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Phenom II x2 550 bottlenecking with a HD 6850.

LiamJ

LiamJ

LiamJ

Associate
Joined
19 Dec 2010
Posts
1,394
Hey guys!

I bought a HD 6850 just after Christmas, and it arrived on New Year's Eve. I got it built up in my new case as well when I was hungover the next day. :p

However, with being quite busy since then, I've only just got round to properly doing some benchmarks etc., and I've only just found a piece of software that will let me log both CPU and GPU utilization at the same time. This crucial piece of software has let me identify how/what is bottlenecking my system.

Anyway, I'll let the graphs speak for themselves, as they are pretty conclusive. I tested Call of Duty 4 and Black Ops as these were the only recent games installed on my HDD, along with a run of 3DMark 11.

My specs are in my sig, and I'm gaming at a resolution of 1680x1050. CoD4 was played at maximum possible settings, including 16xAA (through the console). Black Ops was played with full textures, 4xAA, and a few things turned off to keep FPS from dropping too much.

Pics:
callofduty4j.jpg


blackopsl.jpg


3dmark11z.jpg



I am expecting to be putting a new CPU in my system within the next few months, maybe even as far as Easter depending on cashflow. I reckon a PII x4 955 would do nicely.
 
Not 100 percent on this but i believe that you may be able to unlock the 3rd and 4th cores on that dual core cpu. Its normally pot luck whether you can or not. I have never actually tried it but i believe its called advanced core control (ACC) in the BIOS. Try enabling this or selecting all cores option etc. Like i said it may not work but if it does you will have a fully working quad core and that should help with you bottleneck :)
 
If you have ACC in your BIOS I would give the unlocking the cores a try. Just make sure you return your CPU to stock speeds before you do this, and bump the voltages to 1.4v.

As for COD, they're console ports, so don't expect them to max out your GPU.
 
Previously tried and failed. One of the reasons I chose this CPU/mono combination. :(

Contemplating ordering BF:BC2, although I hear it's very CPU limited anyway. Maybe try Mafia II or MoH instead/as well? What do you recommend?
 
Black Ops is about the only recent game I have. I have L4D2, MW2, The Orange Box, Fallout New Vegas, but they're all not installed as I did a fresh one after Xmas.

I was planning a CPU upgrade along with my GPU, but I spent extra on the GPU, then couldnt afford the 955, so I bought a new case! :p
 
I used AIDA64 to log GPU and CPU utilization into a .csv file. I then opened up the data into Microsoft Excel, and formed a graph using the data.
 
Clocked to 3.6GHz at the moment, with the voltage bumped up to 1.4V from 1.35V VID.

Stable for about 10 hours of Prime, and 50 or so passes of Linx at this speed. CPU never goes above 60c on stock cooler.

I was quite gutted about not being able to unlock. Forces me to spend another hundred quid on a new CPU! :(
 
Don't worry about CPU utilisation in 3DMark06. It's supposed to be CPU limited by design at the points you show. The graphics are rendered by the CPU not the GPU at that point. Even if you had the greatest CPU from 2020 running it GPU utilisation will still be close to zero.

What sort of framerates are you getting in the two COD games?

Edit: When you say your CPU doesn't unlock, what happened when you tried? I've unlocked two CPUs. One was very easy. The other took some serious work just to get into Windows.
 
Last edited:
Yes, I know about the difference in each test. The final combined test is what should be focused on.

Regarding the unlock, the first time I did it on stock volts but it crashed while loading Windows. I managed to boot at 1.4V, and CPU-Z etc., all showed only 3 cores. Blue screened shortly though. It then took 1.525V to be able to finish a run of 3dmark 06. But it was still very hot and unstable.

In CoD4, I'm getting a constant 125 fps with everything turned up as far as possible. In Black Ops, I seem to get 40-60 fps, some maps slightly higher, with textures on high/extra, 4xAA, no AF and no DoF or anything.
 
So COD4 isn't actually bottlenecked in any meaningful way?

In Black Ops crank those settings up (AA, AF and DoF etc). You'll soon find your graphics card is more utilised if you re-run the graph.
 
Yes, but I could get the same in CoD4, or close enough, with a GTS 250.

I'll be sure to do some more in-depth testing tomorrow. I'm going to bed! :D
 
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