GPU bottlenecked by an e8400?

[boomer2point0]

This summer Im thinking of upgrading my graphics card from a 4870 (512mb) to a GTX 295 or a 4870x2. I want to get some good 1920x1200 performance on a new 24inch monitor (currently im getting good 1680 x 1050 on a 22inch)


Am I at risk of being bottlenecked by my stock e8400? I don't really want to go i7 just yet. So I'd like to hang out in the LGA775 realm a bit longer.


Specs.
E8400
MSI p45 platium
8GB DDR2 800
4870 (512)

 

[daedalus685]

It will bottleneck it a bit. Not enough to really worry too much about, you will surely see improved performance, though not as much as one would see with an i7 platform.

Though you are backwards, you should be asking if you will be bottlenecking the new gpu, not your current cpu.

 

[boomer2point0]

My mistake, I fixed it to better reflect what I am after.

Thanks for the insight daeddalus. what I am trying to get at is whether I should:


A) upgrade the GPU (GTX 295) but leave in the e8400 -- the cpu will not greatly diminish the performance from the GTX 295
B) do nothing, the bottleneck created by the E8400 will too greatly diminish the performance boost of the GPU --- save the cash for an i7

or alternatively is there a 775 family upgrade I could do to get better compliment the GPU upgrade.

Thanks

 

[g3force]

My mistake, I fixed it to better reflect what I am after.

Thanks for the insight daeddalus. what I am trying to get at is whether I should:


A) upgrade the GPU (GTX 295) but leave in the e8400 -- the cpu will not greatly diminish the performance from the GTX 295
B) do nothing, the bottleneck created by the E8400 will too greatly diminish the performance boost of the GPU --- save the cash for an i7

or alternatively is there a 775 family upgrade I could do to get better compliment the GPU upgrade.

Thanks

Take a look at this article. The E8400 scored slightly lower than the i7 920 in several gaming applications when paired with a GTX 295.

 

[Twoboxer]

The referenced article shows the E8400 held up very well at stock speeds. Since the E8400 can routinely be OC'd to 3.3 GHz, you have in hand (including your mobo) the ability to ease any "bottleneck" that might occur in games not so gpu bound as Crysis.

Obviously, an i7/295 is more capable. But you would still "need" a 295 (or similar) upgrade. So get it and enjoy it now, and save cash for the next upgrade, maybe to a less expensive i5 early next year.

 

[roush2fast]

If it was my decision to make I would ride out the duration of your 775 system. With new technology on the horizon the 295 is just way to expensive. Wait until you are ready to move to I7 and look at what the market has to offer.

Are you running that E8400 at stock or OC’d? I'm sure I don't have to remind you of the OC room this processor offers. I’m at 4.00 right now stable on air and I noticed a substantial increase in performance when OC'd paired with a 260 core 216.I run COD and Crysis 1900x1200 on my 24” and I couldn’t be happier.
At least run your C2D using a FSB of 400 if you are comfortable with overclocking. Unless money just isn’t an issue wait or take a look at more affordable cards that will play great on your 24.

 

[Mousemonkey]

An E8400 will be the bottleneck, noob or should that be knob.

 

[Bluescreendeath]

The E8400 is a great CPU. It will suffer some minor bottleneck, but you can always OC

 

[Mousemonkey]

The E8400 is a great CPU. It will suffer some minor bottleneck, but you can always OC

Whilst OC'ing is always an option I refuse to believe that an E8400 will be a bottleneck for a GTX 295 or a 4870x2.

 

[jennyh]

An e8400 at stock will bottleneck a 4870 or gtx295 without a doubt. With overclocking it will be fine, but at stock there is no chance that won't bottleneck the fastest cards you can get.

And I know people will point to benchmarks showing the e8400 performing great, but those benchmarks are run on ultra-clean systems set up for benchmarking. I mean who really reinstalls windows every day just to play games on a totally clean system? Nobody.

e8400, great chip but OC it for a card like the x2 or 295.