Follow along with the video below to see how to install our site as a web app on your home screen.
Note: This feature may not be available in some browsers.
yep and the numbers I got are worse than running an 8600gt in my system. in most situations a gtx260 with an outdated single core cpu will lose to a wimpy 8600gt and core 2 duo in modern games especially the newest ones. the op will likely gain zero improvement by going with a 4870 and keeping his single core P4.
well with dual cores then yeah the gtx260 would be able to perform in those newer games much better. the problem was that with a slow single core turning down the graphics settings just didnt really help the gtx260s framerate. I laughed during the Crysis benchmark when I couldnt even hit more than 6 or 7 fps with the gtx260 and single core.How about 8600GT + 1.8GHz Core 2 vs GTX 260 + 1.8GHz Core 2? I'm sure that you will see an improvement with the GTX 260 over the 8600GT.
well with dual cores then yeah the gtx260 would be able to perform in those newer games much better. the problem was that with a slow single core turning down the graphics settings just didnt really help the gtx260s framerate.
yeah we both had valid points but I think going forward that games will only get more cpu intensive. the OP really needs both a gpu and cpu if newer games are his concern. upgrading one without the other will not be of much benefit. looking at GTA 4 it makes my e8500 look quite sad compared to the quad cores so it seems like trying to stay on top of things is futile. lolWell, you are testing with the three most CPU intensive games. Bioshock did well with a single core 1.6GHz Core 2, Oblivion is also playable. Racing games use a lot of CPU power too for the physics. Most of the newer games are cpu intensive as well but there are still tons of games which are single threaded games.
A faster CPU isn't going to turn a 7950GT into a 8800gtx.
But a slower CPU can turn down the HD 4870 into 7950GT. There was no difference in performance between the HD 3850 and the X1950XT when I had my P4EE, no matter how much eye candy I put on screen, a faster GPU will give you more eye candy, but the CPU has the biggest impact in FPS except in very GPU bound games which aren't too many.
I guess that some people just can't read, what I said is not that the GPU won't be bottleneck by the CPU. What I'm trying to say is, the OP has a slow CPU and also a slower GPU, the OP will gain more performance in games @1920x1200 with a faster GPU than a faster CPU but he won't get the full performance from a HD4870 using his CPU.
The best thing is upgrading both CPU and GPU but if it is only possible to upgrade one component first and the other one later, upgrading to a faster GPU would give him a better performance increase than just upgrading the CPU alone. Even with a faster GPU, he won't get to use the same settings in games like people with a faster CPU but he will still get an improvement over his 7950GT. A faster CPU isn't going to turn a 7950GT into a 8800gtx.
My next question is pertaining swapping out the mobo/cpu/ram is it possible for me to do all that without reformatting?
Thank you everyone for your input and time concerning my situation. I really appreciate it!
I just bought
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115017(q6600)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128359(Mobo)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231122(ram)
im going to get an intermediary card from my friend for free since he got the 4870X2
My next question is pertaining swapping out the mobo/cpu/ram is it possible for me to do all that without reformatting?
Nice, but what did you buy actually? The best thing is to upgrade both the GPU and CPU. You need to reformat because you are upgrading from a single core to a multicore CPU. Your OS needs to be SMP ready to use the multi core CPU. There are ways to upgrade your system without reformating but the easiest way is by formatting. If your OS is not SMP ready, you will only see a single core.
Alright and my final question is if i should get windows Xp service pack 3 or Vista?
and is 64 bit reliable?
thanks
Nice, a jump from a single core to a quad core. You should add $15 more to get the P5Q, two PCI-E slots ftw. Vista 64 bit for the OS. What GPU are you getting?
Nice, but what did you buy actually? The best thing is to upgrade both the GPU and CPU. You need to reformat because you are upgrading from a single core to a multicore CPU. Your OS needs to be SMP ready to use the multi core CPU. There are ways to upgrade your system without reformating but the easiest way is by formatting. If your OS is not SMP ready, you will only see a single core.
Windows XP and beyond is always SMP ready, you can just swap CPU's and Windows will detect it and reinstall the proper drivers including the HAL and will automatically enable the new cores. I had to reformat when I swapped all components, it would reboot infinitely after the Windows Bar during boot.