GPU Bottleneck, need advices for an optimized video card for my old motherboard.

[BigFoots]

Hi all,

Before i start, please excuse my english, it's not my native language

I need some advices so i can choose the right video card upgrade for my actual setup. I don't want to spend too much $$ for small payback in performance.

I did some tests with GPU-Z and the window performances monitor so i could figure who was bottlenecking between my CPU and GPU. I tested with DIablo 3 and Team fortress 2 with 16 bots.

Overall, CPU was at about 70-72% while the Video card was at 98-100%.

Also, while playing Tf2, CPU % increased as i added more bots and FPS went up as i decreased the textures quality.

My setup:
------------
Antec 300 (ATX)
Intel Core2Duo E8400
MOBO Asus P5QL-Pro (P43,PCIE)
Sapphire PCI Radeo HD4870 (1GB)
HDD Sata2 Western digital 320 gigs 7200 rpm
PSU Antec 650 W Earth (EA650)
RAM: Kingston KVR 800 Mhz DDR2 4GB
-------------

I will buy another hard drive soon, no worries

I have 2 questions:

1- Which videocard should i get to maximise my gaming performance ?? (i might overclock the cpu later, if it's worth it).

2- Assuming i will change my hard drive (Prob SSD) ... do you think having another 4GB ram will help to prevent the cpu from bottlenecking the new/improved video card ??


That's it i think, tell me if you need more informations !

Thanks in advance for your help, have a nice day !

Jack

 

[bicycle_repair_man]

You need to upgrade both the CPU and GPU. If you only do one, it will be bottlenecked by the other. All the components need to be on a level playing field.

If you don't want to spend a lot of money, then you can opt for a Core 2 Quad instead of shelling out for a new CPU and motherboard. If you paired this with a GTX 650 Ti or HD 7850, then you'd have something reasonably good. If you want to get into AAA gaming then your PC will likely need a complete overhaul.

What's your total budget?

 

[BigFoots]

damn

Well my primary goal was to upgrade my machine so i could play my actual games smoother (Diablo 3, Starcraft 2, Teamfortress 2 without fps cfg) and still be able to play Fallout 4 and GTA 5. As long as the graphics are fluids and nice, i don't really need ultra settings or 4K since i would have to change my monitor too.

My budget would be max 400-450$.

I have the GTX650TI in mind, which Quad cpu do you think would be worth investing ??

Thanks

 

[bicycle_repair_man]

Upgrading to a Core 2 Quad and a GTX 650 Ti would be fine for your current roster of games, and GTA V should run pretty well too. The minimum system requirements are a Core 2 Quad Q6600 and 9800 GT.

As far as I know, Bethesda haven't released the system requirements for Fallout 4 yet, but the previous games were pretty light on hardware, so hopefully the new one will continue that trend.

If you currently have a budget of $400-$450 then I'd suggest that you save a little longer and upgrade the motherboard, CPU, GPU and RAM in one fell swoop.

 

[BigFoots]

Thanks for your time ! I digged a bit about the Q series CPU and i realize the upgrade is not worth it at all ... the prices are still high for the small improvement i will get.

I will get a new hard drive for now and in a few months, i plan to go with I5-4590 / GTX960 / Asus H97 / 8GB ram / 500GB SSD + 1TB HD

Now i just hope i'll be able to keep this setup for 5 years like i did with my current one !

 

[bicycle_repair_man]

Sounds good, and prices for Haswell CPUs may have dropped in price by the time you come to buy.

A GTX 960 is fine for the most part, but if you go for the 2GB version, you may find that to be a bottleneck. I would go for a GPU with at least 3GB of VRAM these days.

 

[BigFoots]

Noted ! But i might upgrade for a GTX970,so it's either de 4GB verison or the GTX970 the prices will steer me for this one

Thanks again for your time.