NEW GTX 570! But am i bottelnecking hard?

[roylfewkes]

Okay, obviously I know that there is some bottleneck... but im having a hard time deciding how bad it really is. I just got a 570 and games run just fine with it! but is it really all it can be?


This is my setup:

Q6700
stock: 2.66 GHz
OC: 3.2 GHz
8gigs OCZ DDR2 PC@ 6400 (400MHz)
Gtx 570 @ 797MHz Core, 1950 Mhz Memory
800W psu
P5n72-t premium (780i)
H50 Cooling
800D
Dell 22" 1680x 1050

Benchmarks I ran.

Mafia II
Highest quality, AA x16AF/ no physX
Stock Q6700 @2.66 72c
FPS: 55.5
OC’d Q6700 @3.2 74c
FPS: 59.0
Typical I7 system
FPS: 70.5

Crysis 2 Gameplay benchmark
Ultra settings
Stock Q6700 @2.66 73c
FPS: 57
OC’d Q6700 @3.2
FPS: 61

Intel Core i7-960 3.2 GHz CPU, 6GB of DDR3 RAM
FPS: 62

Crysis 2 Gameplay benchmark
Very High settings
Stock Q6700@2.66 72c
FPS: 70fps
OC’d Q6700 @3.2 74c
FPS: 85

Intel Core i7-960 3.2 GHz CPU, 6GB of DDR3 RAM
FPS: 120

Battle field bad company 2
Highest settings, 8xaa/16xAf/HBAO
Stock Q6700@2.66 71c
High FPS: 68
Low FPS: 40’s
OC’d Q6700 @3.2 75c
High FPS: 89
Low FPS: 45’s
Typical I7 system
FPS: 101

Battle field bad company 2
Highest settings, 4xAA/8xAF
Stock Q6700@2.66 71c
High FPS: 70’s
Low FPS: 55
OC’d Q6700 @3.2 75c
High FPS: 100
Low FPS: 50’s
typical I7 system
FPS: 126

Q6700 idle temp 45c
Q6700 Oc idle temp 55c

To me, and correct me if I'm wrong, but i dont think that the bottleneck was as bad as some people told me to expect. Especally with the 20% OC, the botteleneck seemed to loosen up.

I have 400 bucks and im wondering what would be wise to spend it on. I could upgrade to a i5 or i7 with a new mobo and new ram. Or i could build a water cooling loop, which ive always wanted to do! With the new loop, i could OC more, maybe to 3.6 or higher? loosen the bottleneck more? I don't exactly think im ready for the i7. I still feel that there is still some power in my Q6700. Also im going off to
college in the fall so i wouldn't be able to bring my computer with me. And also isnt Ivy bridge coming out soon? So all in all, what would be the smart thing to do and why? Please help guys! THANKS!

 

[monsta]

You have great fps with the set up as it is, leave it alone and spend the money later when you are ready to build a new pc.

 

[thesnappyfingers]

If those benches (for the i7) are from a system with a gtx 570 then your cpu is bottle necking your system.

the reason why crysis on ultra fps is equal to your quad core is due to the heavy gpu use. The gpu is bottleneking the system. this is evident by when the graphic settings are lowered the fps for the i7 goes by a larger margin compared to your quad core.

You don't really need to upgrade though. your fps are very good.

I still would not plunk 400 into a custom water loop. Also look at your other thread, because I may have said some of this already, can't remember to well this late.

out of curiosity what are your cpu temps under load?

EDIT- hate it when I write stuff (or I think I did?) and it doesnt post

Main point save the 400.00 till Ivy bridge and upgrade in the summer when you are off from school. or spend the 400.00 on a new i52500k build. OR save that money for real and spend it on college text books. They are quite expensive.

 

[sosofm]

From your tests you can see Q6700 is botleneck , with i7 960 the fps are 40%-50% higher and in some situations double.
You can buy a new mobo , ram and i5 2500k to have a good gaming rig.
MOBO : ASRock Z68 Extreme3 Gen3 : http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157271
CPU : I5 2500K : http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115072
RAM : CORSAIR Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 : http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233196
TOTAL : 402$
If you have a Microcenter near to you can buy i5 2500k from them because the price is 180$ at Microcenter.
The mobo support SLI , Crossfire , next Ivy bridge processors and have PCIE 3.0.

 

[dericko23]

Your fps are high enough but id imagine an i7 would push your fps higher than moderate overclock of your Q6700.

 

[roylfewkes]

Thanks you guys for the great answers!
I now do plan on getting the i5 2500k
and i am picking out a mobo now.. i have my sights set on the z68, im thinking the P8Z68-V/GEN3 is looking pretty good!

But im having a bit of trouble picking out ram. Id like to pick out something from corsair.

P8Z68-V/GEN3:

http://usa.asus.com/Motherboards/Intel_Socket_1155/P8Z68VGEN3/#specifications

says it supports DDR3 2200(O.C.)/2133(O.C.)/1866(O.C.)/1600/1333/1066 MHz Non-ECC
so if i put in ram that was stock 1866, wouldnt that mean it would go down to 1600 on this mobo?
but with an OC, it would be able to run at 1866?
eventhough it should be running at that anyway?
so in turn wouldnt it be better to get 1600? sorry im having a hard time interpreting this and please correct me if im wrong! THANKS!!

 

[amuffin]

Overclocked ram has no benefits.