C2D E2200 and AMD HD 7770.

[CuriousMike]

My current TV computer/media machine is a C2D E2200 + AMD 5570.

I was at Fry's tonight, and on their clearance table was a Diamond HD 7770 "Ghz Edition", 1GB of ram for $37.50. "Missing manual and DVI->VGA adapter."

I thought $38 was fairly cheap for the card, so I picked it up thinking I'd verify it was a good deal when I got home - and it seems to be a ~$100 card... so, good deal.

My question is: How can I tell how much the E2200 would be holding back the 7770, or are they a good match? Or should I stick with the 5570 with the E2200 and keep the 7770 as a spare ?

The TV machine infrequently games, but it does do some random StarCraft 2 duty - our TV is 1366x768.

 

[Hartle4]

Put it this way went from that CPU to a 3.0GHZ e8400 and i doubled framerates in everything that i played way back in the day without changing GPU at all it was a 9800gtx. 7770 is more powerful and will be even more bottle-necked.

 

[Hartle4]

Better GPU is always better but you should upgrade your CPU if you want to experience any newer games

 

[VirtualLarry]

OP, is your rig a custom build, or an OEM pre-built? If it's an OEM rig, do you have a PCI-E 6-pin power cable on the PSU? And if it's a custom build, why not pick up an E8400 cheap on ebay, drop it in, and OC to 3.6-4.0Ghz? That would substantially reduce the bottleneck.

 

[CuriousMike]

The problem is the motherboard (Gigabyte 945GME-DS2); I actually have an E3300, but the motherboards BIOS hasn't been updated to support it.

 

[Arkaign]

In your shoes I would continue to scour the FS/FT until something nice comes along for dirt cheap. I bought a 760g and Athlon II X3 for $40 not long ago, and that's immensely more capable for today's stuff than an E2200. I'm very familiar with those old 945 chipsets, and it's just due to replace

 

[CuriousMike]

As an FYI, I ran a few benchmarks to see what the difference was.

Excepting Tomb Raider, it looks like I'm definitely CPU constrained.

All run @ 1366.768

5570 / 7770

Dirt Showdown - Medium Preset
26.9 / 28.3

Tomb Raider - Normal Preset
37 / 57.9

Starcraft 2 - Medium ( Downloaded a 2v2 map, used Fraps, and eyeballed time at "faster" setting )
Of the 5 times I chose during the playback, the FPS on both cards was damn near identical.

 

[frozentundra123456]

That was a great price. As you have seen that CPU is not really up to the task. You could increase the image quality perhaps, since you have gpu power to spare.

 

[crazzy.heartz]

C2D E2200 is wayy underpowered for a 7770..

With a C2D E7400 @ 3.5Ghz, my CPU utilization in most games was 99% and only 60-70% GPU utilization.

Would recommend you to get a cheap used Core 2 Quad to replace your dual core... Most games now able to use all the extra cores.

 

[Arkaign]

I'd agree if the C2Qs were super cheap, but they're unfortunately not. The Q6XXX are not crazy high, but they also tax mobos quite a bit to hit 3ghz+. The Q8XXX aren't that great at all, and the Q9XXX, while the best option, start to get $$$$. Being stuck with DDR2 just makes it worse.

For example, an AMD FX6300+ mATX Mobo can be had at MicroCenter for around $100ish. Adding 8GB of DDR3 is another $60 if you're careful ($30 4GB sticks). That makes a great combo with a 7770. Reselling the current CPU (almost worthless), current mobo (surprisingly decent worth still), and current DDR2 ram (easy sell!) should really cut the price, and that will almost give the same effective investment cost as buying a Q9550 for example.

Bonus points is that you have PCI Express 2.0, USB 3.0, Sata 6gbps, 2 extra cores (and similar IPC to Q9XXX, so 6 cores at 3.4Ghz instead of 4 cores starting at ~2.67-2.83Ghz), and OC range up into 4Ghz with a good PSU and the cheap MC mobo. I know because I've done it myself.

If the Q9550 and Q9650 were $50, I'd say no-brainer, do that (if the mobo is capable). But as they are usually double that or triple that price, IDK, don't think that's the way to go.

Another option is a brand new Ivy Celeron + H61 mobo for right around $100, plus DDR3 (could start with $30ish 4GB stick). I don't like that quite as much though, higher IPC, but low cache, only two cores, and the H61 is pretty barebones. But benches usually show that an Ivy Dual Core is > Wolfdale / Penryn Quad Core. It's so many generations up the chain from an E2200 that it's ridiculous.

What was it .. Conroe/Allandale < Wolfdale/Penryn < Nehalem < Westmere < Sandy Bridge < Ivy Bridge? So FIVE gens back? Eh.

A used Westmere quad like an i5 750 is also a valid option.

 

[CuriousMike]

The $37.50 video card wasn't done to spurn an all new machine ( and more money ), but I will keep my eyes open for another deal.

Fry's sometimes as AMD A6 + mobo combos for < $100, and I think they also have Celeron + H61 for similar. I might just jump on the next deal they have.

 

[frozentundra123456]

I would steer away from either of those cpus for gaming.The A6 is a "dual core" apu which is actually a single module, so will be somewhere between a single core and true dual core in cpu performance, not very powerful for games, and with a HD7770 the igpu will be wasted. The celeron is no powerhouse either for gaming, but with a discrete card probably better than an A6.

With a discrete card already in hand, I would try to get at least an FX6300 or i3. They would trade blows in gaming, with the FX being cheaper. If you have access to a microcenter they have some very good deals on FX6300/mobo combos.

Edit: forgot about the athlon x4 750k. That is a quad core apu with the igp fused off. Since you have a discrete card already, this is probably the best low priced choice for gaming. I think they run around 80.00 on new egg.

 

[Bubbleawsome]

An a6-6400k+mobo is $79 at microcenter. :O

 

[Conroe]

That mobo doesn't seem to support quads or 45nm (all are listed n/a on the support list.) But then even a $10 E6600 should be a noticeable improvement.

 

[CuriousMike]

As a quick update, I threw a Pentium G3230 system together for cheap.

Dirt Showdown, High Quality is now 63 fps ( below it was 28... holy double the FPS at better quality )

All run @ 1366.768

5570 / 7770

Dirt Showdown - Medium Preset
26.9 / 28.3

 

[Blue_Max]

BTW, $38 was a steal of a deal - it's a pretty decent card!