Tech Dilemma...

[Extralite]

I have a bit of a doubt here and I would really like some input. I am about to build a new gaming rig and now I face what may influence later the performance of my computer.

Since I'm in a very tight budget, I need to make choices, so now I got to the point were I have to choose the cpu and gpu, but since there is so many choices I got in a dilemma.

I have two choices now, either I buy a C2Q Q6600 and OC it as max as I can and buy a GTX 560 Ti for my GPU, or I buy a i5 750 and buy a GTX 460 (I will overclock all components, if that matters... ).

I think that after all what I am asking is what does affect most performance in games, a faster quad or a faster GPU

I really don't know what to choose because I don't know what will impact more the performance in gaming, if a better GPU or a cpu that is faster and more efficient... really need help. Thanks

( Do I need to answer those questions, or is this fine...?)

 

[Dangman]

If you're asking for full build help, yes please answer those questions, but to answer your questions:

I think that after all what I am asking is what does affect most performance in games, a faster quad or a faster GPU

Simply put, it depends on the game and resolution. Some games needs a faster CPU or a faster GPU or sometimes even both. And then there's the resolution: Generally, the lower resolution, the faster the CPU needs to be. Once you start getting into the 1920x1080 resolution range, you can worry less about the CPU and more about the GPU. With that said, some games require a fast enough CPU even at high resolutions.

So pretty much, it's game dependent. So what games are you planning on playing? What's the max resolution of your monitor?

 

[Extralite]

So what games are you planning on playing? What's the max resolution of your monitor?

The games I plan to be playing are the upcoming and the newest directx 11 titles such as metro 2033, f1 2010, I was also hoping for battlefield 3, crysis 2 and shift 2 unleashed. As for the screen, well, I have two displays that I will be using since one is actually a 42 inch lcd full hd (1080p) and the other one is one of the first lcd's a 15 (4:3) inch one, with a resolution of 1024x768.. but the small one is my primary, so I guess that the faster cpu is better? Right?

 

[Dangman]

The games I plan to be playing are the upcoming and the newest directx 11 titles such as metro 2033, f1 2010, I was also hoping for battlefield 3, crysis 2 and shift 2 unleashed. As for the screen, well, I have two displays that I will be using since one is actually a 42 inch lcd full hd (1080p) and the other one is one of the first lcd's a 15 (4:3) inch one, with a resolution of 1024x768.. but the small one is my primary, so I guess that the faster cpu is better? Right?

What CPU do you have now? What GPU? What PSU?

As for those games, BF3 will definitely need a quad-core. Not sure about the rest as their previous incarnations only required a fast dual-core.

 

[Extralite]

A few years ago I left my desktop gaining dust in my office room, and I bought a toshiba laptop for internet surfing. My desktop is an old one from the time of Accelerated Graphics Port and IDE and those beije cases. It was a pentium 4 at 2,5 GHZ and I had a nvidia card wich I don't recall the name with 128 mb video ram... old stuff, and now I am trying to get back on the loop... And my only concern for this computer would be gamming....as for the psu I will also have to buy a new one, but wattage will not be a problem, I just wanted to know if the GTX 560 would be better than the i5 750...

 

[Dangman]

I just wanted to know if the GTX 560 would be better than the i5 750...

At 1024x768, both will be about the same with each other in BF3.
At 1920x1080, both will be about the same with each other in BF3.

 

[ghost6303]

if it were me, i would go for the newer CPU and 'settle' for the GT460. infact i did exactly that for my main PC. i have a 460 and it will run any game ive played on full video quality at 1920x1080 without much problem.

to me the CPU is more important as it does functions a GPU can not. if your video card is lacking, most modern software is written to have the CPU try and pick up the slack. it doesnt really work the other way around.

its also harder to upgrade a CPU in the future (dependant on socket type of motherboard). you can always drop in an upgraded video card without needing to change other parts. the C2Q also uses DDR2 which is already pretty much end-of-life. any CPU upgrade later would almost certainly require you to buy new DDR3 RAM and a motherboard. if you go the i5 750 route, you will be able to use the same RAM in future upgrades (atleast for the next 1-3 years).

 

[tiraides]

If you're considering the i5-750/760 and you're looking at this build as a long-term project, then I recommend spending the (slightly) extra money to go with a Sandy Bridge-based Core i5 processor.

Based on your responses thus far, I believe that you would be better suited with a more current processor/socket platform. That said, I would like to see your answers to the sticky questions.

 

[Extralite]

if it were me, i would go for the newer CPU and 'settle' for the GT460. infact i did exactly that for my main PC. i have a 460 and it will run any game ive played on full video quality at 1920x1080 without much problem.

to me the CPU is more important as it does functions a GPU can not. if your video card is lacking, most modern software is written to have the CPU try and pick up the slack. it doesnt really work the other way around.

its also harder to upgrade a CPU in the future (dependant on socket type of motherboard). you can always drop in an upgraded video card without needing to change other parts. the C2Q also uses DDR2 which is already pretty much end-of-life. any CPU upgrade later would almost certainly require you to buy new DDR3 RAM and a motherboard. if you go the i5 750 route, you will be able to use the same RAM in future upgrades (atleast for the next 1-3 years).

This was exactly what I've been thinking, I just had the doubt if a more powerful GPU would make up for the CPU...I think I'll "settle" for the i5 750 and gtx 460... the remaining components I have already figured it out. As for sandybridge, I don't like the idea of having a cpu I can't overclock ... since the "k" editions are more expensive, I guess it's still not worth it. I'll get the i5 and gtx 460, and with that I will hold on 'till ivy bridge and kepler...

 

[tiraides]

Sandy Bridge isn't that much more expensive. At NewEgg, the LGA1156 Core i5 760 is about $210 (apparently, the i5-750 is OOS) whereas the LGA1155 Core i5 2500k is about $220. Granted, there aren't many P67 boards available at this moment, but they're only around $10 or $20 more than a similarly equipped P55 board.

But the lack of a budget amount is making it hard for me to offer better suggestions for you. What's the most that you can spend on these upgrades?

 

[Spooony]

The cpu is more important in gaming? Yes it is if you play at 720p. Might as well buy a Xbox then. If your cpu is struggling in games and your running a quad then I can only say welcome to project overkill. a cpu won't limit your game play a gpu will. When you set up a gaming rig you have to go the following route

Monitor-->native resolution-->Gpu->cpu

Games are mostly graphical work which a gpu does. The only games that needs a quad minimum are bad emulation ports. There's about 4 or 5 games the other thousand are gpu dependant. Buying a gpu every year is more expensive than buying a cpu every 3 years. . I think planning ahead on the notion that games are going to become more cpu intensive are a bit silly. You forgot the small detail about consoles. They're not going to develop a highly threaded version for the pc and then create less demanding one for the console. There's a few ports occasionally but they will keep on appearing now and then coz people keep on buying them rather telling them to stuff the junk they ported. But then again they make good benchmarks and give the people some bragging rights in the forums