As you can see at the left, that's the specs of my computer expect my componnents have been OCed, CPU: to 3051Mhz Video card: GPU: 680 MHz, Ram: 950 Mhz Now, I've noticed that a lot of games are cpu limited, such as the new Dirt 2 game. Even at 800x600, the average FPS is 30 FPS to 40 FPS. The list of games I play: UT3 Grid Wolfenstein CoD4 : MW2 Dirt 2 Prototype Wolfenstein ... Thanks
It's always a good idea to upgrade. You'll recieve obviously increased performance and way more overclockability for a not that big upgrade. You can either go for the more expensive AM3 Motherboard+DDR3 memory combo, or you can still stick with DDR2.
You can upgrade your processor, but issue now is that you bought a 740G motherboard which the chipset is a 690G with a die shrink. Issue with the 690G is that it never had the power saving functionality that is found in the real 700-series motherboards and worst of all, it never had HT 3.0 capabilities. HyperTransport is the point-to-point interconnect that connects the CPU to the rest of the system. deltatux
But that won't have a big impact on performance, will it? Because I've read some articles about the subject and they noted a small, or no performance impact when reducing the HT Link's speed.
Hi, First of all what your budget? Any AM3 Quad Core chip would be a good buy. Depending on where you live I would recommend www.newegg.com and take a look at what AM3 chips they have available. Remember to get the latest BIOS for your motherboard. I see no need to upgrade your RAM. Take the money that you would have spent on DDR3 RAM on motherboard and buy an ATI 5770 or higher graphics card....or Nvidia if that your preference. But remember the new ATI cards support Direct X 11. Dirt 2 would like mighty nice in Direct x 11. Thats my 2 cents. DigitalKilla_FL
Right now my budget is only to buy a CPU (around 200$ CAD), and I have been thinking about this CPU: http://pccyber.com/?v=product&i=CPU-AMD-HDX810WFGIBOX
First of all, the lower your resolution the more CPU bound you will be. So in reference to your comment about 800x600 in Dirt 2, you're only making it harder on your CPU as the lower the resolution the faster your GPU can send the data to your CPU. If your CPU is already limiting you, it doesn't help one bit to lower your resolution. Secondly, while your CPU is a bit dated and behind the pack per se, its still not your weakest link when it comes to games. Your 8800GS is. An X2 K8 @3Ghz+ is sufficient for ~8800GTX and similar. Much beyond that and yes your CPU will limit you much more. If you're still concerned with upgrading your CPU before anything else, I highly recommend the 955 BE C3. You can find it here: http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103808&cm_re=955-_-19-103-808-_-Product Newegg Canada has them in stock and for a good deal of $187 CDN. Be sure to get the C3 version (doesn't have blue sticker in upper left corner of the box) as it clocks much better and runs cooler.
I agree with FlawleZ. Get a better graphics card. Again a 5 series ATI card. I would maybe try a better fan and heatsink and see if you can OC you CPU a bit more. Again, based on your budget and what you already have, get a better graphics card.
If he gets a C3 he has to pick his motherboard carefully, a lot of boards shipping today dont support the C3 without a BIOS flash which obviously is impossible if the only CPU you have is a C3.
Rev 3.0 supports C3 chips. Even so its just a lack of microcode embedded in the BIOS. It won't keep from the board functioning with the C3 CPU. Just says "Unknown CPU."
Are you sure? I read a few reports on newegg of people being unable to post because of that (a few ASUS motherboards here and there).
It's not a black & white situation, but most of the time the motherboard will function just fine. I have used several boards (ECS, MSI, ASRock, etc) with AM2+ and AM3 CPU's that weren't supported and they boot up and function just fine. To be safe though, he should update his BIOS to the latest BIOS released by Gigabyte and could just as easily opt for the C2 chip instead. However there is no real architectural difference between the 955 C2 and 955 C3. They even share the same TDP of 125 Watts (unlike the 965 BE which drops to 125 Watts with C3 revision).
So you guys are saying my CPU still has life in it (I OCed it to 3.1 Ghz now ) and that my money will be better spent buying a video card? Wouldn't a Quad core be better?
When I run my CPU at HT 1.1 specs, I can feel the slow down, it might be small but noticeable none-the-less. I have this CPU and it ain't bad at all. Sure, it has 2 MB of L3 cache missing but it's kilometres ahead of the Athlon X2. I went from an Athlon X2 4200+ OC at 2.75 GHz to my Phenom II 810, it sped up like crazy. deltatux
Of course 4 cores are better than 2. However, 95% of games cannot make use of more than 2 cores. Those that do are very poorly optimized for ~4 or more. In your case, your CPU still has some breathing room before it can't keep up. Remember with a modern computer (something more than 1 core and faster than a P4) is about 75-80% GPU bound, NOT CPU. Upgrade your video card first. Then when you're ready, upgrade your CPU.
Can someone explain how we find a bottleneck? According to this post http://ask.slashdot.org/comments.pl?...0&cid=14888326 "If you are seeing processor usage 100%, then your video card may be holding you back" I don't understand the concept, I always believed that a 100% usage meant that the cpu was the bottleneck.
Idk man, I have to agree with deltatux here. My old 4200+ (Which when OC'ed to 2.5 isn't that much slower) has a huge problem keeping up in the latest games.
Results on a borderline CPU will vary of course. It will depend on which "latest games" you're referring to. If its Supreme Commander, even Q6600's struggle on the big maps. If its Arma II, he's still very much GPU bound. The big picture here is: Yes, the CPU could stand an upgrade. However, upgrading his video card would net him a much larger improvement in most newer games than upgrading his CPU. Think about it like this if its easier: Which would you rather have for games? A GTX 285 + X2 4200+ or An i7 920 + 9400GT
Stop arguing over it, and have him do a test. OP, play at your everyday resolution. Note FPS. Then play at a significantly reduced resolution..note FPS. If the change between the two is insiginifcant or nonexistent then it's a CPU. If the change is drastic, it's GPU. Very simple.
