CPU Bottleneck for GTX670 or 7970?

[fenixrisingxl]

Hi, all.
I am in the market for either a GTX670 or a Radeon 7970 (upgrade from a GTX260-216), but am just now realizing after reading multiple threads my CPU will probably be bottlenecking either cards performance.

My question to you all is how badly will either of those cards be hamstrung by my Intel Q9550 2.8Ghz?

Just want to make sure I don't make a purchase that yields practically the same performance I'm getting from the GTX260.

If it matters, I'll be playing on a 19" Acer monitor, at a resolution of 1440 x 900, with an eye towards upgrading to a bigger monitor in the future, or a direct hookup to a 42" HDTV, at a max resolution of 1080P.

Any insights you all could share would be most welcome.
Thank you for your time.
Appreciate any assistance provided.

[SLI-756]

http://www.guru3d.com/articles_pages...nchmark,7.html

Perhaps this will help shed light.

[Agent-A01]

It would bottleneck it a good bit. Youll probably get 60% usage out of the cards

[Ji1986]

You will definitely be bottlenecked, even if you had a oc on the cpu of 3.5ghz you will still have a bottleneck.

[spectra]

These people are all correct.

I just picked up a GTX 660 TI this weekend (upgraded from a GTX 470) my Q9550 @ 3.8ghz bottlenecks a 660 TI. I tested a whole bunch of games this weekend and my GPU usage in BF3, Crysis 2, Metro 2033, Batman Arkham City was very spikey at 1080p. Multiplayer BF3 was the worst.

I thought 3.8 would be sufficient, but it really is not. In fact, now I'm dying to upgrade the rest of my system.

[---TK---]

Originally Posted by fenixrisingxl

Hi, all.
I am in the market for either a GTX670 or a Radeon 7970 (upgrade from a GTX260-216), but am just now realizing after reading multiple threads my CPU will probably be bottlenecking either cards performance.

My question to you all is how badly will either of those cards be hamstrung by my Intel Q9550 2.8Ghz?

Just want to make sure I don't make a purchase that yields practically the same performance I'm getting from the GTX260.

If it matters, I'll be playing on a 19" Acer monitor, at a resolution of 1440 x 900, with an eye towards upgrading to a bigger monitor in the future, or a direct hookup to a 42" HDTV, at a max resolution of 1080P.

Any insights you all could share would be most welcome.
Thank you for your time.
Appreciate any assistance provided.

stock 9550 will cause a bottleneck no doubt about it. I have a qx9650 at 4ghz with a 480 in it and that card is bottlenecked somewhat

[Mufflore]

My old Q9705 @ 4GHz bottlenecked my Crossfire 5770 (approx same performance as a 5870), I got a decent performance increase upgrading to this 2500K.
My newer GTX580 is a lot faster but is slower than the GTX670 so you should see a big performance increase from upgrading the CPU.

Your current CPU will be a large bottleneck.
Not in all games, but quite a lot.

[Dragondale13]

For rizzle my nizzle! At most you're gonna be able max out game settings.Don't, whatever you do, do not try to run the latest 3dmark until you upgrade the rest of your system.You're exp. should be better than mine, but don't...it's hurtful to watch, it really is.

[Koniakki]

Originally Posted by Dragondale13

For rizzle my nizzle! At most you're gonna be able max out game settings.Don't, whatever you do, do not try to run the latest 3dmark until you upgrade the rest of your system.You're exp. should be better than mine, but don't...it's hurtful to watch, it really is.

I run the 3DMark11(Performance), only the 4 graphics tests on my 680 at both 732/784boost(660Ti perf.) and stock 1084/1150boost at 720 and 1080p and it run fine with 100% usage on a C2D E4500@3Ghz. Am I missing something here?

 Click to show spoiler

[Dragondale13]

Graphic scores are fine, that's not what I meant numbnuts.Physics and combined are what determines overall performance won't you say? He is asking about bottlenecking is he not?

[BVALJALO]

Originally Posted by Dragondale13

Graphic scores are fine, that's not what I meant numbnuts.Physics and combined are what determines overall performance won't you say? He is asking about bottlenecking is he not?

The 'bottlenecking' that's occurring during those tests isn't inherently cause for concern, since they're 'meant' to be tests of your CPU power.

So the point the earlier poster was making was actually sound, IMHO. But yeah, if you mean he'd be depressed by his overall 3dMark11 score due to his CPU, I'm sure that'd be true, due to low physics/combined test scores. But those don't really demonstrate 'bottlenecking' in the traditional sense of the word ... if the GRAPHICS tests (1-4) were getting lower than expected scores, THAT would demonstrate CPU BN ... but he probably wouldn't, because those tests are properly coded to make heavy use of GPU w/o needing much CPU.

