How much my processor will suffer

[nibir2011]

My current Configuration is


Processor: Core 2 Duo E7400 2.8 Ghz
Mother Board: Gigabyte EG45-UD2H
Memory:2 GB
HDD: 500 GB 7200rpm
Monitor: 18.5 at 1368x768 resolution
Graphics Chip: Intel X4500HD
PSU: Standard 400 watt
Pci-Express 2.0 capable

I bought this pc three years ago was able to play crysis, far cry 2 and many opther games both at playable frame rates and with a satisfactory quality because of my monitors resolution.

Now I can not play any new games at all. Even the strategy games lag. So i am thinking to buy a graphics card soon. As the kepler series and also the 7000 series is out in the market i think there will a price drop in the older cards. so i can buy cards a little bit less price than before.

I am thinking to buy these

Graphics Card: Nvidia GTX560ti
link

PSU:Thermaltake Tough power Xt
link


Now i know many of you guys do not like thermaltake very much but i am stuck to it.


What i need to know from you guys is that if i buys gtx560ti as it a powerful card how much my processor will bottleneck it at my resolution. I am going to change my processor and motherboard after three years but still i am not going to change my monitor. Now if i buy that card will i able to play the games that will be available after three years if i change my processor and motherboard at my resolution. Or then it will be backdated. If that is the case what should i do. Should i buy a low level graphics card and play,until i buy new processor and motherboard and then buy a new powerful graphics card. Or should i buy a powerful graphics card now. Another thing i can do is buy a new processor and motherboard now and wait for another two years and buy a new powerful graphics card.

The problem is i can not buy a powerful processor, a powerful motherboard , a powerful graphics card and a powerful psu at the same time.

I hope you understood my situation. Suggest me what i can do, it is freaking me out.

 

[Gman450]

Are you sure you don't have another choice for a PSU? You might as well should go for another one. I don't usually trust Thermaltake. Best you get PSUs from Corsair, Antec or Seasonic.
And the GTX560Ti would be an overkill and a bottleneck for your CPU, at that resolution.
I'd recommend you go for a HD 6790, for that resolution. It wouldn't be a bottleneck either.

 

[tsnor]

(1) you are correct, start with graphics. Integrated intel HD graphic are not workable.

(2) you can buy a low end / middle tier card and keep your current power supply. Up to maybe an HD6770. As you say this strategy means you have to buy another video card in 2 years.

(3) This is what you propose and I think it is the best choice. Buy a card like the GTX 560 Ti for $230. It draws a max of 170 watts. If you don't overclock it it may work with the 400 watt PSU you already have. A quality 400 watt PSU would have no trouble at all with an E7400 and GTX560ti, the total wattage for you system will be less than 300 watts. A bad 400 watt PSU will fail, possibly with lots of blue smoke, more likely with an unstable system.

If you open your case and find the lable on the PSU and post people (and google) will tell you if your current 400 watt PSU will work or blow up with teh GTX560ti. If it is an OEM unit (like from HP or Dell or lenovo) then it will actually deliver 400 watts. If it is a name brand it might, if it's a no-name brand I'd swap it out.

edit: and your question is ... "What i need to know from you guys is that if i buys gtx560ti as it a powerful card how much my processor will bottleneck it at my resolution." -- I think the E7400 will run fine, you will see a huge improvement with the GTX560ti. You'll keep the e7400 for another 2 years. You'll see good frame rates except on the very few games that are really CPU intensive. Aside: the e7400 is a good overclocker. A mild overclock if you get into frame rate problems would be cool.

edit2: You can put in a "Thermaltake ToughpowerXT / Modular / 675W" however you are not going to need anywhere clost to 675 watts. IF you see a quality PSU in the 400 watt range, say an Antec earthwatts 430w for $50 that would work fine. (unless you are into monster overclocking of CPU and GPU).

 

[nibir2011]

i do not have a choice of psu in my country thermaltake holds monopoly there

are you sure e7400 is a good overclocker because i have never tried over clocking and i do not want to fry my cpu

please please will you gather some more info about that bottleneck thing

another thing you can check this link http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/forum/347641-15-what-graphics-card#t2600002

 

[ohiou_grad_06]

Bascially the bottlenecking in this case is that if you buy too powerful of a card, your video card will feed your older processor data faster than the processor can handle, and you are going to get all kinds of lag and stuttering.

For example, I had an older AMD athlon dual core at 2.8 ghz, and bought a new GTS 450 video card. My old processor was probably a bit weaker than yours is though. But basically what happened was that I would go to play battlefield bad company 2, and the game would start up, I was getting a bunch of lag. No matter if I turned the graphics settings down or whatever, because the card was just too fast for the cpu. Thankfully my board allowed me to put a quad core chip in, and when I did that, all the stuttering and lag vanished.

