CPU and GPU question.

xGaffner

xGaffner

xGaffner

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7 Jun 2009
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388
Hi guys i'm new here. I was just wondering if a ATi HD 4890 would have any bottlenecking issues (or any other hardware issues) with a Gigabyte GA-M61PME-S2P nForce 430 PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard and a AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core 7850+ Black Edition 2.80GHz. I know this may seem like a nooby question but i'm not exactly the brigtest spark in the box when it comes to computers. I really do not want to buy this card and then run into problems when i get it. Help would be massively appreciated. Thanks.
 
I'm pretty sure it will do yes, but you haven't told us what resolution you game at. if your screen is massive it'll stress the graphics card more and it'll balance out somewhat.

If its a normal 20" or less, than you're buying a graphics card which is far more powerful than the processor. That it costs more than your motherboard, cpu and ram combined is probably a hint that things are out of balance. What power supply are you using with this?
 
Agreed, it should be fine with your mobo as it has a PCI-E x16 slot.

As for bottlenecking, I'm pretty sure that at stock CPU speeds the GPU will be faster than the CPU - so games will be limited by the CPU. However, if you gave the AMD chip a nice overclock you should be able to raise the framerate a bit. But overall that setup should play games very well.
 
Thanks a lot for the replies guys.
JonJ678: Yes it's a 20" monitor. Is that a problem at all mate?
cmndr_andi: Good, i'm glad. You mentioned the games will be limited to the CPU. What about Crysis then. Crysis is a pretty hardware intensive game. What about that?
 
Psu will be fine then. No, you will not be running crisis on full settings with a 7850be.

Frame rates will be the same as with a cheaper graphics card because your processor cannot keep up with the 4890. This is bottlenecking. 20" isn't a problem no, but it's low enough that the 4890 is overkill for your system.

If you manage to overclock the cpu (I got nowhere with my 7750be) then things will be better. However at stock, this is not the gpu to buy :)
 
Crysis should be playable with your configuration. Have a look at this review, as well as this one. These are playable framerates and the first review is using graphics cards a bit less powerful than the 4890. The second review uses a GPU with performance similar to the 4890 (GTX 280) and it shows that even a small CPU overclock 2.8GHz to 3.1GHz yields a meaningful FPS increase (30.9FPS to 32.7FPS).

My assessment - overclock the CPU to get more performance, but gaming performance will be CPU bound. You may be better off getting a 4870 (cheaper) as you will likely not see all of the 4890's power.
 
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Cheers guys, appreciate the advice. Also for the record. I'm not really picky about playing at the highest resolution and highest setting. I can play at 720p with settings on medium if i wanted to happily.
 
That will help :)

I suggest a thread in the graphics section asking what graphics card for your 4gb/7850be computer running at 1068x1050. I think the answer will cost less than the 4890
 
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