which graphics card to upgrade too?

[fields999]

Its an nvidia nforce 720a.

 

[MadDog56]

As I said the GTS250 is just the 9800GTX in a new frock, something I learned upon reading the article I linked to.

I think your definition of bottleneck is different than mine. I define it as a limiting factor that in this case would render any video card upgrade useless because the CPU is already maxed out. This I do not agree with, but I would agree that he'd get higher frame rates with a more powerful processor and that the speed of the processor becomes more of an issue the more powerful a card gets. That said I don't agree that 3.2ghz is necessarily the required speed, as there are a number of phenoms and core2 quads that don't hit that mark that would be up to the task. At this point I feel that upgrading from his current video card will yield him higher frame rates than if he kept the same video card and upgraded the CPU, thus I make my recommendation to upgrade the card and not worry about the CPU for now because without the video card upgrade he wouldn't need it anyway.

 

[boredgunner]

I never said 3.2 ghz was the required speed, I just used it for an example. For a GTS 250, just get to the upper 2 ghz area.

 

[fields999]

First of all i need a psu, thinking about a,

Cooler Master Real Power M520 - 520W Modular Power Supply Unit.

This seems like it will be capable for an upgrade.

 

[MadDog56]

I never said 3.2 ghz was the required speed, I just used it for an example. For a GTS 250, just get to the upper 2 ghz area.

Taking a look at these tests (I've been spending too much time on Tom's I know ) there is a negligible increase in performance (6%) from a 2.6ghz dual core to a 3.2ghz quad core when using a 9800GTX. I don't think his CPU is going to be a big problem with a GTS250/9800GTX.

CPU Power for the Graphics Cards - Review Tom's Hardware : GPU vs. CPU Upgrade: Extensive Tests

 

[fields999]

Maybe i should overclock my cpu?

 

[boredgunner]

The COOLER MASTER Real Power M520 is a solid unit. I believe we all recommend some CPU overclocking, just a little bit.

 

[fields999]

How much do you think i could overclock it with that new Psu?

 

[boredgunner]

Enough. Around 2.8 ghz or so will be fine. If you weren't getting a new GPU you could take your CPU to it's max (which isn't very high).

 

[fields999]

If i overclock it to 2.8 X3, will i need some extra cooling along with the Psu?

 

[boredgunner]

I read that the stock AMD CPU cooler is better than the Intel stock cooler, so you should be okay. I'm not sure though, as long as your CPU doesn't pass 60 degrees Celsius you'll be okay. Sure they operate at over 60 but GPU's also operate at 100 degrees Celsius, you don't want that.

 

[fields999]

Ok, do you know any software that can monitor my cpu's temperature?

Thanks

 

[boredgunner]

It's in that link I posted before that had DiskInfo. Use RealTemp. This is a very useful post, you should add it to your favorites.

Crytek's Official Modding Portal | Hardware | Keep your PC stable and up to date

 

[MadDog56]

Use AMD's OverDrive utility, go to the amd website to find it.

You aren't going to get to 2.8ghz with that cpu. I don't think there was ever an 8650 Black Edition and even if you had the unlocked multiplier I still think 2.8ghz would be a stretch.

 

[fields999]

I think 2.6 should be fine atleast, il use the one on amd's site aswell.

 

[thepizzaman]

Video cards run off the CPU, 2.3 ghz will bottleneck any good GPU, especially since you have an AMD CPU. How many wattage are on your power supply as well as the amperage on the +12v rail(s)? You're going to have to either find your exact PSU on the web or look at the sticker on the PSU (which will probably require disassembly, so look for your PSU on the web first).

ok a triple core will not bottle neck a video card unless you are using a super high end card

I saw a noticeable performance increase in one of my old systems when I overclocked an E6600 from 2.40 ghz to 3.0 ghz, running an 8800GTX video card (which performs worse than a 9800GTX+/GTS 250) at 1280 x 1024. Then again that is a low resolution and relies more on the CPU. 2.3 ghz is a slow speed regardless, you'll get a big jump in performance if you go to 3.2 ghz or so, even at 1680 x 1050.

