Battlefield 3 with socket 775

[decto]

Hi,

I'm currently running a Q6700/Q6600 as my main PC as it's handled nearly everything I threw at it over the years. Having installed a GTX560Ti I noticed a significant boost in FPS, nearly double that of a GTX280. Tracking this in MSI afterburner showed typically 60-80% GPU usage at high settings while playing multiplayer.

I popped onto Smogsy's server earlier for a few maps and was on the side that took a real kicking though while I was there I set MSI Afterburner to logging and recorded the data in the graph below.

System
Q6700 @ 3.6Ghz (400 x 9)
P5N-D n750i
8GB Kingston DDR1066 @ DDR800 4 x 2GB
Palit 2GB GTX560Ti
LG 120Hz monitor ... forget the model but it's discontinued now.
Res 1080p

Looking at the graphs, the bit where it hits 120fps is loading between levels. Excluding this the average in actual gameplay is 42fps. The average GPU usage, again in gameplay is 70%.

The only reason for such low GPU usage is a CPU bottleneck in multiplayer so I'm now looking at Sandy B. The GTX560 is still a good upgrade from a GTX280 where I averaged 21fps with lower settings but clearly the S775 Quad doesn't let it stretch it's legs.

Thought this might be useful for those out there, who like me can't find any meaningful data for our elderly systems.

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[decto]

The game plays perfectly, 40fps is more than enough for decent gameplay. It's only with the stats you can see what's going on.

Would be interested to see similar stats from an I5 users with similar card.

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[decto]

This game gains 0% improvement from better CPUs or higher CPU clock spped. It is only GPU dependant.

The published benchmarks were completed using scripted campaign events and show unsurprisingly that there is a defined workload for the CPU which most CPU's cope with and increasing the CPU speed does not have much effect. I spent enough time getting shot in the campaigns to see that when you get to point x event y happens.

Multiplayer is very different, I get a significant increase in FPS from overclocking the CPU from default 2.6 to 3.6. The data clearly shows the GPU is only 60-80% utilised and the frame rate spikes a lot even though half the time I'm running across open ground with a fairly consistent view.

In addition it's not just about CPU, the platform bandwidth is a factor.

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[decto]

Decto,

I have a similar system as yourself. Could you tell me how you output that graph?

My HardwareMonitoring.hml outputs differently.



I also get low GPU usage on my 480.

I don't know a way to directly output a graph, the MSI file is comma separated data. (.csv)

I opened it with excel and imported the data using the comma as the separator. Then it's just a few minutes to create the graph.

For the averages I quote I excluded any data where I wasn't in actual gameplay.

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[decto]

I cannot see in Afterburner any .csv files. I will look into it further.

I also reckon my Q6600 is bottlenecking my 480. SB for me soon also!

Sorry, it's not actually a .csv file but it is formatted the same.

File is .hml

Open with excel or another spreadsheet and it should let you reformat the data into columns.

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Edit:
Have an I5 and 16GB in the draw .... motherboard in the post as I couldn't decide which one when I ordered the other parts.

 

[decto]

What Mobo did you go for?

I am leaning towards the Asrock extreme 4 gen 3.

After much contemplation I went for the Gigabyte Z68XP-UD3P Intel Z68 though was was a little cheaper than current price.

Support for Gen 3 with ivy bridge
12 stage VRM
Lucid virtu ... whatever built in.
PCI-E runs at 2 x 8 and supports SLI or Crossfire (asrock has the same split 1x16 or 2x8 + 1x4)
USB 3
SATA 6mbps


There are better boards out there and some with more OC options. I'll be overclocking to the 4-4.5Ghz range depending on how much voltage it needs. Usually find the last couple of hundred Mhz take the most effort. My current quad has been at 3.0 - 3.2 for most of it's life, only running 3.6 now to see what the limit of s775 is. Take a little too much cooling and robs the power budget away from the option of SLI.

I may run SLI or Crossfire so good to have the option. Worth a bit more than the non SLI boards but can't quite justify the cost of the ASROCK for my usage. I spent the extra on another 8GB DDR3.

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http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-360-GI&groupid=701&catid=5&subcat=1990

 

[decto]

decto i went for the cheaper version and hit 4.6 without adjusting anything cept multi.

awesome ..... hope it's that easy for me. The P5N-D I have now has lots of character..... to be kind to it.

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