Advice for Video Cards.

[kobe24]

drizzt5 why dont u get a new cpu to, to go with ur new card

 

[veg1992]

but that means he needs to get a new CPU, Mobo, and RAM... and thats a drastic upgrade... just live with the tiny bottleneck..

 

[Merkwürdigeliebe]

Bottlenecking's still a little debatable. Yes, in terms of graphics processing, a slower cpu will bottleneck your computer, but a lot of the perceived bottlenecking also has to do with a game being particularly more cpu-intensive, so you won't notice as much of a bottleneck if the game is gpu-intensive. Crysis, as far as what I've tested, seems gpu-bound, because overclocking my cpu (E2160) barely brought up an increase in framerate at all

NosBoost, a chunk of your 3DMark score comes from CPU tests. If you compare your SM2/HDR-SM3 scores of the other 2900PROs with the core2quads, you'll probably see some pretty close numbers save for the cpu score

 

[veg1992]

^ very educated response... but i didn't know 3dmark was mostly CPU... i always thought it was a GPU test

 

[gurusan]

Yeah it depends on the game.

For example Unreal Tournament 3 will most likely be bottlenecked as I've found it's extremely CPU dependent.

In fact it's the only game I've ever played that maxes both my cores 100%.

 

[Merkwürdigeliebe]

^ very educated response... but i didn't know 3dmark was mostly CPU... i always thought it was a GPU test

I didn't really say that vernong. If you look at your final score, at the bottom, it's split into three categories:

-SM2.0 Score
-HDR/SM3.0 Score
-CPU Score

The top two test out your GPU and the last one tests out your CPU, so it's 2/3 graphics card benching and 1/3 CPU benching, as far as graphics processing's concerned.

The point I wanted to make is that if the cpu was literally bottlenecking your graphics card, then your SM2.0 and HDR/SM3.0 scores would suffer, however, if the game is particularly CPU-intensive, it doesn't matter what you set your graphics settings to, you'll still get poor performance, for example, with my old P4/512MB-PC100/9600XT system, I maxed out in CS:S at 20 fps whether I was maxed out at full res in DX9 or running 640x480 with low-settings in DX7, because my P4 and old ram just couldn't handle the physics and computing other aspects of the game. The graphics are really just a facade to the skeleton of performance which comes down to your cpu. In a sense, both situations would be considered bottlenecking, but with completely different reasons. In one case, it may vary from game to game, whereas in the other case, it will bring limitations to any game you try and play (like pairing up an 8800GTX with a P4).

 

[veg1992]

I didn't really say that vernong. If you look at your final score, at the bottom, it's split into three categories:

-SM2.0 Score
-HDR/SM3.0 Score
-CPU Score

The top two test out your GPU and the last one tests out your CPU, so it's 2/3 graphics card benching and 1/3 CPU benching, as far as graphics processing's concerned.

The point I wanted to make is that if the cpu was literally bottlenecking your graphics card, then your SM2.0 and HDR/SM3.0 scores would suffer, however, if the game is particularly CPU-intensive, it doesn't matter what you set your graphics settings to, you'll still get poor performance, for example, with my old P4/512MB-PC100/9600XT system, I maxed out in CS:S at 20 fps whether I was maxed out at full res in DX9 or running 640x480 with low-settings in DX7, because my P4 and old ram just couldn't handle the physics and computing other aspects of the game. The graphics are really just a facade to the skeleton of performance which comes down to your cpu. In a sense, both situations would be considered bottlenecking, but with completely different reasons. In one case, it may vary from game to game, whereas in the other case, it will bring limitations to any game you try and play (like pairing up an 8800GTX with a P4).

lol.. i've never really run a 3dmark06 score..except on taht e4300+ system I used to have... and htat scored like 7800 and that had a 7950gt... and i just looked at the score.. nothing else.. haha

 

[Drizzt]

ok, well i am getting the 8800 but i am most definatly not getting a new mobo and cpu + ram seeing as i only got this mobo, cpu, and ram 3 months ago...

After evga approves my request for the stepup program (i'm #420 on waitng list atm) i just need to sell my other 8500 .. which might be a little difficult.

if i oc my cpu from 2.41 to 2.8, will i need an upgraded cooling system?

 

[gurusan]

You will most likely need to get a new heatsink, yes.

This one will do the job and is quite a good deal after the rebate
Newegg.com - Rosewill RCX-Z940-SL 92mm 2 Ball CPU Cooler - Retail

 

[Drizzt]

wow thanks.

Will i need improved cooling even if i dont oc my cpu and just get an 8800? or will the 8800 provide its on cooling for itself?