Switching to i7 920 from E8400. E8400 bottlenecks the 5970/BFBC2, benchmarking...

[Apocalypse23]

New updates: added 5850 and 5970+5850+5870 benches:


3d Mark Vantage

Unigine Heaven 2.0

Metro 2033

Just Cause 2 Demo- Benchmark

Dirt 2 and Crysis Warhead

Battlefield Bad Company 2

Scaling graphs based on Average FPS:

3D Mark Vantage GPU Score scaling

Unigine Heaven 2.0, Just Cause 2.0

Dirt 2, Crysis Warhead, Battlefield Bad Company 2, Metro 2033

 

[M1A]

I as well have been a dual holdout, as I was very happy with my 8400 at 4.2 but finally I gave in and still not sure why just looking for a little bit more. I see no difference in the stuff I do. Little gaming MW2 BC2, COD4,CODWAW,CRYSIS,etc and they both run games the same. In programs made for quads and encoding it may be a lot different. Unless you are very lucky or have extreme water setup you will be about 4.0 with a I7 920-930 setup. The E8xxx duals most all do 4.2 ish and in games they are hard to beat. Not sure why I also spent the cash but I am keeping both systems ATM. Good Luck

 

[Apocalypse23]

Scaling graphs based on Average FPS:

3D Mark Vantage GPU Score scaling

Unigine Heaven 2.0, Just Cause 2.0

Dirt 2, Crysis Warhead, Battlefield Bad Company 2, Metro 2033

Video Card Settings used:
Asus 5850 stock (725/1000) - @Overclock 1000/1150 - 1.312 or 1.299V - Gaming Fan speed 50%
Asus 5850 stock (725/1000) - @Overclock 1000/1175 - 1.312 - Gaming Fan speed 50%
Asus 5870 stock (850/1200) - @Overclock 1000/1300 - 1.300V - (Mild OC) - Gaming Fan speed 43% minimum
Asus 5970 stock (725/1000) - @Overclock 850/1200 - 1.162V - (Mild OC)
Asus 5970 stock (725/1000) - @Overclock 900/1200 - 1.274V - (Extreme OC)

 

[nievz]

I'm sure you're thread has helped countless people so thank you!

And I'm glad to know that my e8400+5850 setup will just perform just as well on an i7! I'll probably keep it this way for one more year, then upgrade to 6950 keeping the e8400

 

[toyota]

I'm sure you're thread has helped countless people so thank you!

And I'm glad to know that my e8400+5850 setup will just perform just as well on an i7! I'll probably keep it this way for one more year, then upgrade to 6950 keeping the e8400

I cant tell if that is sarcasm or ignorance. there were plenty of games not tested where your E8400 would not come close to fully pushing a 5850 much less a 6950. also there are even more of those cpu intensive games on the market since this thread was posted. not to mention a year from now there will be a much better card than a 6950 for the same amount of money.

 

[nievz]

I cant tell if that is sarcasm or ignorance. there were plenty of games not tested where your E8400 would not come close to fully pushing a 5850 much less a 6950. also there are even more of those cpu intensive games on the market since this thread was posted. not to mention a year from now there will be a much better card than a 6950 for the same amount of money.

I can see that your not running an ATI card yourself, and you expect me to believe you? I've played Mafia2, BlackOps, BFBC2, MOH at stunning quallity (max detail, full AF, AA), min FPS never dips below 35, hovers at 60, Dirt2 at 90. Which specific games are you referring to? The e8400 at the sweet spot of 3.9ghz is a monster when paired with these mid-level cards. Just don't run them on xfire.

 

[toyota]

I can see that your not running an ATI card yourself, and you expect me to believe you? I've played Mafia2, BlackOps, BFBC2, MOH at stunning quallity (max detail, full AF, AA), min FPS never dips below 35, hovers at 60, Dirt2 at 90. Which specific games are you referring to? The e8400 at the sweet spot of 3.9ghz is a monster when paired with these mid-level cards. Just don't run them on xfire.

well having your E8400 at 3.9 certainly helps and you did not mention that. even so I hate to break it to you but I can get the same minimum framerate as you in several games like GTA 4, Red Faction Guerrilla, Prototype, Dragon Age, Black Ops, and Bad Company 2. in fact I bet I average basically the same as you in some very cpu intensive games such as GTA 4 and Prototype. my main point is that an upgrade to a 6950 would net you little to nothing over your 5850 in cpu intensive games with your E8400.

