Thinking about a cpu upgrade but worried about bottlenecking my gpu

[El Monstero29]

Hello all

I'm considering an upgrade from my current amd athalon II x4 640. Not sure yet whether I want I want to go phenom or i7 tho. The phenom's are cheap as hell right now but the i7 I think will have much better staying power.

Anyway I'm worried that an i7 might bottleneck my crossfire gigabyte radeon 5850's x2

The processor in question: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B006YM9JSW/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER

I want that base clock of 3.6, but yeah I'm just not sure I should....Any help would be much appreciated

Here's my specs

Motherbaord: GIGABYTE GA-880GA-UD3H AM3 AMD 880G HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD

cpu: amd athalon II x4 640

gpu: Gigabyte Radeon 5850 x2

ssd: Mushkin Chronos 240gb

RAM: 8gb Kingston

OS: win7 64bit

Case: HAF 922

p.s. my ram is the old 1333 kingston so I would probably want to upgrade that too right?

p.p.s is my mobo even compatible with an i7

 

[clutchc]

If you are running 2 HD 5850s with an Athlon II, why would you think the i7 would be a bottle neck?! The i7 is waaay more powerful than the old Athlon II, and it can keep up with any pair of cards. And, no, your AMD board isn't compatible with an Intel processor. You need a board that has an Intel LGA 1155 socket for an Intel processor.

The Sandy Bridge processors have their memory controller built in. They top out at 1333MHZ. So your memory is fine.

 

[El Monstero29]

I guess I worded my question incorrectly I meant will the 5850'S be the problem? But it since you say this mobo is incompatible then I guess that means I'm going with this cpu instead: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002SRQ214/ref=ox_sc_act_title_4?ie=UTF8&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER

You can't beat that price and it's compatible with those newer ram chips if I feel like upgrading

Thanks

 

[pit_1209]

That´s an option, but going to sandy bridge will grant you a huge performance step forward, in gaming and cpu applications. An i5 2400 will be a great choice or the 2500k if you want overclock. if the money is a problem then keep it that way or wait to piledriver.

Remember that the 965 will be discontinued soon .

 

[El Monstero29]

So wait is a 2500k compatible with my mobo?

 

[lilotimz]

In games, the {phenom series are superior to most new bulldozer cpus.

All Amds CPUs cannot match any sandy bridge or ivy bridge processors and barely battles the first generation Core i5/i7s.

The 965 is a fine upgrade and grab it while you can!

 

[El Monstero29]

In games, the {phenom series are superior to most new bulldozer cpus.

All Amds CPUs cannot match any sandy bridge or ivy bridge processors and barely battles the first generation Core i5/i7s.

The 965 is a fine upgrade and grab it while you can!

Can you tell me exactly how the intel cpu's are so much better?

With my current setup I'm running The Witcher 2, bf3 and arkham city on ultra at 60fps (minus ubersampling of course)

Will the ivy bridge cpu's give me better physics? Because I have to say bf3 is looking pretty damn good as is.

I guess I'm asking what are the benefits?

Also can someone tell me if this is as good a deal as it looks?: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008B6OPDS/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER

I don't know anything about that motherboard.

You guys have been so much help

 

[Robi_g]

why are you looking at an upgrade if you're already hitting 60fps?
Bundle looks like overkill to me, get an Ivybridge i5 or i7 or wait 'till piledriver

 

[El Monstero29]

why are you looking at an upgrade if you're already hitting 60fps?
Bundle looks like overkill to me, get an Ivybridge i5 or i7 or wait 'till piledriver

I want to upgrade because I know I can make it better, Arkham City brings my fps to its knees in some areas, I plan on buying a 3d tv soon, plus I want to future proof for games like Bioshock Infinite.

The bundle is actually a good deal if your telling me to get i7 because my current mobo is incompatible

 

[unksol]

His point is probably that that bundle is sandybridge-E, and therefore expensive and even a normal i7 is overkill as the i5 performs the same in games.

If you're getting 60+FPS in witcher 2 and aren't being CPU bottle necked don't upgrade. If you have physx on in Batman turn it off.problem solved

 

[El Monstero29]

His point is probably that that bundle is sandybridge-E, and therefore expensive and even a normal i7 is overkill as the i5 performs the same in games.

If you're getting 60+FPS in witcher 2 and aren't being CPU bottle necked don't upgrade. If you have physx on in Batman turn it off.problem solved

No I don't even have physx as an option I think I just need more raw gpu power. But your point is well taken.

Ok final question can someone recommend a good mobo and i5/i7 combo for less than $500?

I'd like to add keep in mind my crossfired cards and I want an open slot for a sound card

 

[El Monstero29]

Best answer selected by El Monstero29.

 

[Mousemonkey]

This topic has been closed by Mousemonkey