Getting a (BFG) 8800GTX. Will my single core CPU support it alright?

Hendrix89

I will eventually be getting a C2D upgrade but that won't be for awhile (maybe 3-4mnths) so I have decided that I will get the 8800GTX now to put in my current system to keep me content, until it goes into the new one in a few months time.

The thing is my CPU is a single core Athlon 3700+ @ 2.7GHz. Now I know the card will run with it, but it's the bottleneck that I am concerned about. Will I get that much of a bottleneck with this CPU? I don't mind if its a little cause I just need my current system to last until the new one, but of course there is no point getting the card now if it will end up performing the same as my 7800GTX.

Cheers fellas

awhir

na dont get it the new atis and the new 8850 are out soon.

challengemaster

awhir wrote:

na dont get it the new atis and the new 8850 are out soon.

8850? thought it was the 8900 coming out.. whens the release date anyway?

Hendrix89 wrote:

I will eventually be getting a C2D upgrade but that won't be for awhile (maybe 3-4mnths)

by then there'll be no point in buying a C2D. there'll be the q6600's out within the next few months. so save and get a quad core machine.

Hendrix89

Hmm alright well for the CPU, I havent made a final decision anyway so if quad cores are well priced by then I will probly get one.

Okay now I have never heard of the 8850 but it sounds expensive, aswell as the 8900. The 8800GTX seems powerful enough don't you think? Anyway at the moment I don't play at high resolutions and I can always SLI it when the single card starts to fall behind or when I buy a larger monitor.

Anyway thats not the issue. I would like to know if my current CPU will be able to handle the 8800GTX without a large bottleneck and if it will offer better performance over my 7800GTX if I play at 1280x1024.

awhir

if ur only running on 1290x1024 get the gts it performes the same as the gtx on lower reses.

am not really shure all i know there is a bottle neck with a 8800gtx and e6800.so i think there would be quite a large 1 in your case

Anti

Your Cpu will be the bottleneck in the system, So it dosent really matter what graphics card you decide to buy. As you will be limited ot gaming at 1280*1024 with lowish aa and medium af.

You will be wasting your money on a 8800GTX. A more sensible upgrade would be a x1950pro/xtx. As at the low resolutions you wont notice much of a difference between the cards. But if you are planning to upgrade in a few months you could simply move the card to the new system. Personally if i was in your posisition i would hang on for the 8850( which will be like the 7950, 2cards in one ) or the r600.

Blazer

If you have the money to get a 8800GTX now and not getting the C2D for another 3 months you are better off to wait.
To get the maximum benefit from the 8800 you need a C2D extreme.
If you wait for the 3 months or so you might be able to afford the quad cores plus the latest ATI R600 and 8850's will be out.
The refresh of the G80 (G81) will be out in March/early April and this would be more favourable against the ATI card. This would be around the same price as current 8800's (€600).
Or you could pick up the 8800 then ,should be down to around the €470 etc.

For the moment running a 8800 on your cpu is a complete waste of it's abilities.
Like the previous poster said, u'd be better off with a X1900/7900GTX to tide you over.
Me?..I'd think you're better off waiting and upgrading both in the 3-4 period you talked about.

Cuddlesworth

Hmm,

When did a A64 at 2.7ghz become a bottleneck?

Get the card, enjoy the speed and fps and when you have the money upgrade the cpu for a dual core, slight speed increase as well.

Also waiting for the new Ati cards will drop prices, but things have been quiet on that front and odds are you will only save 30 or 40 quid.

RazielDoomgate

with that sort of card it will... the cpu wont cope with it and it wont give you the fps you want.. id wait for a little while. update your whole system.. even with teh qcores coming out the c2ds are still pretty savage + then there would be price cuts..

wait till vistas out properly at least and then you can see what type of dx10 gcards are out

BadCharlie

I think the 8800GTX would run well on your machine. Maybe you wont get the full protential from the Video card, due to the 3700+ chip. I ordered a new video card last week for my machine. Same chip as your's but i had a tight buget so went for the x1950xt 256meg video card in the end. I'd bet the 8800GTX would produce far more FPS in games then my x1950xt.

conclusion = If you have the money i'd go and get it. Upgrade the CPU,memory & motherboard later.

TerrorFirmer

It'll be fine, unless you plan playing on a 26" monitor or something.

I would have to say though, I'd stick with the 7800GTX, it's not like it needs urgent replacing and if you're playing at 1280x1024 or whatever, it won't be much of a difference in current games. I'd invest the money that a 8800 costs into a new cpu to be honest what with more and more games taking advantage of Dual Core (COD2 and Quake IV provide really great boosts when using DC patch), and the 7800GTx is hardly a weak card either to hold onto until you can then afford the 8800 alongside your new c2d machine.

In what way are you not content with the 7800GTX? Or are you just one of those people that blames lack of skill on 'No seriously, my framerate dropped from 100 to 97, I could barely play.' Just kidding.

L31mr0d

what game are you playing that you think you need a G80 for? I only upgrade my GPU when I absolutely need to. Although the last year has been horrendous with upgrades for me. Quake 4 and Doom 3 forced me to finally upgrade from my 5200 to a 6800Ultra, then FEAR forced me up to 7900GT, then, believe it or not, Tomb Raider: Legend and GRAW with the next gen content on forced me up to a 7900GTX. I'll be going to a G80 only when i'm using Vista and there are a selection of DX10 games out there to make use of it on.

Also by waiting you'll pay less for it when you do, as i'm sure the prices will drop with the 8900 and the R600 coming out, which will free up some money for a Quad core.

On another note, yes your CPU will bottleneck it, but not to the point where you will notice much difference in games. AFAIR someone posted a comparison chart or the GPU scores in 3dmark06 running a C2D6600. He found that only when the 6600 was at 3.8Ghz did it remove the bottleneck on his G80.