upgrading 9800GT to GTX260

I have an X2 6400+ and went from an 8800 GTX to a factory OC'd GTX 260. I could have gotten by with the 8800 GTX a while longer no problem, but yeah its worth it! I imagine you'll see a similar improvement with a little bottleneck (but not that much). 3.0 Ghz (Windsor core) or 3.1 Ghz (Barcelona) is fine for a GTX 260.
 
it depends on what games you play and what res you play at. if the game is "well threaded" and the resolution is "high enough" you shouldn't be cpu bottlenecked.
 
cpu bottleneck is only major @ low resolutions u should be fine if ur playing 1600x1200+ imo
 
nej_k said:
cpu bottleneck is only major @ low resolutions u should be fine if ur playing 1600x1200+ imo
Click to expand...
having a weak cpu thats not strong enough to feed the card will be a problem at any res. its just at lower res the difference between cpus is more prevalent. the 6000 X2 isnt too bad but it will hold the 260 back from its full potential.
 
i found this article:
GTX280 on different CPUs

looks like i'll lose close to 20% on avg when compared to the core 2 duos upper end offerings.

i play at 1280*1024, so yea cpu bottle-necking is prolly gonna be significant. games i wana play are (upcoming and released): FC2, left4dead, the new prince of persia, mirror's edge, NFS:U, Red alert 3, cod5.

sigh, can't afford to spend upwards of $200+ for new mobo+cpu combo right now. i guess the 260 will have to do.

with christmas specials around the corner, i'll expect to pay around $100 for the upgrade. seems reasonable at this point.
 
majorbabu said:
i found this article:
GTX280 on different CPUs

looks like i'll lose close to 20% on avg when compared to the core 2 duos upper end offerings.

i play at 1280*1024, so yea cpu bottle-necking is prolly gonna be significant. games i wana play are (upcoming and released): FC2, left4dead, the new prince of persia, mirror's edge, NFS:U, Red alert 3, cod5.

sigh, can't afford to spend upwards of $200+ for new mobo+cpu combo right now. i guess the 260 will have to do.

with christmas specials around the corner, i'll expect to pay around $100 for the upgrade. seems reasonable at this point.
Click to expand...
at 1280 and with your cpu youre not going to get a huge increase in some games. Im sure plenty of games will have a higher max and probably higher average framerate but your minimum framerates are likely to stay right where they are at with your 9800gt.
 
your not going to see a night and day difference when switching.. Especially with that cpu.
 
hmmm this is such a crappy time to upgrade a cpu if you're a budget gamer.
-AMD's current mature offerings are shit.
-Intel wolfdale series is on a dead-end socket.
-AMD's future offerings might be promising, but you'll pay the early adopter tax (EAT) when they're released - presumably in mid-december if rumours have their way.
-i7 is decent, but again... EAT worse than AMD's. At least AM2+ mobos are cheap!!


gah!!

looks like i'll just stick it out with the 9800GT for some time now. sucks.
 
you could get an E8400 or Q6600 and motherboard for under 300 bucks and that would serve you well for 12-18 months. also sell your old cpu and mobo too for some money towards the upgrade.
 
majorbabu said:
i found this article:
GTX280 on different CPUs

looks like i'll lose close to 20% on avg when compared to the core 2 duos upper end offerings.

i play at 1280*1024, so yea cpu bottle-necking is prolly gonna be significant. games i wana play are (upcoming and released): FC2, left4dead, the new prince of persia, mirror's edge, NFS:U, Red alert 3, cod5.

sigh, can't afford to spend upwards of $200+ for new mobo+cpu combo right now. i guess the 260 will have to do.

with christmas specials around the corner, i'll expect to pay around $100 for the upgrade. seems reasonable at this point.
Click to expand...

your 9800gt should be able to handle pretty much all of those games at that res. honestly, i don't think a gtx260 would give you much extra in terms of playability.
 
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116072
(E5200, $83 Free Shipping)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131295R
(Open Box P5Q, $65+Shipping = ~$75)

If you are on a major budget, then, good to go with a new processor/motherboard for $157! Caveat: Open Box motherboard may come with only the motherboard! You can overclock that processor to well over 3ghz., and you could upgrade to a 4850, if you really wanted, and sell the 9800GT... so 157 + 130 (4850) - 75 (selling used 9800GT) = 212 total AR.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121272
(4850, $130 After Rebate/Free Shipping)

You could also sell your old motherboard and processor for a few bucks bringing the upgrade price down even more. You could probably get out of the whole thing for ~$150, if you are willing to put a bit of work into it. (Add $70 if you went with a GTX 260, instead... so $220 for that.)
 
@Starcrossed
nah. appreciate the feedback, but i think i'll just stick with what i have right now.
i'm in canada too, so i can't get those same prices on newegg like you guys. (newegg.ca sucks)

i've done some searching around too, and it seems like the cpu thing is really a bit of a massive bottleneck, so i'm just going to be sticking with what i have for now i guess.

thanks for the feedback guys. appreciate it!
 
majorbabu said:
i've done some searching around too, and it seems like the cpu thing is really a bit of a massive bottleneck, so i'm just going to be sticking with what i have for now i guess.
Click to expand...

how exactly?

im quite sure your cpu is faster than mine - yet i game above 1080p all day long - new games too, and i dont have a problem with my cpu

i have a second monitor which keeps yahoo up and a web page or two and ive played any random new game at pretty much max settings and my cores are both working yes, but neither is at 100% and acting as a bottleneck

anyone who wants to see proof only has to wait until i get home - ill show you the game the fraps the settings and the other monitor with task manager up and both cores fully displayed

to the op with the faster cpu and better videocard... why would you want to upgrade? especially with such a low resolution - outside of crysis what game cant you max out
 
jamhamm said:
how exactly?

im quite sure your cpu is faster than mine - yet i game above 1080p all day long - new games too, and i dont have a problem with my cpu

i have a second monitor which keeps yahoo up and a web page or two and ive played any random new game at pretty much max settings and my cores are both working yes, but neither is at 100% and acting as a bottleneck

anyone who wants to see proof only has to wait until i get home - ill show you the game the fraps the settings and the other monitor with task manager up and both cores fully displayed

to the op with the faster cpu and better videocard... why would you want to upgrade? especially with such a low resolution - outside of crysis what game cant you max out
Click to expand...
are you currently using the 8800gts 640mb? a GTX260 will blow that away and thus the cpu becomes more of a bottleneck. I had a 5000 X2 and 8600gt for a year and then tried upgrading to different cards. NONE of those cards including a 4670, 8800GT, or 9600GT could give me better minimum framerates because of my cpu.
 
Ok I have a chance to upgrade my eVGA 9800GT through thier step up program. Trading in my card to get a GTX260 will cost me around $100. I have a Q6600 @ 3.0ghz, 4gb ram, would I really see that much difference in frame rates. Right now I play games at 1680 x 1050 and 1920 x 1200 depending on the game.
 
In a word rkatapt yes. You would see a nice boost at the higher resolutions you game at by switching to a 260.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top