What gpu won't bottleneck my cpu?

[reqhjack24]

I'm planning to buy an Intel Core 2 Quad Q8400, so I can play Black Ops without any stuttering. But right now, I have 9500 GT... I realize there is goign to be a bottleneck. Can someone tell me HOW MUCH bottleneck there will be if i keep my 9500 GT. also, can anyone recommend me a gpu that won't bottleneck the Q8400? please, don't just tell me the name of the newest gpu. i want to save money AND enjoy the game.

 

[mdd1963]

5770 is often the minimum recommended gaming card, but, I personally prefer something at least as powerful as the GTX460(1gb), but, prices fluctuate...

GTX560 is also a good card, as is the 5850 or 6850...

The 9500GT is considered 'ancient' with today's games/these days...

 

[erol86]

I plan on upgrading my GPU from a GeForce 8800 GTS 640mb to a GTX 570 but my tower is at least 3 years old and I don't even know if the 570 will be able to run at its full potential. Here are my current system specs:

Motherboard: ASUS M2N32-SLI Premium Vista Edition AM2 NVIDIA nForce 590 SLI MCP ATX AMD Motherboard
Power Supply: Antec - 850W True Power Quattro PSU
OS: Windows 7 (64 bit Edition)
RAM: 4 x 2GB Corsair XMS DDR2 800mhz 240-Pin SDRAM
CPU: Athlon X2 6400+ Dual Core Processor (3.2GHz)
GPU: EVGA 640-P2-N824-AR GeForce 8800 GTS 640MB 320-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16
HDD: Western Digital Caviar Blue WD5000AAKS 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive

I just wana know how high I can go in terms of GPU without running into bottlenecking. I dont know if theres a specific ratio of CPU/GPU clock speed or anything like that, I just wana get the best card possible that wont be slowed down by my CPU...

 

[mdd1963]

Athlon X2s are slower than Phenoms, and any DDR2 based rigs are somehwat slower yet, so to a certain degree, you might always be suffering 20-30% lower framerates than might be possible with i5/i7 rigs, but, the higher the resolution, the less impact the cpu has....

I'd be planning my next rig no later than this fall after BD release/evaluation of gaming performance....

 

[shrkbay]

erol, you will use 10% of that GPU with that CPU, so it's a waste of money
OP: i had a Q8200 *or 8300 can't remember * paired with a 9500GT and i had 0 bottleneck, you can only be bottlenecked when your CPU is too slow for GPU.

 

[reqhjack24]

erol, please make your own thread.

I see that 9500 GT is "ancient" but how much BOTTLENECK will there be if I keep it and upgrade to the cpu mentioned above? will the gameplays at least get a little better or will it get worse?

 

[shrkbay]

Read my post again. if GPU is slower than CPU there is no bottleneck.

 

[shrkbay]

If you don't have a bottleneck right now then gameplays won't get smoother, what's your current CPU?

 

[reqhjack24]

my current CPU is "Intel Pentium D 2.8 GHz dual core"
my current GPU is "Nvidia GeForce 9500 GT"
I play Black Ops on an average fps of 30. I'm thinking about upgrading my CPU to "Intel Core 2 Quad Q8400" and keep my "9500 GT" if I can. So, you're saying even if my GPU will be slower than the CPU, there will be no bottleneck? Will my fps go UP or DOWN if I ONLY upgrade my cpu to Q8400??

 

[shrkbay]

I'm not sure if you are being bottlenecked by your Pentium, but upgrading to Q8400 won't be a bad idea and your FPS will not go down, maybe up.

 

[reqhjack24]

so, my fps will go up for sure? also, if my fps doesn't go up THAT high, what GPU do u recommend to replace my 9500 GT (please don't recommend a too expensive one. barely enough to make my fps go up high)

 

[waffledude]

Which GPU sits in power with the Intel Core 2 Quad Q9400 with 0 bottle neck?

 

[reqhjack24]

@ waffledude.

I HAVENT tried it yet, but will the bottleneck be so bad that it will make the situation WORSE? or a little bit better?

 

[waffledude]

No but it wont improve on the margin by much either... if your thinking of upgrading the LGA 775 platform is dying off... buying the quad will certainly help your graphics measure up to the maximum performance but keeping in mind that you'd have to upgrade you graphic card very soon and any LGA 775 platform processor would seem to bottle neck any new graphic card by quiet a margin...

