Phenom II x2 B55 BE Bottlenecking Sapphire HD 6850?

[GodsMistake]

As the title indicates, is my processor bottle-necking my GPU? And should I overclock my CPU or would upgrading to a Phenom 2 x6 1090T be more beneficial in terms of price/performance? I would like to get the most out of my GPU while playing the latest games. I sense its not performing at its full potential on my system for some reason based on the HD 6850 reviews I read.

Here are my system specs, just built this last December:

Processor: Phenom 2 x2 555 BE 3.2ghz unlocked to B55 Quad core @ 3.2ghz
Motherboard: Biostar TA890FXE
RAM: 8gb G.Skill Ripjaws 1600 @ 9-9-9-24-2T
GPU: Sapphire HD 6850
PSU: Raptor 500
Monitor: HP 2007w 1680x1050

Thanks!

 

[Uther39]

No, your cpu is plenty fast enough for your gpu.

 

[cburke82]

What games do you play and in those games what settings and resolution. Then what sort of FPS are you getting. Thats a good card but you wont be able to max out games like crysis or Metro 2033 and still get playable framerates.

 

[cburke82]

Also I could be wrong but I think that CPU can unlock to a Phenom II X4. In your BIOS (I have the same mobo) If you go into the T1 tab there is a setting for BIO unlocking. If you click that on you can possibly unlock those hidden cores. Now if it wont boot at that point just reset cmos. If it does then run prime 95 to test that its stable if it doesnt crash you got a free CPU upgrade .

 

[GodsMistake]

@cburke82 : I actually have already unlocked the hidden cores. Its a stable x4 B55 now on stock speeds, have not tried overclocking it yet though. Not experienced enough. I did however overclock the GPU to 900/1100 using Sapphire Trixx tool.

I would like to play the latest games on max settings if possible with high FPS if possible. Probably not without an upgrade. At least get AA higher or just maximize my systems potential. FPS really drops with AA on x4 or x8.

Games I'm playing: all on 1680x1050 @60hz

Dragon Age 2 - no AA, v sync on, DX11 high settings... Smooth all the way @ 50FPS average. Low fps on Highest settings. Less than 30.

Assassins Creed Brotherhood - mid-high settings, multisampling off, @ 45FPS On max settings goes below 30. about 20-25.

Dead Space 2 - AA off. Max settings, smooth as silk.

BFBC 2 - AA x2, High settings, 40-50FPS

 

[simon12]

I think thats all about normal for the graphics card and its not the CPU holding it back.

 

[tat098]

go buy an aftermarket cooler for your cpu if you haven't
when playing games just overclock the hell out of it
you probably get better overclock settings if you play with 2-3 cores
easily to 4.0ghz+ stable

 

[cburke82]

@cburke82 : I actually have already unlocked the hidden cores. Its a stable x4 B55 now on stock speeds, have not tried overclocking it yet though. Not experienced enough. I did however overclock the GPU to 900/1100 using Sapphire Trixx tool.

I would like to play the latest games on max settings if possible with high FPS if possible. Probably not without an upgrade. At least get AA higher or just maximize my systems potential. FPS really drops with AA on x4 or x8.

Games I'm playing: all on 1680x1050 @60hz

Dragon Age 2 - no AA, v sync on, DX11 high settings... Smooth all the way @ 50FPS average. Low fps on Highest settings. Less than 30.

Assassins Creed Brotherhood - mid-high settings, multisampling off, @ 45FPS On max settings goes below 30. about 20-25.

Dead Space 2 - AA off. Max settings, smooth as silk.

BFBC 2 - AA x2, High settings, 40-50FPS

In graphicly intensive games your probubly getting just about as much as you can with the 6850. I had a 6870 before i decided to go with my 6950. And in games like Crysis and Metro 2033 that card just cant handle turning things past high. There are plenty of games that run much smoother so you should be able to play those just fine. I dont tink your getting a bottle neck and if your not comfortable OCing dont bother. You will get better FPS but not as much as swapping out the GPU.

For example in Crysis with my 6870 I could set it at one step below 1080p with everything at high and textures and shadows on very high. I would get just over 30FPS with a few dips below going to 26 or so for a quick second. I swapped out that card for the 6950 and flashed it to a 6970 and now can get 50+FPS at those settings and a solid 35FPS with everything maxed. After that I OCed my 965BE to 4.1ghz and got the FPS to 37-38. So the GPU is the part that will effect your FPS the most followed by your CPU and from what I can tell ram is only a big issue if you dont have the right ammount. But OCing the ram wont give you any crazy improvements.

 

[GodsMistake]

Thanks for all your help guys. I think you are right, I'm probably getting the most out of it already. Only thing left to try is OCing the cpu, but I will need to buy a new cooler first. I dont think OCing on the stock cooler is possible based on the temps I currently have. Thanks again for all your answers, I'm new here at TH but I like it already!

 

[GodsMistake]

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