Quick Question!

[rjlee]

Hey guys,

I was just wondering, is it okay to have a better graphics card than your cpu (Price/Performance)? I heard having a better cpu than graphics card is called bottlenecking?? Just want some clarification.

Thanks!

 

[Element262]

Your system is gonna be held back when either one is better than the other. I don't really get what you mean by "better" though. How can a gpu be objectively better than a processor?

 

[ko888]

A CPU bottleneck happens when the CPU cannot feed the graphics cards(s) quick enough (i.e. CPU running at 100% usage and GPU is unable to reach full 100% usage).

A GPU bottleneck, the preferred scenario, means that the graphics card(s) is/are running full out at 100% GPU usage and the CPU is running at less than 100% usage.

 

[rjlee]

So how do you know what gpu matches cpu?

 

[deadlockedworld]

So how do you know what gpu matches cpu?

You tell us what you have, or what you want to have and we can provide opinions on balance. Also explain the usage of the system --- depending on what you want to do, some systems are better off CPU heavy or GPU heavy.

Plz provide CPU/GPU/Motherboard/Monitor resolution/intended use!

 

[rjlee]

My future build (budget):

CPU: Intel Pentium G2120 Ivy Bridge
GPU: HIS iCooler Radeon HD 7770 GHz Edition 1GB
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-H61MA-D3V
Monitor: I don't know yet.
Intended Use: GAMING! (I have a laptop for web browsing, etc.)

 

[ko888]

Which games specifically?

Some multi-player games will be bottle necked by a dual core CPU no matter how powerful the graphics card is.

 

[rjlee]

Mostly FPS (Battlefield 3) and MMORPG (Warcraft, etc.)

 

[ko888]

Mostly FPS (Battlefield 3) and MMORPG (Warcraft, etc.)

A CPU that only has a maximum of two threads is a poor choice for BF3 multiplayer. You don't even know the resolution of your display so an opinion on the graphics card may not even apply to your situation. If you're going to be playing BF3 at 1920x1080 then the Radeon HD 7770 will be inadequate unless you turn down the visuals.

WoW is also negatively impacted by a CPU that only has a maximum of two threads and a small cache size.

 

[deadlockedworld]

My future build (budget):

CPU: Intel Pentium G2120 Ivy Bridge
GPU: HIS iCooler Radeon HD 7770 GHz Edition 1GB
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-H61MA-D3V
Monitor: I don't know yet.
Intended Use: GAMING! (I have a laptop for web browsing, etc.)

Hmmm.... You have a really tight budget for this. It might be worth saving up more money to get a machine that can perform better. I would recommend you save up and shoot for the $600 range for the PC. I would get an i3 at the very least. The graphic card is a good choice for a budget machine, but as stated wont let you run all the bells and whistles.

Edit: If I were building an absolute minimum gaming system, I would budget out something like this: $110 CPU, $180 GPU, $50-60 micro atx motherboard, $40 memory, $40 storage, $90 windows, $50 PSU, $40 case, = $600 + Monitor. You can probably find some sales and rebates to help.

Tom's $500 and $1000 builds will be good for you to read: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-pc-overclocking-pc-building,3273.html

Also Anandtech's Budget system buyer's guide: http://www.anandtech.com/show/6182/fall-budget-system-buyers-guide although in reality for gaming you need to be closer to the midrange system: http://www.anandtech.com/show/6229/midrange-system-buyers-guide/2

 

[rjlee]

Thanks for the help guys!

My other option was the AMD A10-5800k APU. I would do dual graphics with a Radeon HD 6670.