Noob question - antique cpu bottlenecking 5850?

Weenaboy

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I'm currently running an [email protected] and was tossing up between buying a 5770 or 5850 to replace my 8800gt for gaming at 1680x1050.

In Aus the 5850 costs roughly twice as much as a 5770, so the 5770 is significantly better price/performance but buying the 5850 now would save me upgrading to it or a similar card later.

I'm just wondering if the 5850 will be bottlenecked by my cpu to the point where there'd be no point buying one over a 5770.

Thanks.
 
an e4300 is similar to my cpu which is similar to an e6600. my cpu bottlenecks my 4870 so id say ya it'll hold you back quite a bit
 
You are fine for most games but there will be 1 or 2 games where a quad would benefit like BC2 and GTA 4.

CPU bottleneck is blown way out of proportion from some of these forum members. Bottleneck occurs in everything in your system. Why people only worry about CPU bottleneck?

E4300 might be a ancient but it's definitely not slow @ 3 ghz. If you feel that your games are slow upgrade if not don't worry about it.

You will definitely be faster with a 5850. 5770 has a cut off line at certain resolution and settings while 5850 does too but at higher threshold. I would go with 5850 if you are running 1080p or higher resolution.
 
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It depends on what prices those video cards are selling for and what video resolution you are running.

Ok you've got 1680x1050. I'd say that a 5770 would be enough for your needs. It is significantly faster than an 8800GT and about half the price of a 5850.

The E4300 might bottleneck the 5850 quite a bit, wasting some of the performance that you are paying for.

E4300 might be a ancient but it's definitely not slow @ 3 ghz. If you feel that your games are slow upgrade if not don't worry about it.

Ok so he's got it OC'd to 3ghz. I'm still not sure if a dual core can keep with a 5850.
 
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Thanks for the replies so far. Even though I'm not running 1080p yet I will be once I get the money, so would a 5770 cut it at that resolution?

If the 5770 can run any game maxed or close to it at 1680x1050 then maybe I should just get that instead.

You are fine for most games but there will be 1 or 2 games where a quad would benefit like BC2 and GTA 4.
GTA4 is definitely one of the reasons I'm upgrading. Would I be better off getting a 5770 and a quad core than a 5850? If I got a 5770 that'd leave me about $150 for a cpu, would I even be able to get one for that price?
 
It depends on what prices those video cards are selling for and what video resolution you are running.

Ok you've got 1680x1050. I'd say that a 5770 would be enough for your needs. It is significantly faster than an 8800GT and about half the price of a 5850.

The E4300 might bottleneck the 5850 quite a bit, wasting some of the performance that you are paying for.

Ok so he's got it OC'd to 3ghz. I'm still not sure if a dual core can keep with a 5850.

He already has it overclocked to 3ghz from his first post. Anyways majority of games out today aren't quad optimized. I don't know where you got the idea that you need a quad core to game.

If he gets a 5770 you still are going to get lower performance over 5850. If you get a CPU upgrade and a 5770 the gains aren't going to be more than if he gets 5850 and no CPU upgrade. Biggest performance gains come from upgrading his GPU.
 
Thanks for the replies so far. Even though I'm not running 1080p yet I will be once I get the money, so would a 5770 cut it at that resolution?

If the 5770 can run any game maxed or close to it at 1680x1050 then maybe I should just get that instead.


GTA4 is definitely one of the reasons I'm upgrading. Would I be better off getting a 5770 and a quad core than a 5850? If I got a 5770 that'd leave me about $150 for a cpu, would I even be able to get one for that price?

You would have to turn down AA settings and such with a 5770 at that resolution. With a 5850 you will have nearly 2x the performance at the same resolution and AA settings.

If GTA4 is the only reason you are upgrading than you should get a quad core CPU. Even GTA 4 would still benefit from a faster GPU if you turn up all the graphic settings. 5850 32 ROP and 256bit memory bus really helps here too.
 
He already has it overclocked to 3ghz from his first post. Anyways majority of games out today aren't quad optimized. I don't know where you got the idea that you need a quad core to game.

If he gets a 5770 you still are going to get lower performance over 5850. If you get a CPU upgrade and a 5770 the gains aren't going to be more than if he gets 5850 and no CPU upgrade. Biggest performance gains come from upgrading his GPU.

It has nothing to do with a game being 'quad core optimized'.

In terms of useful data for the OP:

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/build-balanced-platform,2469.html
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/balanced-gaming-pc-overclock,2625.html

The 2nd link has some very high OC's though.
 
It has nothing to do with a game being 'quad core optimized'.

In terms of useful data for the OP:

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/build-balanced-platform,2469.html
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/balanced-gaming-pc-overclock,2625.html

The 2nd link has some very high OC's though.

Thanks for the links they look pretty useful. The Q9550 they suggest costs more than a 5850 for me though. From those graphs it looks like upgrading my CPU would make very little difference at higher graphics settings, except in the case of the 295 which somehow doubles in fps when moving to a better cpu :S. GTA4 seems to scale really well with cpu upgrades though.
 
