9800GX2, RPG games, and the CPU

[UltimaBoB]

I have a 9800Gx2 and play mostly online RPGs like neverwinter nights. I have good Ram and a good GPU.

But my CPU is just a stock E6700 @ 2.67 Ghz.

I have heard that NWN2 (and other online MMORPGs) can be a CPU intensive game and that water effects, big parties, or massed battles versus NPC mobs with AI can really tax the CPU.

Do you think I would see any benefits in FPS -esp. min. FPS - with a CPU upgrade to an E8500 and then a slight overclock?

I'm aware that in most shooter-style games, single player, my CPU is probably all I would need. But I'm thinking about big online RPGs which I play.

 

[nanaki333]

that card seems a bit overkill for those games. do any of them even utilize sli?

just overclock your e6700. i had my at 3.9 back when i had it with water. you should hit some pretty good numbers with it.

 

[bryanW1995]

yeah, 3.9 would probably be a bit of a stretch for that cpu on air, but certainly 3.2-3.5 should be workable even on the stock cooling with minimal effort.

 

[UltimaBoB]

Anyone with experience in RPG online games? Can anyone tell me if CPU DOES matter or is t all GPU?

BTW NWN2 definitely uses SLI.

How hard will it be for a total newb to OC my E6700? Money isn't a huge issue for me, so I might prefer just getting an E8500 rather than delving into the OC world. But I've got an open mind.

 

[The-Noid]

What motherboard do you have?

 

[UltimaBoB]

Gigabyte P35 D3SL and 4 x 1 GB OCZ DDR2-800 3-3-3-4 Ram

1000 watt Zalman PSu as well.

P180 case

Have a Thermalright 120 Extreme and 4 new case fans with external controller + a PCI slot fan for under the GPU. All coming tomorrow. Since I'm remounting everything, now would be the time to decide on whether to get a new CPU or just OC what I have.

I definitely need to try more CPU power though.

 

[BolleY2K]

At first - are you limited right now, is your minimum FPS too low? Or are you just worried about some comments/posts you heard/read? If the latter - just forget it.

Regarding overclocking, just try to increase the FSB gently step by step. I guess your CPU should do at least 3 GHz on stock voltages stable. My E4300 does 3.05 GHz with everything else stock on 650i, the E4300 of a friend does 3.015 GHz on same Mobo. Another friends E6750 does 3.0 GHz on stock voltages on a P35 - didn´t try any higher with that CPU so far.

So my advice is, just try to increse the FSB gently step by step - 3 GHz should be easily doable. Then check out if it makes any difference - that will give you a hint IF you are being bottlenecked by your CPU in your games.

EDIT: The E4300 was my first real OC-experience - had some problems at 2.4 GHz at first, but it took me only one weekend and some reading to discover what BIOS settings to use, about pencil mods, straps etc. It isn´t too hard if you have a good general understanding of computers.

 

[Jax Omen]

he's probably having problems because NWN2 is optimized like crap and runs terribly for everyone everywhere.

 

[BolleY2K]

Hmmm... I have played NWN2 and the Expansion quite often with my girlfriend over LAN and never experienced any serious lag or stuttering - to make it clear, I didn´t have a ton of excess fps, but the game ran fluently 99% of the time throughout the campaign. E4300@3Ghz, 2GB DDR2-800, 8800 GTS 640 @ 650/1000. I am still using a 21" CRT, so I ran it in 1280 x 1024 with everything max and 2x AA.

And yes, that game is definitely optimized like crap! So I can imagine problems with the need for higher resolutions on larger TFTs - but I doubt that a new CPU or graphics card will help much. If something isn´t optimized at all or optimized for only one thing, nothing will really help. Look at Diablo 2, it still runs faster on a 3dfx Voodoo 3 than my current 8800 GTS - optimized for Glide only.

 

[bryanW1995]

@op, if you have a true then you should EASILY get 3.6 + out of that e6700. Read graysky's overclocking thread at the top of this forum, make a go at it and give us periodic updates. If you get stuck then we're here to help!

 

[harpoon84]

NWN2 CPU benchmarks:
http://au.gamespot.com/features/6163248/p-7.html

Definitely looks CPU bound, though I wouldn't upgrade the CPU just yet, overclock it and see how the performance is, an E6700 should be capable of doing ~3.5GHz on air.

 

[UltimaBoB]

I just took the plunge and bought a E8500. Probably could have just OCed my E6700 but I've never done that before.

I noticed a major difference in my min. FPS in the kinds of situations where they drop the most in NWN2: around water, lots of shadows, or in big parties and big fights.

It helped a lot. I guess that at least in some games, CPUs CAN matter.

Now, maybe I should try OCing the 8500...

 

[betasub]

Originally posted by: UltimaBoB
I guess that at least in some games, CPUs CAN matter.

Sure, NWN2 amongst others, but IMO it's not a typical example.

Besides, in your case you'd almost max-ed out all the other hardware except for the CPU :light: