cpu bottleneck?

[2nd Coming]

I have a E6300 @ 1.86,will this be a bottleneck alongside

8800gts 640mb
3gb ddr2 667

Would you upgrade the cpu?

also is my 550w psu powerful enough?

Thanks
Col

[AML]

I think it depends on what you plan to use your PC for. If its for something intensive like say gaming then yes, it may become a bottleneck.

You could change it for a faster dual or quad core chip or try to over clock your current chip to maybe 2.6ghz or so. Thats a 1000mhz over clock though so it might not work.
Although I was able to over clock my dual core opteron from 1.8 to 2.6 and it was stable for a long time.

[2nd Coming]

Thanks AML,yeh i am gaming on a dell 1920 x 1200 so it looks like another upgrade happening soon.

although it is very smooth,i want to turn more effects up in Crysis

If i was to swap it for a q6600 ,which psu should i go for?

[2nd Coming]

I may try my 1st overclock though

would i notice a difference if took the cpu to say 2.0 or 2.2,which i should be able to do (only done 10 mins research)

[insomniak123]

crysis bottleneck will be the GPU, and yours is pretty beefy. the CPU pretty much does the physics and not much else, although it helps to have a faster one (of course)

i've noticed my quad core rarely gets a thorough workout (2.4Ghz x 4), not nearly as much as other games

and on your final question, I have a 520W Corsair PSU supplying no less than 3 optical drives, 2 hard drives, an x1950pro and a quad core, along with the usual extras. I wouldn't worry about upgrading the PSU

with a system like yours, I'd be inclined to pick up a quicker CPU anyway, as mulitple cores are silly cheap at the moment and it's really not a huge investment for inevitably more performance

[2nd Coming]

Thanks insomniak123,added to my ever expanding xmas list from mrs 2nd coming



p.s would the quad core be a simple swap over like for like?

[insomniak123]

I'd feel safer saying yes if I knew your motherboard model no, but I'm pretty sure if it holds an E6300 dual core at the mo, it should in theory swap over with a quad core Q6600 or similar without any problems

[Razor]

Originally Posted by 2nd Coming

I have a E6300 @ 1.86,will this be a bottleneck alongside

8800gts 640mb
3gb ddr2 667

Would you upgrade the cpu?

also is my 550w psu powerful enough?

Thanks
Col

Overclock your cpu to 2.8-3.0Ghz. Its very easy to do with the C2D. If you have some spare cash buy a Q6600 Go Stepping cpu. They are cheap for the performance they give. Also allot of new games are using all four cores.

Here is a good link for overclocking conroe cpus.

http://www.sharkyforums.com/showthread.php?t=300298

Your psu is more than fine for a quad core or dual core setup.

[2nd Coming]

Asus p5ld2-se motherboard ,sorry should have said.

Thanks lads and thanks for the link,gonna do some research

[wormvortex]

what game uses all 4 cores?

[Razor]

Originally Posted by wormvortex1337

what game uses all 4 cores?

Crysis
Medal of Honour Airbourne
Call of Duty 4
Bioshock
Lost Planet
Gears of War
Unreal Tournament 3

These are the games that I own which use all 4 cores.

You also have Supreme Commander and I am sure many others. I havent checked to see if Time shift uses all four cores.


Quad core cpus have been with us for over a year now so its not surprising to see new games take advantage of this.

[Dragy2k]

hi
overclock that cpu to around 2.4 - 3.0, you can find some good overclocking guides for e6300 on google and overclockers forums.
that chip (same as mine) is a notorious overclocker and should last u a little while longer just make sure your cpu / case cooling is up to the job ..apart from that enjoy your new speed

[AML]

I recently got a Q6600 and over clocked it to 2.8ghz. Its nice and stable and all the games (mentioned above) run really smoothe.
(But then I also have a 8800GTX )

As was mentioned a lot of newer games do indeed use all 4 cores so you cant go wrong with a chip like the Q6600. Its nice and cheap and it over clocks really well.

At the end of the year/begining of next year we will see newer 45nm Native quad core chips from intel, but i think it wont peroform that much better than the current non-native quad cores (ie. 2 dual cores stuck together). So theres not much point in waiting.

If your mobo can take it, an upgrade to a Q6600 is a good choice.

[Razor]

Originally Posted by AML

I recently got a Q6600 and over clocked it to 2.8ghz. Its nice and stable and all the games (mentioned above) run really smoothe.
(But then I also have a 8800GTX )

As was mentioned a lot of newer games do indeed use all 4 cores so you cant go wrong with a chip like the Q6600. Its nice and cheap and it over clocks really well.

At the end of the year/begining of next year we will see newer 45nm Native quad core chips from intel, but i think it wont peroform that much better than the current non-native quad cores (ie. 2 dual cores stuck together). So theres not much point in waiting.

If your mobo can take it, an upgrade to a Q6600 is a good choice.

Great little cpus are they AML.

[wormvortex]

you should be able to push it to 3.0ghz. I managed it without even touching the volts and it ran prime95 overnight with no issues and the temp not exceeding 48degrees