What is bottlenecking my PC?

djmonstadjmonsta London, UK Member
edited November 2011 in Hardware
I have just installed an Asus GeForce GTX 560Ti DirectCU II TOP 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card. I have also just upgraded my 480w PSU to an Antec 650w PSU. I have an Intel Core 2 Duo E8600 3.33Ghz (@4.10Ghz). 4Gb DDR2 RAM. My question is, is my CPU strong enough to play the games coming out today? I know my graphics card is more than good enough, I hope my CPU is good enough as that particular model LOVES to be OC'd, how much difference would a new MB and DDR3 RAM make? Hopefully you guys can help me decide on my next upgrade. I have just spent £450 on a 24" Wide 1080p HD monitor, that PSU and that graphics card. I am looking for a potential bottlenexk in the performance of my system and looking for advice as to what to upgrade next...

Comments

  • primesuspectprimesuspect Beepin n' Boopin Detroit, MI Icrontian
    edited November 2011
    That system should definitely play any current game
  • djmonstadjmonsta London, UK Member
    edited November 2011
    just got my system stable @ 4.25Ghz...
  • ThraxThrax 🐌 Austin, TX Icrontian
    edited November 2011
    Your CPU is your bottleneck. The C2D is fast, but it'll choke any good GPU at high resolutions and, despite popular opinion, CPU peformance really *has* come a. Long way over the last five years.
  • djmonstadjmonsta London, UK Member
    edited November 2011
    Really? I looked on the FutureMark website and at stock speed my CPU is rated better than most i5's... I now have a 30%ish overclock so I would hope that it is still pretty quick?
  • ThraxThrax 🐌 Austin, TX Icrontian
    edited November 2011
    Clockspeed means nothing.
  • djmonstadjmonsta London, UK Member
    edited November 2011
    how so?
  • ThraxThrax 🐌 Austin, TX Icrontian
    edited November 2011
    To provide an analogy: mhz is just a rating of how many trucks per hour can make it their destination across town per lane of traffic. It has no bearing on how many lanes the road has, or how much those trucks are actually hauling. Phenom II, AMD FX, Core i5 and Core i7 all have more lanes for more trucks that carry more than the C2D.
  • djmonstadjmonsta London, UK Member
    edited November 2011
    I get what you are saying Thrax. So I have 2 cores @ 2.125Ghz. Some i7's have 6 cores, so you can triple the bandwith with one of those. I guess it is down to the programs you use, whether they are designed to use 2 cores or 4 or 6?
  • ThraxThrax 🐌 Austin, TX Icrontian
    edited November 2011
    It's not just across X number of cores, either. Per individual core, those are all faster than C2D. Even if an app, say, used 2 cores, each core would be faster on a newer CPU *and* it wouldnt be fighting Windows for resources, because now you have two spare cores (or more) for Windows to do its thing on.
  • djmonstadjmonsta London, UK Member
    edited November 2011
    lol ok thrax I get ya. I think give it a 12 months I will get a new MB/CPU/DDR3 (DDR4 will probably be out soon) but atm I'm pretty happy with my C2D @ 4.25! Anything I am running atm is quick & smooth. I have installed Skyrim and although its not my kind of thing my housemate says it plays better than his PS3. Also, Intel have recently just introduced a new socket type... Are we expecting a new type of processor soon then? Maybe an i9?
  • ThraxThrax 🐌 Austin, TX Icrontian
    edited November 2011
    Socket 2011 will presumably be the enthusiast socket for Intel's next-gen enthusiast CPUs, based on whatever they end up calling the enthusiast version of the 22nm Ivy Bridge architecture. For now, it's the new enthusiast socket for the Core i7 3000 Series CPUs. Before enthusiast Ivy Bridge, though, Intel will update socket 1155 to replace CPUs like the 2600k with the "performance" class Ivy Bridge parts.

    If the value of the i7 3000 was any indicator, the Ivy Bridge performance parts in March will be the Intel CPU to wait for. Ivy Bridge-E may very well stink.
  • djmonstadjmonsta London, UK Member
    edited November 2011
    LOL well as I say I'm happy to stick with my current setup for 12 months, and we will see what the future holds! But back to the original question, how does my rig hold up for the current games out?
  • ThraxThrax 🐌 Austin, TX Icrontian
    edited November 2011
    Your rig will probably be just fine.
  • shwaipshwaip bluffin' with my muffin Icrontian
    edited November 2011
    If you want a quick, cheap(ish) upgrade, you can see if you can pick up a used core 2 quad and overclock that to 4ghz.
  • djmonstadjmonsta London, UK Member
    edited November 2011
    Nice, but my C2D is on 4.25Ghz already... How many applications are designed for more than 2 cores now?
  • ThraxThrax 🐌 Austin, TX Icrontian
    edited November 2011
    Four cores = your games aren't fighting Windows for access to CPU cores.
  • djmonstadjmonsta London, UK Member
    edited November 2011
    @ Thrax, thank you. The next upgrade I do I think will be 6 cores at a highly overclockable potential. ATM I think I'm ok, give it 12 months I will spend some money. So, the overall opinion is that my rig is ok, but on its last legs, so to speak. It is pretty perfect for waht I want it for; I'm not a massive gamer. But thank you all of you who contributed. :-)
Sign In or Register to comment.