Will my system bottle neck this video card?

[hilbz462]

hey guys!
So i found a pretty sick deal for a video card and want to make sure it:

A) works with my current mobo

and

B) wont bottle neck my system with a less expensive cpu, ill probably be getting an athlon x2 or x4 later on when i find a good deal.

the video card is the Sapphire Radeon TOXIC HD 5850.

Will this work with my system? its a bit more expensive than i was looking for originally but I found a pretty nice deal so if it works im goin to get it.

 

[xeenrecoil]

Is it just me or are there no system specifications listed so that a determination can be made here?

 

[hilbz462]

haha oops, forgot to pahat lol.


mobo: MSI 880GM-E41 AM3 AMD 880G HDMI Micro ATX AMD Motherboard

Ram: PNY XLR8 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model MD4096KD3-1600-X8

 

[chesteracorgi]

It looks OK with an AM3 mobo. But you forgot to spec your CPU.

 

[hilbz462]

I dont have the cpu yet ,im probably going to get an amd phenom or athlon cpu. Probably a x4

 

[geofelt]

For a 5850, you will need a 500w psu with two 6 pin pci-e connectors:
http://www.amd.com/us/products/desktop/graphics/ati-radeon-hd-5000/hd-5850/Pages/ati-radeon-hd-5850-overview.aspx#3

I don't know what your current cpu is, but
To help clarify your options, run these two tests:

1) Run your games, but lower your resolution and eye candy.
If your FPS increases, it indicates that your cpu is strong enough to drive a better graphics configuration.

2) Limit your cpu, either by reducing the OC, or, in windows power management, limit the maximum cpu% to something like 70%.
If your FPS drops significantly, it is an indicator that your cpu is the limiting factor, and a cpu upgrade is in order.

It is possible that both tests are positive, indicating that you have a well balanced system, and both cpu and gpu need to be upgraded to get better gaming FPS.

Regardless, you can't go wrong with a strong graphics card. You might not get it's true potential, but you will never be worse off.

 

[hilbz462]

again.. I dont have a CPU yet.

Its something i will be buying in a month or two or when i find a good deal. but when i do i will be looking for an amd athlon or phenom x4 somewhere around 3.0ghz and 95w. im assumign that the video card must run on 95w too so will this video card be effective or will it just be overkill with one of those processors?

 

[hilbz462]

Another thing i just noticed, the radeon card requires two 75W 6-pin PCI Express. and i dont see any 6-pin connectors on the msi website: http://www.msi.com/product/mb/880GM-E41.html#?div=Detail

 

[Overclocked Toaster]

a 5850 will go well with an athlon ii or phenom ii x4 cpu. You may experience cpu bottlenecks in some cpu-intensive games, but most games are gpu-intensive at high resolutions.

The two 6-pin connectors actually come from your Power Supply Unit, not your motherboard. List your power supply so we can see if it is compatible.

 

[geofelt]

again.. I dont have a CPU yet.

Its something i will be buying in a month or two or when i find a good deal. but when i do i will be looking for an amd athlon or phenom x4 somewhere around 3.0ghz and 95w. im assumign that the video card must run on 95w too so will this video card be effective or will it just be overkill with one of those processors?

Another thing i just noticed, the radeon card requires two 75W 6-pin PCI Express. and i dont see any 6-pin connectors on the msi website: http://www.msi.com/product/mb/880GM-E41.html#?div=Detail

I think you are a bit confused.

The 95w of the cpu refers to the amount of heat it dissipates. It has no relation to anything else.

Your power supply will have several leads which plug intothe motherboard and elsewhere. two of them will plut into the two 6 pin connectors on the video card.

You might be advised to pick a budget and build to that.
Here is a $500 budget build. The 6850 used in it is comparable to the 5850 you are loking at:
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/diy-gaming-pc,2970.html

 

[cuecuemore]

Didn't read the wall of text after OP, but ANY Athlon CPU will bottleneck a 5850 under cetain circumstances, but a Phenom II X4 should do you. However, if you were to Crossfire, you would be bottlenecked even with the Phenom.

 

[hilbz462]

Best answer selected by hilbz462.

 

[jmills204]

This whole thread is foolish.

 

[striker410]

Didn't read the wall of text after OP, but ANY Athlon CPU will bottleneck a 5850 under cetain circumstances, but a Phenom II X4 should do you. However, if you were to Crossfire, you would be bottlenecked even with the Phenom.

That's a huge lie. 2 5850's won't bottleneck a Phenom II x4. a single 5850 won't be bottlenecked by an Athlon x3, let alone an x4! I hope OP is still watching this thread......

 

[jmills204]

That's a huge lie. 2 5850's won't bottleneck a Phenom II x4. a single Phenom x4 won't be bottlenecked by an Athlon x3, let alone an x4! I hope OP is still watching this thread......

I guess all you have to do is sound like youre confident and the OP will listen, whether it is correct or not. It would almost be impossible for any SLI/xFIRE video card configuration to bottleneck a quad core CPU. For example, if you are gaming, games are mostly GPU intensive and it would hit the peak of the GPU performance before it nears the capacity of the CPU. Second example, if you were encoding video, that is mostly CPU intensive and you would max out your quad core CPU but your GPU wouldnt be even close, if you ever max out your CPU it wont be under graphics intensive applications.

 

[striker410]

Very true. It sounds however that OP will be gaming. Btw thanks for the quote, I noticed an embarrasing typo

 

[jmills204]

I don't see a typo lol?? Or did you edit already?

 

[striker410]

Yup, I edited it away. (I said a Phenom x4 couldn't be bottlenecked by an Athlon x3. I meant 5850 lol) If you look in the quote spot in your message you can see it hehe. Nice build BTW.

 

[jmills204]

haha wow, i guess i skimmed right over that in my haste to refute this whole cpu bottlenecking fiasco.