 

[deepinya]

Actually the e8400@3.9ghz seems to be a beast. It hangs with an i7930@4ghz

Kind of impressive if you ask me.

I may hold off on upgrading to the 2500k for a bit. My 5870 arrives tomorrow so Ill see what that can do paired with my e8400@3.6ghz.

Thanks to the OP for the in-depth and very well organized charts!

 

[toyota]

Actually the e8400@3.9ghz seems to be a beast. It hangs with an i7930@4ghz

Kind of impressive if you ask me.

I may hold off on upgrading to the 2500k for a bit. My 5870 arrives tomorrow so Ill see what that can do paired with my e8400@3.6ghz.

Thanks to the OP for the in-depth and very well organized charts!

sorry but an E8400 at 3.9 would not come close to hanging with a 4.0 i7 in cpu intensive games.

http://www.pcgameshardware.com/aid,...rks-75-percent-boost-for-quad-cores/Practice/

http://www.pcgameshardware.com/aid,...System-Requirements-and-Screenshots/Practice/

 

[Rifter]

what are these guys smoking?

seriously a dual core is not enough for a high end GPU in modern games, as mentioned above my toyota with links to proof.

You were fine on a dual core till a year or two ago when the quad optimized games started to appear, now going with a dual core for gaming is just not a good idea.

 

[toyota]

its not even about quad cores either. the i7/i5 cpus beat the crap out of the Core 2 cpus in some games that only use single or dual cores too. Core 2 just doesn't have the ipc to fully exploit a high end gpu in all games.

Starcraft 2 for example only uses 2 cores but have a look. http://www.legionhardware.com/artic..._2500k_and_core_i7_2600k_sandy_bridge,12.html

http://www.anandtech.com/show/4083/...core-i7-2600k-i5-2500k-core-i3-2100-tested/20

 

[Rifter]

its not even about quad cores either. the i7/i5 cpus beat the crap out of the Core 2 cpus in some games that only use single or dual cores too. Core 2 just doesn't have the ipc to fully exploit a high end gpu in all games.

Starcraft 2 for example only uses 2 cores but have a look. http://www.legionhardware.com/artic..._2500k_and_core_i7_2600k_sandy_bridge,12.html

oh i know, i just didnt want to get that technical about the IPC advantages.

At least when i was running a 3.6Ghz Phenom II quad i knew a i7@4Ghz+ would slap it around. Thinking a dual core E8400 hangs with a quad i7@4Ghz is just crazy, even with any amount of overclocking on the e8400.

 

[nievz]

well having your E8400 at 3.9 certainly helps and you did not mention that. even so I hate to break it to you but I can get the same minimum framerate as you in several games like GTA 4, Red Faction Guerrilla, Prototype, Dragon Age, Black Ops, and Bad Company 2. in fact I bet I average basically the same as you in some very cpu intensive games such as GTA 4 and Prototype. my main point is that an upgrade to a 6950 would net you little to nothing over your 5850 in cpu intensive games with your E8400.

I get your point on games like Dragon Age. These are very rare games. Even Metro 2033 I'm bottlenecked by my GPU as I get the same framerate as the review sites at high settings. Until I'm unable to play the games that I like, I'll hold off upgrading to a Q9xxx cpu -- which is the cheapest route for my current setup.

 

[toyota]

I get your point on games like Dragon Age. These are very rare games. Even Metro 2033 I'm bottlenecked by my GPU as I get the same framerate as the review sites at high settings. Until I'm unable to play the games that I like, I'll hold off upgrading to a Q9xxx cpu -- which is the cheapest route for my current setup.

at this point it makes much more sense to just go Sandy Bridge than to fool with the overpriced core 2 quads. you were like me in that by the time we could justify getting a quad over our overclocked core 2 duos, better cpus have already come out.

 

[nievz]

what are these guys smoking?

seriously a dual core is not enough for a high end GPU in modern games, as mentioned above my toyota with links to proof.