The GTS 250 is just a 9800GTX+ but with a faster core clock speed (EVGA's default model is 756 mhz opposed to 738 mhz). It works in SLI only with a 9800GTX+ which must have both equal memory size and memory clock, it doesn't SLI with a 9800GTX at all. That's just silly. Of course a bios flash will most likely change this, but you'll also lose your warranty.

yes because your processor was running at a faster speed which improved things
not because it was bottlenecking the gpu

 

[boredgunner]

Video cards run off the CPU, 2.3 ghz will bottleneck any good GPU, especially since you have an AMD CPU. How many wattage are on your power supply as well as the amperage on the +12v rail(s)? You're going to have to either find your exact PSU on the web or look at the sticker on the PSU (which will probably require disassembly, so look for your PSU on the web first).

ok a triple core will not bottle neck a video card unless you are using a super high end card

It's not whether it's a triple core or not. The Intel Core 2 DUO E8xxx series outperform the AMD Phenom CPU's (not Phenom II) in quad-core applications.

I saw a noticeable performance increase in one of my old systems when I overclocked an E6600 from 2.40 ghz to 3.0 ghz, running an 8800GTX video card (which performs worse than a 9800GTX+/GTS 250) at 1280 x 1024. Then again that is a low resolution and relies more on the CPU. 2.3 ghz is a slow speed regardless, you'll get a big jump in performance if you go to 3.2 ghz or so, even at 1680 x 1050.

The GTS 250 is just a 9800GTX+ but with a faster core clock speed (EVGA's default model is 756 mhz opposed to 738 mhz). It works in SLI only with a 9800GTX+ which must have both equal memory size and memory clock, it doesn't SLI with a 9800GTX at all. That's just silly. Of course a bios flash will most likely change this, but you'll also lose your warranty.

yes because your processor was running at a faster speed which improved things
not because it was bottlenecking the gpu

It was bottlenecking my GPU, that increase in CPU speed allowed my graphics score to improve in 3DMark Vantage.

 

[thepizzaman]

Video cards run off the CPU, 2.3 ghz will bottleneck any good GPU, especially since you have an AMD CPU. How many wattage are on your power supply as well as the amperage on the +12v rail(s)? You're going to have to either find your exact PSU on the web or look at the sticker on the PSU (which will probably require disassembly, so look for your PSU on the web first).

ok a triple core will not bottle neck a video card unless you are using a super high end card

It's not whether it's a triple core or not. The Intel Core 2 DUO E8xxx series outperform the AMD Phenom CPU's (not Phenom II) in quad-core applications.

I saw a noticeable performance increase in one of my old systems when I overclocked an E6600 from 2.40 ghz to 3.0 ghz, running an 8800GTX video card (which performs worse than a 9800GTX+/GTS 250) at 1280 x 1024. Then again that is a low resolution and relies more on the CPU. 2.3 ghz is a slow speed regardless, you'll get a big jump in performance if you go to 3.2 ghz or so, even at 1680 x 1050.

The GTS 250 is just a 9800GTX+ but with a faster core clock speed (EVGA's default model is 756 mhz opposed to 738 mhz). It works in SLI only with a 9800GTX+ which must have both equal memory size and memory clock, it doesn't SLI with a 9800GTX at all. That's just silly. Of course a bios flash will most likely change this, but you'll also lose your warranty.

yes because your processor was running at a faster speed which improved things
not because it was bottlenecking the gpu

It was bottlenecking my GPU, that increase in CPU speed allowed my graphics score to improve in 3DMark Vantage.

ok as i said high end gpu

 

[boredgunner]

GTS 250 is high end. You also forgot the fact that the OP only has a 1280 x 1024 monitor, therefore the CPU does a lot more work (compared to 1680 x 1050 and above).

 

[thepizzaman]

ok anyway...