Will my CPU bottleneck a new video card?

[zukster]

I'm wondering if I were to upgrade from my current video card would my CPU bottleneck it? I currently have a 460 GTX SE and was thinking of purchasing a 560 Ti. My CPU is an AMD II x4 965 BE @ 3.4 GHZ with 4 gigs DDR2 ram. I use it mostly for MMO's and some but minimal FPS's every now and then. Also how big of a performance increase will I see with an upgrade from the 460 GTX SE to the 560 Ti with my CPU?

 

[pro-gamer]

no your card will be fine there is no sign of bottleneck.the gtx 560 is pretty faster and powerful card.but one thing remember if you using high end card then you must use good brand of psu and higher watts.

 

[vitornob]

I would say a nice 20% minimun. But, do u really need it for a MMO?
Ur card should be enough for MMOs dont?

 

[zukster]

I have a 430 watt PSU. The brand I think is Earth Watts. Would this be good enough? And I want to be able to run MMO's on higher settings. Not just on medium or low.

 

[pro-gamer]

600w can handle gtx560

 

[tobiashensch]

I would recommend a better psu aswell...
The gtx 560 requires 450 Watt....

 

[psyxix]

It's an antec earthwatt, which is a great PSU with good amperage on the 12 V+ rail.
For the power problem : Lets compare the power consumptions
GTX 460 = http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/graphics/2010/07/12/nvidia-geforce-gtx-460-graphics-card-review/11
GTX 560 ti = http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/graphics/2011/01/25/nvidia-geforce-gtx-560-ti-1gb-review/8

A 15 watt increase during the load times. I assume that you're not planning on overclocking so it seems OK. I also verified the recommended wattage using this tool => http://extreme.outervision.com/PSUEngine. IT gave me 388 watt as recommended wattage with the 560ti, so you're basically fine with your setup. You will probably see a 5-10% bottleneck with your system since the ram is ddr2 and the processor is a little slow.

 

[Trogl]

There won't be a big increase in performance,. I recommend keeping your current card for now until NVIDIA 6xx/AMD 7xxxx series are released.

 

[geofelt]

I'm wondering if I were to upgrade from my current video card would my CPU bottleneck it? I currently have a 460 GTX SE and was thinking of purchasing a 560 Ti. My CPU is an AMD II x4 965 BE @ 3.4 GHZ with 4 gigs DDR2 ram. I use it mostly for MMO's and some but minimal FPS's every now and then. Also how big of a performance increase will I see with an upgrade from the 460 GTX SE to the 560 Ti with my CPU?

You will always do better with a stronger graphics card. The question is, how much better, and is it worth it?
To get some idea, run these two tests:

a) Run your games, but lower your resolution and eye candy.
If your FPS increases, it indicates that your cpu is strong enough to drive a better graphics configuration.

b) Limit your cpu, either by reducing the OC, or, in windows power management, limit the maximum cpu% to something like 70%.
If your FPS drops significantly, it is an indicator that your cpu is the limiting factor, and a cpu upgrade is in order.

It is possible that both tests are positive, indicating that you have a well balanced system, and both cpu and gpu need to be upgraded to get better gaming FPS.

EVGA recommends a GTX560Ti needs 500w with 30a on the 12v rails plus two 6-pin PCI-E power leads.
But, your 430w earthwatts is a particularly good psu which can deliver 32a. Most graphics cards will also come with a molex to 6 pin adapter, so you should be ok there.
I would try your current psu first since recommendations are usually conservative to account for poor quality psu's.

 

[drbasa]

Your going to need a new power supply most likely. A 430W power supply really only puts out ~346W (430 x 80% Efficient). I believe all those cards reccomend at least a 450W, even the one you currently have running. It would be smart/safe to get a new power supply as well so you dont short anything out if there is too much load on the pwoer supply.

 

[zukster]

Thanks for the help guys. I'll try my current PSU and see how that goes. So I'm looking at around a ~20% increase in performance with the new card?

 

[geofelt]

That is not a bad expectation(or hope), but it is just a guess.
But, it will depend on the game.
Anandtech bench might give you some more insight based on the cpu not being a limiting factor:
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/313?vs=330

 

[pro-gamer]

hmmm! But the benefit of the higer watts of psu is when you start overclocking gpu,cpu,ram etc so all the component will be fine with great speed.if you are using 450w so the gtx 560 will run fine but when you want to overclock it iam sure you will face a big problem.otherwise you will fine on stock.

 

[cats_Paw]

I definitly would not recomend buying the 560 Ti. Unless you have quite some cash, its just not worth to make a 1 generation jump unless the change is huge.

You will get an increase on the FPS, but not 2 big. I am a bit surprised that you cant max an MMO on your current GPU (is it 768MB version?).

I dont think you will get more than 4-7 fps extra. and im talking in 1900x1080, on higher probably even less.

Check the specific games so you can make sure.

Your PSU will do fine assuming you have a minimal PC (1 dvd rom, 1 hdd, 2 fans, no lights or cold cathodes, no watercooling, etc).

 

[pro-gamer]

but why would you losing your current card gtx 460 is better performance wise as compared to some ati card's like 5850,6680,6750 etc

another option for you is do sli gtx 460 you will beat everything

 

[jjb8675309]

OC your cpu! my 955 is running at 4.0ghz and then buy a new gpu, but honestly for lame mmo games there is no need jk but the psu will be cutting it close even though it is a quality unit Id probably spring for a quality 500w to give you a little oc room

 

[zukster]

Its not a 460 GTX. Its a 460 GTX 'SE' which has been rated equal to the 460 768 MB card.

Here is a link to the differences.

460 GTX 'SE':
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130591

Core Clock 648MHz
Shader Clock 1296MHz
Stream Processors 288 Processor Cores
Effective Memory Clock 3400MHz

460 GTX:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130570

Core Clock 720MHz
Shader Clock 1440MHz
Stream Processors 336 Processor Cores
Effective Memory Clock 3600MHz

 

[foxdelay]

You may need a 450w psu to run 560ti but 430 watt is fine .
Do not expect too much about 560ti from 460se ，why dont you just wait for the 28nm card.

 

[zukster]

You may need a 450w psu to run 560ti but 430 watt is fine .
Do not expect too much about 560ti from 460se ，why dont you just wait for the 28nm card.

Isn't there a pretty big difference between the 460 GTX SE and 560 Ti? And when does the 28 nm cards come out?

 

[nordlead]

Your going to need a new power supply most likely. A 430W power supply really only puts out ~346W (430 x 80% Efficient). I believe all those cards reccomend at least a 450W, even the one you currently have running. It would be smart/safe to get a new power supply as well so you dont short anything out if there is too much load on the pwoer supply.

This is not how power supplies and efficiency works. If a PSU is rated at 450W, it should be able to put out 450W to the computer components across all the voltages. If it is 80% efficient at 100% load, then it will be outputing 80% of the power it draws from the wall socket. In other words, it will be drawing ~560W at the wall socket while supplying 450W to the PC.

However, no computer PSU manufacturers actually put proper specifications on their PSUs (even the good brands like Corsair). Cheap PSUs will say they can output 400W, but they may not actually be capable of that at normal operating temperature, but could if you keep them in a freezer. The only real way to know is to read a thorough independent test.

As for shorting, most people use that term incorrectly. Shorting is connecting two electrical nodes together allowing current to unintentionally flow between them. Typically that causes something to overheat and burn up creating an open (or break in the circuit), which stops current from flowing. If you draw too much power from a PSU I doubt anything will short, but things will overheat, possibly explode, and create many broken circuits. However, since everyone uses the term incorrectly anyways, there isn't much reason not to continue using it :lol: