One last question, lol......when would my CPU be a bottleneck?

DudeNtheRoom · 05-10-2012, 08:32 AM

So, I've made a couple of threads saying that I'm upgrading my PC very soon.

I'm looking at all of the cards and I'm seeing some astounding speeds for GPUs. A major jump from the 500 series to the 600 series. But the 500 series has more bit depth (usually 320bit + vs 256 for the most of the affordable 600 series).

I don't want to spend the money just to have a fast GPU. If I can save some for something else and get a GPU that isn't going to negate itself due to my CPU I would rather do that.

My CPU is a i5 760 2.8Ghz 8MB cache. It's done fine so far and I think it's a well rounded CPU. RAM is cheap and I'm not too worried about that.

Alshain · 05-10-2012, 08:43 AM

The 6xx series is not going to be necessary to play games for many many years. You will be able to get higher resolutions at max settings with them, but if your running 1080p you will get the majority of the games out there to run with near maximum settings with a 560Ti-448 or 570. The really "heavy hitters" type games like BF3, et al. you may have to turn down the settings a bit, but it's still going to look great.

rotNdude · 05-10-2012, 11:28 AM

The term bottleneck shouldn't be used because of the fact that every application is different regarding resources for the CPU and GPU. I normally spend about $300 for the video card with a new build.

DudeNtheRoom · 05-10-2012, 12:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rotNdude

The term bottleneck shouldn't be used because of the fact that every application is different regarding resources for the CPU and GPU. I normally spend about $300 for the video card with a new build.

But wouldn't it be safe to say that having the latest GPU teamed with a P4 would be sorta bottleneckish?

I know it's an extreme example but.....

I guess I'm just wondering if the 600 series (or if I waited even longer) would be an overkill for my CPU.

Alshain · 05-10-2012, 12:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DudeNtheRoom

But wouldn't it be safe to say that having the latest GPU teamed with a P4 would be sorta bottleneckish?

I know it's an extreme example but.....

I guess I'm just wondering if the 600 series (or if I waited even longer) would be an overkill for my CPU.

In that extreme example, yes it would. However, your CPU is that far behind yet. You wouldn't start bottlenecking like that until the Core 2 generation at least.

Unclejunebug · 05-10-2012, 01:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DudeNtheRoom

But wouldn't it be safe to say that having the latest GPU teamed with a P4 would be sorta bottleneckish?

But who, in their right mind, would actually do that? It's hypotheticals like this that make people worry about bottlenecks.

I'm with rotNdude, I think the term "bottleneck" is a waste of time. Along with "future proof." Whoever came up with that one?

venomblade89 · 05-10-2012, 01:35 PM

Yes your CPU would probably bottleneck the latest GPUs, but not so much to the point where making the upgrade to them wouldn't be worth it. Look into OC'ing your CPU if you're that worried. Use programs like MSI Afterburner to monitor GPU usage. It also heavily depends on the game you're playing and the resolution you're playing at. If your PSU could handle the 500/600 series I see no reason not to upgrade, especially when you could always upgrade CPUs in the future.

caveman26 · 05-10-2012, 01:59 PM

who cares if ones slower than the other just think when its upgrade time its one less thing to buy

i always try to buy the best i can now, and then the next time it should last that bit longer

went from
amd p1 quad 2.4 and 3850 512mb to 6870 1gb and amd p1 quad 2.4 then 2500k intel and 6870 i tend to leap frog them unless something brakes

Zodiark1593 · 05-10-2012, 04:11 PM

I really doubt that CO will bottleneck anything unless the game is just that hungry for processing power, and even then, it's really not far behind the Sandy Bridge and Ivy Bridge processors, certainly not enough to warrant an upgrade.

borg_7_of_9 · 05-10-2012, 04:54 PM

The term bottle neck really is a bad term
It's not just about the GPU or the CPU it's a combination of both and the game engine at hand..

You cant MAX BF3 on a GTX560Ti even with a I7 3960x CPU @1080 (Max is all setting on MAX BTW none of this MAX but only 2xAA or some crap)

But HL2 on the same card would fly even with an old Core2duo E8500
The question would be dose HL2 gain any performance with a GTX680, if you had an E8500 and tested every card from GTX560 to the current GTX680, as long as there is a gain the limit is not the cpu but if the gain drops sharply you have a cpu bottle neck, in this case for HL2 other less cpu demanding games may still show a gain this is why the term bottle neck is such a bad term as different games will exhibit different outcome's..

