Asus P5n-E sli - HD 7970 - Compatibility

[Ghasp]

Hi, here are my specs

- Intel core 2 Quad Q6600 @2.4Ghz
- 4gb Ram DDR2
- Asus P5n-E sli Motherboard
- 600w PSU
- Nvidia GeForce GTS 250 graphics card

As you can see my system is a bit dated,but I want to boost my FPS in games. I really have my eye on - MSI Radeon HD 7970 Twin Frozr OC Boost Edition R7970 TF 3GD5/OC BE Video Card

Will this work with my system? Is there potential bottle-necking? Thanks in advance.

 

[slomo4sho]

The 7970 is compatible but you will likely run into bottleneck issues. I would also recommend grabbing a good aftermarket cooler and overclocking the rig.

 

[Ghasp]

Thanks for the response:

Because the card is so cheap at this point, just wondering, any idea how much of a bottleneck I would be looking at? I mean if its not too bad I wouldn't mind as I could also take out the card and use is it for a newer rig later on. As I am not too savvy on Over Clocking anything.

Thanks in advance.

 

[slomo4sho]

Thanks for the response:

Because the card is so cheap at this point, just wondering, any idea how much of a bottleneck I would be looking at? I mean if its not too bad I wouldn't mind as I could also take out the card and use is it for a newer rig later on. As I am not too savvy on Over Clocking anything.

Thanks in advance.

These benches are with a 7970:
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/piledriver-k10-cpu-overclocking,3584-3.html

You are looking at performance less than the stock Q9550 which is basically equivalent to modern entry level CPUs.

 

[Ghasp]

Ok, slightly confusing to me. But the gist is that if I don't overclock I am losing a lot of potential FPS. If I am successful at overclocking my current system, what is my max range in which I could OC to?

Thanks!

 

[slomo4sho]

Average on air is 3.5GHz which would put you around the 3.4GHz overclock of the Q9550. However, realistically you shouldn't expect much more than 3.2GHz. Is there any option for replacing the motherboard, CPU and Ram and selling your existing components?

 

[Ghasp]

Doesn't seem like a lot more, or I may be reading the chart wrong. Am I better off replacing the whole MOBO; or perhaps getting a card with less bottle necking potential?

Also, I stumbled on to this thread - http://http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/forum/358350-33-express-card-pcie-slot-compatible-performance

I looks like I would only loose 3% performance, or I could be reading the chart wrong again?

I appreciate the help, Im new to the whole overclocking/bottleneck issues. Thanks!