Is my system CPU limited?

S

Slow*Jim

Weaksauce
Joined
Jul 15, 2010
Messages
75
Hey guys. I've been a HardOCP reader for years but didn't join the forum until today. I'm reading all the GTX460 reviews and am strongly considering picking one up as an upgrade to my current vid card, a 4850 512mb. But I'm concerned it won't make much of a difference since I'm not running the latest and greatest processor.

My system:
MB: P5Q Pro
RAM: 2x2gb OCZ Reaper
CPU: E8400 @ 4.0ghz (445x9 @ 1.4v)
GPU: 4850 @ 710mhz

Max CPU and GPU temps are right around 61C

So the question is, am I going to see much benefit with the 460 or should I save my money and invest in a new platform first? I primarily play SC2 beta and COD:MW2 at 1680x1050 with all options maxed.
 
What PSU do you have?

The E8400@ 4Ghz isn't that much of a limitation. You should see a noticeable performance increase with the GTX 460.
 
It's an OCZ 600w IIRC

Thanks for the reply, I was hoping I wouldn't have to dish out the $$ for an i7 system. I rather like my "old" E8400
 
you'll probably be bottlenecked some, mostly in cpu intensive games like gta4. but for the most part, you should notice a big jump in performance. go for it :)
 
Majinhoju said:
you'll probably be bottlenecked some, mostly in cpu intensive games like gta4. but for the most part, you should notice a big jump in performance. go for it :)
Click to expand...

Yeah that's most likely where the bottleneck would happen. Even so you can pick up a used QX series or Q for a good price these days I recently seen a used QX9650 for $250.
 
Let's keep in mind even modern games don't have exactly stellar multithreading, especially beyond 2 cores. And even if the core2 is 30% less efficient than i5/i7s per clock cycle, 4ghz is still like an effective 2.4ghz i7 (not taking into account any other optimizations, etc).

This means that, of course you'll see a big boost from the 460 and negligible cpu bottlenecking but likely none at all.
 
Majinhoju said:
you'll probably be bottlenecked some, mostly in cpu intensive games like gta4. but for the most part, you should notice a big jump in performance. go for it :)
Click to expand...

And SC2 :) RTS's are pretty CPU dependent generally. But it should still be a good upgrade.
 
One 460 will be a very good upgrade for your system.

The only performance hit you're likely to see is after going SLI... even then, it would be worth it for your system.
 
if you play bfbc2, then the dual core will hold the gtx 460 back. eventaully a quad core will give that puppy new life...keep that in mind for a future upgrade.
 
raymondbeautrix said:
And even if the core2 is 30% less efficient than i5/i7s per clock cycle, 4ghz is still like an effective 2.4ghz i7 (not taking into account any other optimizations, etc).
Click to expand...


I don't think I've ever seen any games where a 4GHz Core2Quad was about the level of performance as a 2.4GHz i7. Nothing that severe. Some other kinds of apps, yes, like video encoding. I thinks its because they can take advantage of the hyperthreading (not i5 though).


edit: I didn't see that you were talking about a DUAL core, nevermind...
 
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