As such, the 3dMark11 graphics tests don't make a good substitute for real games, which tend to be WAY more CPU-intensive than the 3dMark series or other GPU benchies.

OP: Bottom-line the advice on this thread is fairly sound, however, it's not nearly as cut and dry as some people make it out to be. There are degrees of CPU BN effect (a scale of 0-100, if you will), and the degree to which your new 670 would be BN'd by your proc would vary wildly, depending on the game/test you ran, and what settings you ran it at, along with what was going on in the game at the time.

In the very worst-case scenario, you should find that you can get the same FPS you do now, only you'd be able to get that FPS at much higher graphical settings (higher AA, resolution, Shader/AO quality, etc) than what you now have them at.

You will, of course, be LESS BN'd at 1080p resolution (due to the fact that your FPS will be lower to begin with) than at your current resolution, but, regrettably, you will be BN'd at least to SOME degree pretty frequently with the setup under discussion, almost no matter how high you got your resolution.

[eighty1]

Originally Posted by fenixrisingxl

Hi, all.
I am in the market for either a GTX670 or a Radeon 7970 (upgrade from a GTX260-216), but am just now realizing after reading multiple threads my CPU will probably be bottlenecking either cards performance.

My question to you all is how badly will either of those cards be hamstrung by my Intel Q9550 2.8Ghz?

Just want to make sure I don't make a purchase that yields practically the same performance I'm getting from the GTX260.

If it matters, I'll be playing on a 19" Acer monitor, at a resolution of 1440 x 900, with an eye towards upgrading to a bigger monitor in the future, or a direct hookup to a 42" HDTV, at a max resolution of 1080P.

Any insights you all could share would be most welcome.
Thank you for your time.
Appreciate any assistance provided.

at 1440*900 gtx 670/radeon hd 7970 is not recommended, a radeon hd 7850 would be fine but at 1080p it is recommended. as for bottleneck the answer is yes.

[Koniakki]

Originally Posted by Dragondale13

Graphic scores are fine, that's not what I meant numbnuts.Physics and combined are what determines overall performance won't you say? He is asking about bottlenecking is he not?

Wow, take it easy there Mr. Shizzle with the attitude and the names. That's just plain stupid among other things.

And the learn the meaning of the words you are using please. Or even better, before you use them.

Numbnuts
Numbnuts (nuhm-nuhts)
Noun

1. The stupidest of the stupid. A complete dumbass, one whose intelligence quotient does not surpass that of the average rock.

2. An utter disgrace of humanity.

3. One whose purpose in life is meaningless; a complete and total waste of life.

4. An ignorant, arrogant *******.

Really? Oh please. My reply was perfectly sound. People with common sense, can see that. For the rest, I don't care.

And if that 13 at the end of your username corresponds to your age, then, learn some respect you.

With that being said, So Mr. Genius lets break down your reply, shall we?

Originally Posted by Dragondale13

Graphic scores are fine, that's not what I meant..

You expected me to KNOW that you meant just the Physics and combined tests by saying just 3DMark11? Oh, my apologies.. Not.

Originally Posted by Dragondale13

Physics and combined are what determines overall performance won't you say?

Physics and combined do what? Determine the overall performance? I think you meant the overall total score, so I will let this go. Must be a typo. Although I doubt it.

Originally Posted by Dragondale13

He is asking about bottlenecking is he not?

I doubt that you even know what bottlenecking truly is.. Besides what you read on a quick Google search.

Originally Posted by Dragondale13

...Don't, whatever you do, do not try to run the latest 3dmark until you upgrade the rest of your system...

Well, with the SCREENSHOTS I provided, I did try the 3DMark11 and I found the experience NOT much different that on a more powerful system.

Originally Posted by Dragondale13

...Don't, whatever you do, do not try to run the latest 3dmark until you upgrade the rest of your system.You're exp. should be better than mine, but don't...it's hurtful to watch, it really is.

I quote you: "You're(its your btw) exp. should be better than mine"

You are talking about the experience here but in your later comment you talk about overall performances and stuff. Get a grasp of what the hell you're trying to say so people can understand you.

You mentioned 3DMark11, I provided some info STATING my clocks and the PRESETS used. i.e: 1-4 Graphics test.
I believe that was perfectly clear.

You, AS a member of Guru3D, mentioned 3DMark11 and I had some info on this and I shared it. So take it easy there.


P.S: Now, I understand why older members or more knowledgeable people, just lurk here nowdays or don't come/post often.

[Pill Monster]

Originally Posted by Dragondale13

Graphic scores are fine, that's not what I meant numbnuts.Physics and combined are what determines overall performance won't you say?