 

[reqhjack24]

well, I'll be stuck with this motherboard and computer for another 3 years so I'll have to deal with it. so you're saying it's not going to improve much if i only upgrade my CPU? what GPU do u recommend to go along with it? and plz dont recommend an expensive one.. just enough to have no bottleneck.

and why did shrkbay say theres no bottleneck if its the GPU thats worse?

 

[waffledude]

What shrkbay means that if you get the Quad Q8400 is a little too powerful to bottle neck the GT 9500 if your Pentium wasn't creating a bottle neck for your GPU... if the Pentium was able to match the performance of the GT 9500 then the Quad will over perform the Graphic card... hence there wont be much difference in the graphics...

If your looking for the cheapest graphic card for that processor consider the anything between the HD 5770 to HD 6850... Personally I think the GTX 470 outperforms all other cards with that processor at stock speeds without any bottle neck...

 

[shrkbay]

^ I would not risk to pair GTX470 with C2Q and probably an old PSU, 470 will draw too much power causing system death. Anyway imo best cards to pair C2Q with are *starting from the fastest* HD6850, GTX460, HD5830, HD5770, GTS450, HD5750 and lower *mostly low profile HTPC cards*

 

[reqhjack24]

yes, shrkbay. my psu is 500 watts and I believe GTX 460 requires minimum of 450. so should I first upgrade ONLY my cpu and see if theres any bottleneck. then upgrade to a GTX 460? also, how do i know if there is a bottleneck with my CURRENT setup?

 

[shrkbay]

There won't be any bottleneck when C2Q is paired with 9500GT, but you will get A LOT more from GTX460 or any other card i listed, but GTX460 is better with 550W PSU. Check how many FPS you get normally and then check it when your CPU is overclocked, if you see an increase means you are bottlenecked. What's your PSU model? Or if you can look how many A's it has on 12V rail.

 

[reqhjack24]

so i will get an IMPROVED performance from only upgrading my CPU? I will try that first to save money, then if it IS necessary, i will upgrade to a GTX 460. i heard it needs 2-6 pin connectors and its dual slot. ill have to check if my motherboard has a place for a dual slot card.

my psu model is Rocketfish 500 Watt. on the box, it says 600 Watt peak. does that mean it can go up to 600 watt?. also, what if I don't have a 6-pin connector? will the card not work AT ALL?

I'm not sure wat u mean by "how many A's it has on 12V rail" so I'll just write the whole thing on the box

Input Voltage : 100-240V, 50-60Hz, 10.0A/5.0A
Output Voltage : +12V1DC +12V2DC +5VDC +3.3VDC -12VDC +5Vsb
Max Load : 18.0A 18.0A 18.0A 18.0A 0.3A 2.5A
Min Load : 1.0A 1.0A 0.5A 0.5A 0.0A 0.0A
Max Watt : 432W 130W 3.6W 15W
Rated Watt : 500W

do i have a 6-pin connector?

6 x SATA connectors, 7 x Peripheral connecotrs, 4+4 CPU connector,
2 x PCI-E connectors (8-pin, but it's actually a 6-pin with another 2-pin)

 

[reqhjack24]

btw, i can't overclock because i have dell. i'll have to oc thru a software which doesn't sound safe...

 

[shrkbay]

yeh, it's enough to run a GTX460

 

[reqhjack24]

thank you. i run black ops on 30 fps. do u think the fps will go at least 50 when i upgrade my cpu? even fifa 11 has low framerate... fml

 

[jjb8675309]

your cpu sucks what do you expect, you can throw an am3 build together quite cheap these days and I would not waste a dime on buying a new cpu for the dying lga775 platform, Furthermore your gpu is crap>>>>>>>> time for a new build or to lower your expectations ; your cpu, and gpu are ancient, and your power supply is just plain sketch, all of them need to be replaced and in reality your motherboard and RAM as well, otherwise you might as well stick to SNES emulators and diablo II.

 

[reqhjack24]

thank you. mr. hardcore gamer. i dont need ur sultry criticism. why should i live up to YOUR pathetic standards when I'm a totally different person than you?