Wer is my bottleneck? GPU or CPU

[Patch-Up]

Hey I'm currently running a amd athlon xp 3200+ on a top of the range MSI K7n2 Platnium (top of the range for Socket A). With 2GB (DDR400). My question is in regards to how many elements I should upgrade, my cpu (in which case I would leap for something with a bit more power i.e. AMD FX55 (or higher). I'm thinking to upgrade my nivida geforce fx5200 agp card (256MB ddr) with a " 512Mb Gainward 7800GS+ sem 1250MHz,GPU 450MHz, 2x DVI-I/S-Video/TVO (7900GT on 7800GS AGP)". Now my question is will me upgrading to this GPU with my current CPU limit the gains of the new GPU, as in would the limitation of the CPU act as a bottleneck to slowdown the complete performance increase I would see from the new gpu, as opposed to if I utilized a CPU with better performance.

[Psilaxs]

No it would not, the setup you have is more than enough to run ANY modern game, it is frankly your shit video card holding you back.

A card that was made in and for the DX9 generation of games will work very well. I am running an ATI X800 pro (12 pixel pipeline version) and only an AMD Athlon XP 2500+ 512 megs of corsair 3200 speed ddr ram and I can run Doom 3 on ultra quality, quake 4 on high, it whips through Half Life 2 like it is pac man. I have not really had a modern game give me issues.

I know your post is old but by the off chance you will see this i figured i would try to assist.

[sandwichman]

Hey I'm currently running a amd athlon xp 3200+ on a top of the range MSI K7n2 Platnium (top of the range for Socket A). With 2GB (DDR400). My question is in regards to how many elements I should upgrade, my cpu (in which case I would leap for something with a bit more power i.e. AMD FX55 (or higher). I'm thinking to upgrade my nivida geforce fx5200 agp card (256MB ddr) with a " 512Mb Gainward 7800GS+ sem 1250MHz,GPU 450MHz, 2x DVI-I/S-Video/TVO (7900GT on 7800GS AGP)". Now my question is will me upgrading to this GPU with my current CPU limit the gains of the new GPU, as in would the limitation of the CPU act as a bottleneck to slowdown the complete performance increase I would see from the new gpu, as opposed to if I utilized a CPU with better performance.

i would change Both, depends on you budget though:icon_scra,

[zarquon]

The main thing i would worry about is getting a pci express vga card.

On your curent system, it probably only supports AGP. I would certainly not get a 7800GS agp card, as this is an expensive card and you will be forced to buy a brand new card if and when you decide to upgrade your old board/cpu.

My advice is get a decent core duo, something like the e6400, which is inexpensive and overclocks like hell. Also get a m-board that supports this cpu couple this with a good pci-express vga card. Then you will have a future proof system. (for the short term anyway)

[Signa]

i have only a 2.8 dual core and a x800 and i can run oblivion with very good quality and frame rate. not that there isnt any room for improvement, but oblivion is the only game i have played that i cant max out on my system.

Psilaxs is right, the x800 is awsome.

[silentscream]

dual core means nothing on oblivion it cant run simutanious threads

supreme commander is the only game that can (released in about a week)

zarqon is right though

u need pci express if u dont want to spend a fortune and do want a good system

.

[SanDiegoKid]

I'm stuck on AGP for the moment too, and have the same GPU as Psilaxs.

It will not run shader model 3 games such as Splinter Cell Double Agent and Raibow 6 Vegas. That is to say, it will refuse to run them.. PERIOD.

I know the best option for someone with deeper pockets would be to get a whole new mobo, cpu, and ram for the expressed purpose of using PCI-Express... but for about $230 you can find the best AGP gaming card on the market, which is an over-clocked version of the GeForce 7900 I believe. It's a lot easier to find the 7800 though... check it: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814143046

My X800 is awesome. It can run Half Life 2 at the highest settings without breaking a sweat, but FEAR was the first game in which had to turn down graphics settings. After that it just gets worse and worse.

That GeForce, I'm guesstimating, will keep you in the gaming loop for another year or so... until games start to recommend more CPU power. you can save a little cash by then I hope.

[Excrement_Cranium]

Pffft. Stuck with AGP.


I'm stuck with an old-school PCI Radeon 9250. Good enough for a 76fsp rate on Wolfenstein: ET though.

[mountain_rage]

I'm stuck with a single core 939. Damn AMD switching to am2 and completely discontinuing their 939 dual core line. I might try getting a 4400+ to a 4800+ dual core on ebay but I'm a little leery considering I could get screwed by a defective chip, don't have the assurance of knowing the store is good.

[SoreVexed]

i dont know, 64bit and quad/dual core is really awesome, but you would be amazed at what a simple 256mb graphics card and only 2.0ghx and 1gb of ram will do. i mean, higher frame rate is really what you want, so what id do in your situation is this: get a new mobo with a fast FSB and a new cpu to go along with it. then you can get new ram as well, something faster. altogether it should not cost as much as replacing everything. and there are some awesome setupsyou can get for cheap.

http://www.tigerdirect.com/ <--cheap cards and mobo combos.
http://www.xoxide.com/ <--some cooling systems and cases.

you could always liquid cool your current system and overclock the heck outta it. but you would still need to buy a new graphics card. i have a 3.6ghz pentium 4 that has been overclocked to 4.8ghz and thats not going into detail about my fsb, gpu, or ram clocks. (which are seeing about 300mhz average increase)

i think the highest frame rate i saw was 112 on half life 2. but then i have not pushed it too far....overclocking creates a lot of heat and i need a new cooling system.

meh...:hi

Pffft. Stuck with AGP.
I'm stuck with an old-school PCI Radeon 9250. Good enough for a 76fsp rate on Wolfenstein: ET though.

dont feel bad, until about two months ago, i was running a 16mb Voodoo3 (3DFX) 2000 card.
try about 35fps on 2d games and the ability to run nothing faster than half life 1.

pfft