant. I cannot tell you how many frames he will get because that all depends on the game and how his other hardware is configured.

Here is a screenshot back when I had my GTX 260/x4 B50 :

As you can see the combination of having a quad at around 3.6/3.8Ghz gets great results when paired with a 260.

This is what he would get with a stock 940 give or take..

 

[number13]

so that's about 4000 on the test, so are we talking 5 fps or 50

 

[OvrClkr]

I would say around 20/25 but again it all depends on the game. If I downclock to around 2.5Ghz I lose around 25 FPS in Dirt2 and around 30 FPS in BC2.

 

[g4kioN1]

i was looking at the 955 but i think ill get the 940 since you can overclock it to 3.8 right? what cooler would you recommend?