What does it mean to run face-first into a bottleneck? When we talk about bottlenecks here on Tom's Hardware, we're usually referring to a single component that's preventing the rest of a PC from reaching its full performance potential in any given benchmark. For games, that component is usually either the CPU or graphics card, depending on how much performance the other part provides.
Our System Builder Marathon machines often expose CPU limits when multiple graphics processors are combined, but most gamers begin their builds with only a single GPU. Among these, AMD’s $320 Radeon HD 5850 represents the highest performance most gamers will want to spend money on. The argument, of course, is that as you start shopping for more expensive alternatives, like a $700 Radeon HD 5970, consoles start looking a lot more attractive.

With our best bang-for-the-buck graphics card fairly well defined, the question becomes: how much CPU do we need to milk the last ounce of performance from this pixel-spewing beast? Would a dual-core CPU do the job or, given that today’s games are ever-more multi-threaded, would a triple- or even quadruple-core processor be needed? How much could overclocking help? Must we spend all of the money saved on the CPU to purchase a big cooler? Knowing that all of the subsequent questions must be addressed to completely answer the first, we gathered our Intel and AMD processor samples and began testing.
- Opening The CPU Bottleneck
- Two $350 Platforms
- Is Overclocking Needed?
- Test Settings
- Benchmark Results: 3DMark Vantage
- Benchmark Results: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
- Benchmark Results: Crysis
- Benchmark Results: DiRT 2 Demo
- Benchmark Results: Far Cry 2
- Benchmark Results: Tom Clancy’s H.A.W.X.
- Benchmark Results: S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call of Pripyat
- Power And Efficiency
- Conclusion
I also don't get the argument with if someone has a 'super high end GPU why would they look at an i3 processor.' Just because they spent a lot of money on one place doesn't mean they WANT to spend it elsewhere. I'm sure there's plenty of penny-pinching enthusiasts who are looking at top performance for lowest dollar. I know I'm one.
If a super high end GPU was used, it wouldn't be relevant to gamers looking at CPU performance.
For me personally though.... I'll stick with my i7. Beats any i3 at mental ray rendering any day.
If the user has money for Super high end GPU why would he look at an i3 processor?
We need more articles like this! A million better than a standard review.
I also don't get the argument with if someone has a 'super high end GPU why would they look at an i3 processor.' Just because they spent a lot of money on one place doesn't mean they WANT to spend it elsewhere. I'm sure there's plenty of penny-pinching enthusiasts who are looking at top performance for lowest dollar. I know I'm one.
Plus, the difference between amd and intel was in the ".x" margin which is negligible so what i've learned is that this articles tries to make a point but fails to do so.
Why is that never stressed more in regular CPU/GPU tests, where the focus is usually on 300$ CPUs and 500$ GPUs and their Pyrrhic victories of producing meaninglessly high framerates that only framerate morons (everything below 50 fps stutters) and insects care about?
off topic - its nice to see that the Phenom 965 can beat the Core i7 870 which is around $120 more.
I totally agree. Reviewers should include GTA IV when benchmarking CPUs.
Interesting to see charts (only hi-rez, max AA) where the 5850 IS the bottleneck and the low cost CPU waits for the 5850.
This article would have been perfect if there was one more line or bar added beneath the 2560 X 1600, one more test where they plug in the 5970 to remove the bottleneck and then see if the CPU beoomes the bottleneck at the high resolution.
The article is more for the mid-budget gamer who wants the high-end gaming experience but can't afford everything associated with it. It even mentions the CPU bottleneck with CrossFire that's found in several SBM articles, and that would include the two slightly-underclocked 5870's in CrossFire that make up the 5970.