Hello there I've been using my rig for about 2 months now. Everything runs as it should and now I'm about to overclock my CPU because I suspect it's bottlenecking my Inno3D Nvidia 295GTX. I suspect this because I've read other threads in here stating I should overclock my CPU to atleast 3.6Ghz, when running in "low" resolutions such as 1280x1024. Whenever I overclock my CPU I get higher FPS in both games and 3DMARK06, I don't know wether it's related to a bottleneck or? So my question is: How can I test this to be absolutely positive it's a bottleneck? The driver I use for my card is 186.18, I've remembered to set 3D settings in the Nvidia controlpanel.
your cpu is the bottleneck, faster your cpu quicker it can instruct the the gpu so to speak, which is why you are seeing FPS increases in gfx apps (games and 3dmark) also at that resolution, the 295 is a complete overkill, to see decent FPS from the 295 i do recommend that you play at atleast 1920x1080
Er, why OC for gaming under 1280x1024? Sure you might get more fps, but a raise from 150-200 is not noticeble to the human eye. The cpu aint bottlenecking anything. Its all a way of looking and understanding benchmarks. In a nutshell, you are not supposed to benchmark / test for bottlenecks on 1280x1024. You can also test a 1x1 pixel resolution with your gtx295. You know the kind of bottleneck you get there?
A bottleneck is what is limiting your system from producing more frames in what ever situation or whatever resolution or game. At 12x10 the 295 really isn't working very hard so it can push out as many frames as the CPU can give it. So yes, the CPU is the bottleneck... But at 12x10 just about any CPU at any clock rate for any game (again just about) is going to be the bottleneck... Even if you are getting 150-200 fps, I'd still overclock the CPU to increase the minimum fps and get the most out of your experience. But I'd also recommend getting a bigger monitor with higher resolution to get the most out of your 295. At 12x10 you could also just max everthing out with gobs of AA to also try and offset the CPU bottleneck and get the most out of your hardware.
You might get a HD moniter. You will see true potential of your hardware (FPS will be nearly same by getting rid of lag) and enjoy the HD experience:thumbup:
Whow thanks It all makes sense to me now. Well now I know what to spend money on a new moniter cheers!
That is a good plan... I will mention one thing about getting a big monitor. Once you do there's really no going back and the higher resolution you get the more demanding it will be on your video card (and system as a whole) which means usually more frequent upgrades and games become more demanding. In other words, I wouldn't go over HD resolutions. Something either 1920x1080 (true HD) or 1920x1200 (a little higher than HD but this is more of a computer resolution)... If you're looking at the 30" computer monitors - well, don't unless you are willing to basically get high-end everything each time you upgrade.
GTX295 @ 12x10... oh my lord. Everything seems to have been covered above, however smnoamls, if you can't see a CPU bottleneck there, then i don't know what you're doing diagnosing computer problems
I was planning on getting an 24" 1920x1080 (1080p) monitor from Asus. But when I play games in HD, do I need a higher mem clock on the 295GTX? On stock it goes to 999Mhz. I've read somewhere the cards performance is "limited" by the somewhat low mem clock?
By definition, it clock is lower than it's single card counterparts but it will still beat anything out there on the market but it doesn't cripple the card in any way. The mem usually maxes out at 2450mhz so you've got a lot of free performance there to unlock.