You were fine on a dual core till a year or two ago when the quad optimized games started to appear, now going with a dual core for gaming is just not a good idea.

You wouldn't run 4x xfire/SLI on an i7 if it didn't have too much, i mean HUGE, processing power to rape a single mid-level graphics card.

 

[Rifter]

You wouldn't run 4x xfire/SLI on an i7 if it didn't have too much, i mean HUGE, processing power to rape a single mid-level graphics card.

maybe im just to tired, havent slept in over 24 hours, but what are you trying to say?

If you are trying to say you only need a i7 for quad SLI/CF im going to disagree.

 

[nievz]

at this point it makes much more sense to just go Sandy Bridge than to fool with the overpriced core 2 quads. you were like me in that by the time we could justify getting a quad over our overclocked core 2 duos, better cpus have already come out.

Used Q9550's here in the Philippines cost USD$170. Considering I will need a new mobo and ddr3 for Sandy Bridge, I'll hold off until maybe 1.5 years from now. So rather than wait for the budget and not play newer games on the horizon, I'll get a Quad core in the meantime

 

[Rifter]

Used Q9550's here in the Philippines cost USD$170. Considering I will need a new mobo and ddr3 for Sandy Bridge, I'll hold off until maybe 1.5 years from now. So rather than wait for the budget and not play newer games on the horizon, I'll get a Quad core in the meantime

If you can get a q9550 that cheap and intend to OC it then i agree thats not a bad idea to wait out for the next socket after 1155.

 

[deepinya]

sorry but an E8400 at 3.9 would not come close to hanging with a 4.0 i7 in cpu intensive games.

http://www.pcgameshardware.com/aid,...rks-75-percent-boost-for-quad-cores/Practice/

http://www.pcgameshardware.com/aid,...System-Requirements-and-Screenshots/Practice/

You are pointing to games Id never play anyway so it doesnt effect me at all.

If its not multiplayer FPS I dont consider it fun enough for me to play. I get bored very quickly of anything else.

Looking at the OPs graphs the e8400@3.9 does pretty damn good in BF:BC2 compared to i7@4ghz. Also check the avg/max/min in dirt2, crysis and metro33 *comparing the e8400@3.9 to 930@4 (both with stock 5870)*

Thats pretty impressive for a very outdated CPU. ....or am I just misreading the graphs?

 

[toyota]

You are pointing to games Id never play anyway so it doesnt effect me at all.

If its not multiplayer FPS I dont consider it fun enough for me to play. I get bored very quickly of anything else.

Looking at the OPs graphs the e8400@3.9 does pretty damn good in BF:BC2 compared to i7@4ghz. Also check the avg/max/min in dirt2, crysis and metro33 *comparing the e8400@3.9 to 930@4 (both with stock 5870)*

Thats pretty impressive for a very outdated CPU. ....or am I just misreading the graphs?

well the same goes for other games such as GTA 4, Red Faction Guerrilla, Ghostbusters and some others. those were games that I was playing with my E8500 at 3.8 and could not come close to giving the same experience as say an i5/i7 quad. in fact those games and a few others were not any faster when I tried to use a gtx470 in my system. a core 2 duo at 3.9 is pretty decent for most games but it is no contest compared to an i7 at 4.0 in cpu intensive games.

 

[deepinya]

Again, those arent games Im going to play. If you can name some current FPS games where quad cores have a significant advantage Im all ears.

I may pick up that 2500k this weekend.

 

[nievz]

I've been itching for a quad for a while just to see for myself what benefits I could get out of it. Oh how I'm glad I bought a Q9400 today for $120! I jumped in the BIOS and overclocked it immediately to 3.6ghz at first boot. Now running it at a lower clock than the max 4.1ghz I was running my dualie, everything just feels smoother. I don't have anymore hiccups in BlackOps, Dirt2 AVG FPS jumped to 81 from 63, Crysis all maxed out now runs at a max 55 FPS AVG 38 and MIN 31. Yorkfield is good enough for me right now with my 5850. I love the low temps as well and the low vcore: IBT gives me a max of 71C considering I'm in a tropical country with 32c ambient. Prime don't get past 67C.