Not really, it depends entirely on the game.
I can get 85fps in a GPU heavy title like Crysis 2 with a Phenom II 955 & 7950, vs 45fps with a 6950. and if you're seeing 60fps or better.....who cares?

[Dragondale13]

@Koniakki - Thank you for telling me what I already knew....For I AM....

1. The stupidest of the stupid. A complete dumbass, one whose intelligence
quotient does not surpass that of the average rock. (Nice!)

2. An utter disgrace of humanity. (Ouch!)

3. One whose purpose in life is meaningless; a complete and total waste of
life.(No argument there!)

4. An ignorant, arrogant *******. (Sometimes I need to be, but ok!)

When I called you a "numbnuts" I didn't think you would've taken it this way for I meant no disrespect, was just kiddin around but that was my fault for making assumptions.So I apologize to you, Koniakki, first and ALL members and staff if it was taken out of context as it won't happen again and thanks to the rest of you also for your enlightenment.

[Koniakki]

All is well now and I'm sure we can all get along just fine. I apologize to you as a sign of good manners.

This is a wonderful community to share info and help each other among many other things..

Lets, lets crank up some comments with clever humour and sarcasm!

[thatguy91]

Originally Posted by fenixrisingxl

Hi, all.
I am in the market for either a GTX670 or a Radeon 7970 (upgrade from a GTX260-216), but am just now realizing after reading multiple threads my CPU will probably be bottlenecking either cards performance.

My question to you all is how badly will either of those cards be hamstrung by my Intel Q9550 2.8Ghz?

Just want to make sure I don't make a purchase that yields practically the same performance I'm getting from the GTX260.

If it matters, I'll be playing on a 19" Acer monitor, at a resolution of 1440 x 900, with an eye towards upgrading to a bigger monitor in the future, or a direct hookup to a 42" HDTV, at a max resolution of 1080P.

Any insights you all could share would be most welcome.
Thank you for your time.
Appreciate any assistance provided.

I'm quoting to highlight that the post is back on track

First of all, I assume you are running a 64-bit OS like Windows 7 x64? If you run Windows 7 32-bit, at the moment you will only be able to use 3GB of you 8GB of RAM, and even less if you get a 3GB video card like the HD7970!

You will be bottlenecked if you purchase a HD7970 or GTX670. It's true that if you are getting 60fps it doesn't really matter in terms of screen performance, but it also doesn't mean you haven't wasted your money! Have you considered a lesser GPU? It would make much more monetary sense to go for a lesser GPU and put what you saved towards buying a new motherboard, CPU, and RAM down the track. I would recommend getting a HD7870 now, which should be fine for what you want to do. You can overcome the bottleneck you have, at least partially, by upping your FSB. At the moment your CPU is running a 333Mhz FSB. If you up the bus to 400, it will actually make a difference! If you do this, you will need to set the memory divisor back (so you don't ridiculously overclock your memory). If you are using a stock Intel cooler it would be advisable to get a good cheap cooler, like the Coolermaster 212 Evo. In any case, if you are playing games that require a fast GPU, which in turn requires a high load on the CPU, you will need reasonable cooling regardless of any overclock!

[eighty1]

Originally Posted by thatguy91

I'm quoting to highlight that the post is back on track

First of all, I assume you are running a 64-bit OS like Windows 7 x64? If you run Windows 7 32-bit, at the moment you will only be able to use 3GB of you 8GB of RAM, and even less if you get a 3GB video card like the HD7970!

You will be bottlenecked if you purchase a HD7970 or GTX670. It's true that if you are getting 60fps it doesn't really matter in terms of screen performance, but it also doesn't mean you haven't wasted your money! Have you considered a lesser GPU? It would make much more monetary sense to go for a lesser GPU and put what you saved towards buying a new motherboard, CPU, and RAM down the track. I would recommend getting a HD7870 now, which should be fine for what you want to do. You can overcome the bottleneck you have, at least partially, by upping your FSB. At the moment your CPU is running a 333Mhz FSB. If you up the bus to 400, it will actually make a difference! If you do this, you will need to set the memory divisor back (so you don't ridiculously overclock your memory). If you are using a stock Intel cooler it would be advisable to get a good cheap cooler, like the Coolermaster 212 Evo. In any case, if you are playing games that require a fast GPU, which in turn requires a high load on the CPU, you will need reasonable cooling regardless of any overclock!

exactly.

[CreationP]

In my opinion you are going for gaming.

It would make much more sense to upgrade your CPU than your gfx card. You will need to do it after all whether it is today or tommorow.

If you update your gfx card to a lesser one than 7950 you will have a momenteraly value as ppl suggested but if you update your CPU/Mobo the value would be much more.