AMD Athlon II dual core 215 and radeon 6870

[Ironmongr]

Hello, I've recently built my first PC it's ok i guess for what i spent on it. My specs are an AMD Athlon II dual core 215 processor, an AMD radeon 6870 graphics card and 3 gigs of DDR3 ram. im kinda new to the PC community and was wondering if the CPU i currently have is what you say "bottlenecking" my graphics card since i've noticed while running Dirt 3 i only get 30-40 FPS while racing and 60fps at home screen while on youtube i see similar specs running at 60FPS easy with the same card. my resolution is run really low 1024 X 768 so I know it should be running even better than on youtube. any suggestions?

 

[loneninja]

Your processor is a horrible bottleneck, especially at those low resolutions. You've got a processor that barely meets minimum requirements on a number of new games while being below the recommended, and a video card that will handle most games high settings 1920x1080 resolution. If budget is the reason you got that processor, you would of been better off spending more to get an Athlon/Phenom X4 and 6770 or 6850 instead.

 

[Ironmongr]

well first of all thanks for responding really appreciate your time . And well budget isn't that much of a problem at least now it isn't. are there any good recommendations you can give that'll benefit my graphics card? im looking to stay in the price range of around $150 anything less would be awesome XD. thanks again kind of new so i'm trying to acquire as much knowledge as possible.

 

[amdfangirl]

Phenom II X4 Black Editions are good. Find the cheapest one and overclock them if your motherboard supports them. Very good gaming CPU for your socket.

 

[Ironmongr]

sounds good XD and with this upgrade i'll be able to run full 60 FPS with no problem right? oh and i found a good cheap processor; AMD phenom II X4 970 black edition @ 3.5 that is fine for the price right

 

[amdfangirl]

Double check your motherboard and see if it is supported.

 

[Ironmongr]

umm yeah says here supports AM3 sockets? which matches the socket on the info page for the CPU. just to make sure can anybody confirm that the CPU im going to get is AM3 im pretty sure it is though

 

[amdfangirl]

Look up the model number of your motherboard on google and check for CPU support.

 

[gnomio]

1024 X 768 with a 6870 = bottleneck

 

[Herr_Koos]

1024 X 768 with a 6870 = bottleneck

Fully agreed, it's useless playing games at 1024x768 with a 6870. Your current CPU is a bit lightweight, sure, but running at low resolutions makes the situation even worse, since it shifts the load away from the GPU towards the CPU.

 

[Ironmongr]

ohhhh ok so you suggest i try a bigger moniter first and see how that goes?

 

[Herr_Koos]

ohhhh ok so you suggest i try a bigger moniter first and see how that goes?

A faster processor will benefit you, but if 1024x768 is the best your monitor can do, then yes, you definitely need a new one. The power of the 6870 is completely wasted at that res.

 

[Ironmongr]

Best answer selected by ironmongr.