Also, you can probably go with a lower card than the 560ti. I'm thinking at the monitor resolution he is going to run, too powerful a card will definitely bottleneck the cpu seeing as the resolution is only 1368x768, the video card whatever is picked is not going to work too hard. I think even a GTS 450 or 6770 will do fine, maybe that would allow more headroom for a new cooler or better power supply, even though thermaltake may not be the best, if he can get a higher end unit he can always carry that over to a new pc later.

 

[nibir2011]

you guys are so helpful

Now until i buy a new cpu and mobo what gpu should i buy. 6790hd or 550ti these can work with the new build too.

so suggest me a low or mid level gpu that can be usable to play metro2033, bf3, diablo3, crysis2 , farcry3 etc at 45+ fps at my resolution with decent quality.


i have to buy a new powerful psu anyways.

 

[nibir2011]

another thing just came in my mind if i buy 550ti and after two year buy another 550ti with the new build[when i will buy new cpu and mobo] and do a sli. will performance increase? as then i would already have a strong psu.

 

[Gman450]

another thing just came in my mind if i buy 550ti and after two year buy another 550ti with the new build[when i will buy new cpu and mobo] and do a sli. will performance increase? as then i would already have a strong psu.

You should better stick to the HD 6790. I wouldn't recommend a GTX 550 Ti.
The 550 performs almost at the same level as a HD 6770, and sometimes outperforms it, and at other times, falls behind.
So you should go for a HD 6790.
And yes, you will see an increase in performance. Also, do note that the HD 6790 requires 2X6 pin pcie power connectors. Which means that crossfiring later on, would mean you'd have to have 4X6 pin pcie power connectors.

 

[nibir2011]

You should better stick to the HD 6790. I wouldn't recommend a GTX 550 Ti.
The 550 performs almost at the same level as a HD 6770, and sometimes outperforms it, and at other times, falls behind.
So you should go for a HD 6790.
And yes, you will see an increase in performance. Also, do note that the HD 6790 requires 2X6 pin pcie power connectors. Which means that crossfiring later on, would mean you'd have to have 4X6 pin pcie power connectors.

Gman please will you check my psu http://www.ucc-bd.com/thermaltake-toughpowerxt-modular-675w-atx-2-2-eps-2-91-a-pfc-14cm-80-plus-bronze.html

i do not have a choice but thermaltake if i want warranty in my country.

and please will you make me understand why you are suggesting hd6790, as i do not have a good level of understanding in graphics technology. i think cuda in nvidia is a need for me as when i buy new cpu and gpu i will likely do cpu extensive tasks. which i think cuda can help. Am i wrong?

 

[tsnor]

hi, there are a lot of great video cards. ALL of them, even the $50 cards, will give a very noticeable improvement over your current Intel X4500HD.

If you want to spend roughly $100US then something like an HD6670 would be great, if you want to spend a different amount read this article: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-graphics-card-review,3107-4.html

 

[Gman450]

Gman please will you check my psu http://www.ucc-bd.com/thermaltake-toughpowerxt-modular-675w-atx-2-2-eps-2-91-a-pfc-14cm-80-plus-bronze.html

i do not have a choice but thermaltake if i want warranty in my country.

and please will you make me understand why you are suggesting hd6790, as i do not have a good level of understanding in graphics technology. i think cuda in nvidia is a need for me as when i buy new cpu and gpu i will likely do cpu extensive tasks. which i think cuda can help. Am i wrong?

That PSU looks kind of okay, and I'm guessing it should be enough to run both cards I mentioned.
For superior performance, I'd suggest a HD 6790.
And what type of CPU intensive applications are you going to do?

 

[nibir2011]

will that psu will be enough for crossfire or sli [ any either 550ti or hd6790]

and i am actually looking forward to ivy bridge and if any extra muscle is given by gpu that will be good. my cpu extensive tasks will be c and c++ programming[some other languages too] also mobile game programming.

 

[Gman450]

I wouldn't suggest CF or SLi with that PSU. I personally have not had any experience with a Thermaltake PSUs, but some are said to be bad and others are said to be good.
Nvidia's cuda does help in c and c++, so you should go for a NVIDIA card, and a good quad core processor.
I'd recommend you get a GTX460 rather than a 550.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127646
NOTE: The card is the 192 bit version, which is slower than the 256 bit version. The 256 bit costs a bit more.

 

[ohiou_grad_06]

Second to the 460 vs the 550ti. I've got a GTS 450 myself, and reviews I've seen show that if you overclock the 450 to the same speed as the 550, they essentially run the same. The 460 would be a step up and have more advanced features in them, probably more pipelines enabled, etc.