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unless u really want more fps i wouldnt bother, id just save towards a new computer
 
cpu is long in the tooth, you should be running 4 gig ram minimum, mobo is eol platform. Save up for a new pc. You could re-use the 8800gt, hd and dvd rom maybe case, what psu do you have?
 
Yes that CPU will be bottlenecking that 5850. Pretty old CPU and I would save for a i5 or i7 cpu/mobo. You'll see a nice fps improvement upgrading so its worthwhile.
 
GTA 4 is one of the MOST CPU-bottlenecked games out there. Unless you're got quad-core, it's going to struggle.
 
my e8400 @ 3.6 runs at 100% during bad company 2. Just bought a q9550 off someone here to upgrade.
 
[email protected] (9x330)
2x 1gb DDR2 @ 330 5-6-6-15
8800GT 512
ASUS P5B
7200rpm SATA HDD

Don't listen about your mobo being end of life. If your Asus p5b is at the end of life so is 1156 platform.

Far as I know your motherboard supports Q9550. Only ever so slightly slower than i5/7.

I was in the same boat as you few months back. I had P5B with E5200 @ 4 ghz and ultimately upgraded to i3 @ 4.2ghz. Big mistake for not much gained. It seems the i3 is roughly 25% faster after spending $200 and getting rid of old setup. Games however made no difference except for GTA4 which gained 25%.

Get the 5850 and upgrade from there. Get another 2 gigs of memory and a Q9550 down the road or even a cheaper quad. Been seeing $130 Q6600 in FS/FT forum.

Also when you buy more ram make sure you buy the same ram or replace them with 2 2gb sticks. If you mix and match your ram it will not overclock or even run at rated speeds sometimes.
 
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It has nothing to do with a game being 'quad core optimized'.

In terms of useful data for the OP:

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/build-balanced-platform,2469.html
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/balanced-gaming-pc-overclock,2625.html

The 2nd link has some very high OC's though.

If it's not quad optimized a quad has no use except cache differences of the quad in game. With a GPU like 5770 compared to 5850 the gains are 2x the performance or very close to it in games. You get more performance in games with a faster GPU.

E4300 is on the slow side but enough to feed 60FPS in most games out today. @ 1080P and some AA it's GPU limited especially with 5770. After all it's gaming performance OP is after not 3D modeling.
 
Yes that CPU will be bottlenecking that 5850. Pretty old CPU and I would save for a i5 or i7 cpu/mobo. You'll see a nice fps improvement upgrading so its worthwhile.
I really don't have the money for that at the moment.

GTA 4 is one of the MOST CPU-bottlenecked games out there. Unless you're got quad-core, it's going to struggle.
Yeah it looks that way, if I do get a quad core I'd prefer something compatible with my current platform.

my e8400 @ 3.6 runs at 100% during bad company 2. Just bought a q9550 off someone here to upgrade.
I've been looking at the 9550, I'd really like one but unless I can somehow get it second hand for 100-150 bucks I can't afford it atm.

Don't listen about your mobo being end of life. If your Asus p5b is at the end of life so is 1156 platform.

Far as I know your motherboard supports Q9550. Only ever so slightly slower than i5/7.

I was in the same boat as you few months back. I had P5B with E5200 @ 4 ghz and ultimately upgraded to i3 @ 4.2ghz. Big mistake for not much gained. It seems the i3 is roughly 25% faster after spending $200 and getting rid of old setup. Games however made no difference except for GTA4 which gained 25%.

Get the 5850 and upgrade from there. Get another 2 gigs of memory and a Q9550 down the road or even a cheaper quad. Been seeing $130 Q6600 in FS/FT forum.

Also when you buy more ram make sure you buy the same ram or replace them with 2 2gb sticks. If you mix and match your ram it will not overclock or even run at rated speeds sometimes.

Thanks for the advice MrXROK it seems very sensible. It's good to know I can get some more life out of my current platform. I'll probably be able to grab a 5850 and upgrade my ram for now, then start saving for a 6600 or 9550.

Thanks for the help guys, very much appreciated.
 
I'd definitely upgrade your cpu. You may also benefit from a bit more ram since GTA IV is heavy on resources as well. I'd seriously get a quad core cpu before even upgrading the gpu.
 
Don't forget the Q8x00 series. They're about as good as the 6600/9x00 CPUs, but they're largely overlooked so you might be able to get a bargain on one of them.
 
I've been looking at the 9550, I'd really like one but unless I can somehow get it second hand for 100-150 bucks I can't afford it atm.

You should be able to get a Q9450 in that price range.....those chips will easily do 3.2 to 3.4....and 3.6 to 3.8 with a bit of work and the right board
 
If I were you I'd go 5770 for now then upgrade the cpu later. then add another 5770 down the road for xfire

video card prices are going down soon and used dx11 cards are everywhere for cheap.
 
