Smooth Upgrade?

[aianta]

Im planning to upgrade my computer in anticipation of Skyrim and many other new games coming this winter.

My current specs are as follows:

Processor: Intel Core 2 Quad (@ 2.4GHz/core)
Graphics card: nVidia Geforce 7350LE 128MB (sad I know)
RAM: 3GB
OS: Windows Vista Home Premium (64-bit)
PSU: 350watt

At the moment I plan on upgrading two things off that list namely the PSU and the graphics card.

I want to get the nVidia GTX 570 along with a croisair 600watt PSU

links to both:
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Corsair+-+Gaming+Series+600-Watt+ATX+CPU+Power+Supply/1073679.p?id=1218217268656&skuId=1073679

and

http://www.futureshop.ca/en-CA/product/zotac-zotac-gtx570-1280mb-gddr5-pci-e-video-card-zt-50201-10p/10166984.aspx

Now I have a few concerns, specifically will my CPU or my OS bottleneck my Graphics card considering that it only has 3GB of RAM? (though isn't that what dedicated video memory is for?!)

and does vista have DirectX 11 support?

Also, if you see any other impending problems or things I should be sure of before hand please feel free to voice them

Thanks in Advance

 

[mactronix]

Yes the GPU is too powerfull to be a good balance with that CPU. Which one is it by the way ? Make and model ? You want to OC to 3GHz at least and even then it wont give the card all it can take.
What resolution ?

You want to have 4GB or ram so it can run in dual mode
The OS is fine. Well, leaving all teh obvious Vista bashing aside, it wont in itself cause issues directly with the card.

Mactronix

 

[aianta]

Thanks for the quick reply!

The processor is the Core 2 Quad Q6600.

If I am going to have to overclock my CPU, how would I go about doing that and what are the cons?

I'm guessing more heat and less life expectancy?

I'm hoping to run Skyrim at 1920 x 1080.

 

[aianta]

Couldn't edit again for some reason.

Would an upgrade to an i3 help? I found this dual core i3 at 3.2GHz:

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Intel%26%23174%3B+-+Core%26%23153%3B+i3-550+Dual-Core+3.2GHz+Processor/9980137.p?id=1218204944795&skuId=9980137

Also, when we say bottleneck how sever are we talking here? Surely there must be an improvement over the 7350.

 

[megamanx00]

Upgrading to an i3 would require you to upgrade your motherboard as well. If you have an HP or something you likely can't overclock. If you do have overclocking options though you can bring that old CPU up to 3.4 or more with a decent CPU cooler. Overclocking your CPU would make it a better match for a more powerful GPU, but I say you go with a 560ti or Radeon 6950 for now to save a few bucks ^_^.

 

[mactronix]

The Q6600 is a pretty good overclocker, but as said if you have a ready made Dell or HP you wont have the Bios options. I would think its best to look at online guides for the overclocking of the CPU. Read 2-3 and if you still have questions come back to us.

As far as what kind of bottleneck, well you could be in danger of getting me started here as i beleive the term to be overused and missunderstood by the vast majority of posters on these and other forums.

That is why i asked what resolution because with a demanding game at a decent resolution like 1920 x 1080, you start to get into being GPU limited rather than CPU limited. If you can get the CPU up to a decent speed then i would say if you want a 570 then get one as its really a restriction at best we would be talking about.

There are links to the rest of the series on the first page. read through them and you will get a better understanding of how much "Bottlenecking " is over hyped and exagerated by those who are just parroting what they have seen in forum posts.

Mactronix

 

[aianta]

Best answer selected by aianta.

 

[Mousemonkey]

This topic has been closed by Mousemonkey