i3 540 @ 4.2ghz bottleneck 7950?

balky12 · 31 Oct 2013 at 14:48

Basically guys I have a few upgrades to my rig lined up. Can't really get them in one go and with BF4 looming I was wondering what way to go.

I might upgrade my gtx460 to 7950 boost, but would my i3 540 bottleneck it severly?

this would be the easiest upgrade as replacing the cpu will require a new mobo and maybe even new RAM.

Martini1991 · 31 Oct 2013 at 14:49

It'll be a sizable bottleneck.

wazza300 · 31 Oct 2013 at 15:18

I think you'd manage ok turn down the settings a little?

balky12 · 31 Oct 2013 at 15:28

Would it be an improvement on the gtx460 though? Or will it turn into a stuttering mess?!

Also, wouldnt turning the gfx settings up help? Make the GPU do most of the work, taking a load off the CPU?

wazza300 · 31 Oct 2013 at 15:30

yes you'll see an improvement

how much pc ram? if 4gb you'll see stuttering,ive only tested an oc'd 7850 with an i3 540 and it ran fine,but I used 8gb of memory

ObscureParadox · 31 Oct 2013 at 15:30

balky12 said:
Would it be an improvement on the gtx460 though? Or will it turn into a stuttering mess?!

Also, wouldnt turning the gfx settings up help? Make the GPU do most of the work, taking a load off the CPU?

Nope doesn't work like that, the CPU will have almost the same sort of load no matter what because it doesn't deal with the graphics side of things.

It would be an improvement but until you upgrade the CPU you wouldn't see the full benefit of the new GPU

balky12 · 31 Oct 2013 at 15:34

4gb RAM, doh.

Going to have to save save save ^^

Thanks guys

Gav_881 · 31 Oct 2013 at 15:37

it will bottleneck but your 460 will be a bottleneck at the mo so your still going to have an improvement and when you drop a new chip in your going to see a big boost.

wazza300 · 31 Oct 2013 at 15:40

balky12 said:
4gb RAM, doh.

Going to have to save save save ^^

Thanks guys

that's your major hurdle,esp with multithreaded games,i had same stuttering issue on la noire and 4gb of ram,plopped in 8gb and it was smooth as butter but I already had a 64bit version of windows so make sure you also change that if your running 32bit change it to 64bit or else it will only use upto 3.5gb of memory no matter how much ram you stick in there

you'll be surprised how well the little 540 holds up in games, even a 7850 eats a 460

balky12 · 31 Oct 2013 at 15:50

I have the 64bit. Maybe I'll chuck in some new RAM first, see what that does. Only thing is I will be updating the mobo soon anyways... the Asus P7P55D E - EVO has well and truly passed it.

Gav_881 · 31 Oct 2013 at 15:59

Your still looking at DDR3 RAM so theres nothing stopping you transfering it when you get your new board

balky12 · 31 Oct 2013 at 16:09

Gav_881 said:
Your still looking at DDR3 RAM so theres nothing stopping you transfering it when you get your new board

True, think I have 2x2GB DDR3 1333Mhz.

Now will i have to buy 2x2GB 1333Mhz or can i get 2x 'x'GB 1600mhz?

wazza300 · 31 Oct 2013 at 16:13

2x 4gb 1600mhz would be best

Gav_881 · 31 Oct 2013 at 22:24

wazza300 said:
2x 4gb 1600mhz would be best

I'd second that