Don't forget the Q8x00 series. They're about as good as the 6600/9x00 CPUs, but they're largely overlooked so you might be able to get a bargain on one of them.
The only 8xxx series still in stores here is the Q8400, is it any good?

You should be able to get a Q9450 in that price range.....those chips will easily do 3.2 to 3.4....and 3.6 to 3.8 with a bit of work and the right board
The only two 775 quads I can still find in stores at a reasonable price are the Q8400 and Q9400, the 8400 is about 170USD, and the 9400 is about 200. Do either of these overclock well? Would it be much of a difference getting the 9400?

If I were you I'd go 5770 for now then upgrade the cpu later. then add another 5770 down the road for xfire

video card prices are going down soon and used dx11 cards are everywhere for cheap.
My motherboard doesn't support crossfire and I don't have the money for another one.
 
The only two 775 quads I can still find in stores at a reasonable price are the Q8400 and Q9400, the 8400 is about 170USD, and the 9400 is about 200. Do either of these overclock well? Would it be much of a difference getting the 9400?
I was thinking you would be buying used when I suggested a Q9450..the 8400 and 9400 have less cache....I'm not too sure how that affects gaming, maybe someone else can chime in
 
I'm just wondering if the 5850 will be bottlenecked by my cpu to the point where there'd be no point buying one over a 5770.
Readme. Not exactly your config but you can have an idea and extrapolate to your resolution and 5850.
Two things I want to say from their conclusions regarding your system:
Good part
First of all, the single Radeon HD 5870 does not depend as much on the CPU as it is supposed to. According to my tests (the left part of the diagrams), the Radeon HD 5870 is quite satisfied with an overclocked dual-core CPU manufactured two years ago.
Bad part
The gameplay was much smoother on the quad-core CPU, without occasional jerks as on the Core 2 Duo. Game levels were loaded faster, too. So, the numbers don’t always provide the full picture[...]
 
I was thinking you would be buying used when I suggested a Q9450..the 8400 and 9400 have less cache....I'm not too sure how that affects gaming, maybe someone else can chime in

I'm alright buying used as well, but obviously buying new is a bit safer, and these were the only two I could find. From what I've seen, used cpu's in Aus aren't cheap, for example there's a used 9550 on ebay now that's already over 200 dollars and the auction is still going. I'd rather pay 200 for a new 9400 than the same or more for a used 9550.

Readme. Not exactly your config but you can have an idea and extrapolate to your resolution and 5850.

Great article thanks!
 
Readme. Not exactly your config but you can have an idea and extrapolate to your resolution and 5850.
Two things I want to say from their conclusions regarding your system:
Good part

Bad part

The one with bad part... If you think about it...

Would it be smoother with a 5770? I think not with half the frame rate.

Weenaboy, you might want to get a E5200 for $50 on ebay to tie you over. It rocks. Overclock it to 4ghz and it's good as any lower end quad cores in quad optimized games. In dual core optimized it will be faster than most upper end core 2 quad's.
 
The Q8XXX have a low multi, as does the Q9300/9400. I could only get my Q9300 to 3.4Ghz or so before my board crapped out on me (450+ mhz bus speed). I would definitely get a Q9XXX over the Q8XXX if you have the chance. Since you're buying used, the price shouldn't be that much different. I got a Q9300 for $150 or so.
 
Weenaboy, you might want to get a E5200 for $50 on ebay to tie you over. It rocks. Overclock it to 4ghz and it's good as any lower end quad cores in quad optimized games. In dual core optimized it will be faster than most upper end core 2 quad's.
That doesn't sound like a bad idea, I'll take a look.

The Q8XXX have a low multi, as does the Q9300/9400. I could only get my Q9300 to 3.4Ghz or so before my board crapped out on me (450+ mhz bus speed). I would definitely get a Q9XXX over the Q8XXX if you have the chance. Since you're buying used, the price shouldn't be that much different. I got a Q9300 for $150 or so.

Ah I see. I thought you'd be able to change the multiplier.
 
You may not have the money for an i5 or i7 platform upgrade right now but thats why "saving" the money will allow you to get it in time. You play demanding enough games , get the proper system to run it.
 
I'm still gaming on the rig in my sig no problems at all. I am even sitting this round of CPU and GPU goodies out. will most likely upgrade when r700 comes out and i9 lol
 
Gaming performance in the Intel 775 platform loves bigger caches since it doesn't have an integrated memory controller like the iX series. I swapped my QX6850@ 3.5GHz to my current CPU and barely notice a difference, I did it because it was free plus lower power consumption and heat dissipation. I wouldn't go to anything below the Q9450, Q9450 is a very nice processor with 12MB of cache running at 2.66GHz and is very overclockable. A Q9400 or Q8x00 series are based on Penryn and has some optimizations, but have much less cache and may negate its benefits.
 
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