Anyway OP you will be fine for a few years on the cpu front..

05-10-2012, 08:32 AM	#1
DudeNtheRoom Join Date: Sep 2010 Reputation: 1566 Posts: 249	One last question, lol......when would my CPU be a bottleneck? So, I've made a couple of threads saying that I'm upgrading my PC very soon. I'm looking at all of the cards and I'm seeing some astounding speeds for GPUs. A major jump from the 500 series to the 600 series. But the 500 series has more bit depth (usually 320bit + vs 256 for the most of the affordable 600 series). I don't want to spend the money just to have a fast GPU. If I can save some for something else and get a GPU that isn't going to negate itself due to my CPU I would rather do that. My CPU is a i5 760 2.8Ghz 8MB cache. It's done fine so far and I think it's a well rounded CPU. RAM is cheap and I'm not too worried about that.

05-10-2012, 11:28 AM	#3
rotNdude Volunteer Moderator Join Date: Dec 2004 Reputation: 9180 Posts: 45,472	The term bottleneck shouldn't be used because of the fact that every application is different regarding resources for the CPU and GPU. I normally spend about $300 for the video card with a new build. __________________ Support Articles \| Support Account \| Forum Rules

05-10-2012, 01:35 PM	#7
venomblade89 Join Date: May 2010 Reputation: 326 Posts: 1,072	Yes your CPU would probably bottleneck the latest GPUs, but not so much to the point where making the upgrade to them wouldn't be worth it. Look into OC'ing your CPU if you're that worried. Use programs like MSI Afterburner to monitor GPU usage. It also heavily depends on the game you're playing and the resolution you're playing at. If your PSU could handle the 500/600 series I see no reason not to upgrade, especially when you could always upgrade CPUs in the future. Last edited by venomblade89: 05-10-2012 at 04:52 PM.

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05-10-2012, 08:43 AM	#2
Alshain Join Date: Mar 2009 Reputation: 737 Posts: 1,736	The 6xx series is not going to be necessary to play games for many many years. You will be able to get higher resolutions at max settings with them, but if your running 1080p you will get the majority of the games out there to run with near maximum settings with a 560Ti-448 or 570. The really "heavy hitters" type games like BF3, et al. you may have to turn down the settings a bit, but it's still going to look great.

05-10-2012, 01:59 PM	#8
caveman26 Join Date: Apr 2009 Reputation: 1645 Posts: 4,153	who cares if ones slower than the other just think when its upgrade time its one less thing to buy i always try to buy the best i can now, and then the next time it should last that bit longer went from amd p1 quad 2.4 and 3850 512mb to 6870 1gb and amd p1 quad 2.4 then 2500k intel and 6870 i tend to leap frog them unless something brakes

05-10-2012, 04:11 PM	#9
Zodiark1593 Join Date: Mar 2011 Reputation: 362 Posts: 913	I really doubt that CO will bottleneck anything unless the game is just that hungry for processing power, and even then, it's really not far behind the Sandy Bridge and Ivy Bridge processors, certainly not enough to warrant an upgrade.

05-10-2012, 04:54 PM	#10
borg_7_of_9 Join Date: Nov 2007 Reputation: 2604 Posts: 12,714	The term bottle neck really is a bad term It's not just about the GPU or the CPU it's a combination of both and the game engine at hand.. You cant MAX BF3 on a GTX560Ti even with a I7 3960x CPU @1080 (Max is all setting on MAX BTW none of this MAX but only 2xAA or some crap) But HL2 on the same card would fly even with an old Core2duo E8500 The question would be dose HL2 gain any performance with a GTX680, if you had an E8500 and tested every card from GTX560 to the current GTX680, as long as there is a gain the limit is not the cpu but if the gain drops sharply you have a cpu bottle neck, in this case for HL2 other less cpu demanding games may still show a gain this is why the term bottle neck is such a bad term as different games will exhibit different outcome's.. Anyway OP you will be fine for a few years on the cpu front..