Anyway to test whether processor is bottlenecking your vid card?

Jitter · Oct 19, 2005, 09:36 AM

I have a P4 1.8 processor w/ a 9700pro all in wonder. I was thinking about upgrading the vid card (around $150), but I am not sure if it would be worth it at all. I was wondering wheter there was any way to test how much the processor is holding the card back if at all.

thanks

Kevin

Dyre Straits · Oct 19, 2005, 09:53 AM

Well, it's for certain that a 1.8 Ghz processor is fairly well outdated. Not only that, but, the PC2100 RAM is also an old technology by today's standards.

My first impression is that any newer card you put in will likely perform better, but, not at its full potential in this system.

What you should do is go to www.futuremark.com and do a COMPARE based on selections of various CPUs, and other components, to get a fair estimate of what's possible and where your system fits into the overall picture. Once you click on the link, just go to the ORB feature at the top of the page and go from there.

CDsDontBurn · Oct 19, 2005, 09:59 AM

well, the fact of the matter will remain true. a CPU can definatley bottleneck a G/VPU, and vice-versa. A faster gfx card will be waiting on the instructions being fed to it by the CPU, so a relativley slow CPU, will bring down the overall performance to a game because the gfx card is still waiting on instructions from the CPU.

Oct 19, 2005, 09:36 AM	#1
Jitter HardwareHeaven Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2003 Posts: 534 Rep Power: 0	Anyway to test whether processor is bottlenecking your vid card? I have a P4 1.8 processor w/ a 9700pro all in wonder. I was thinking about upgrading the vid card (around $150), but I am not sure if it would be worth it at all. I was wondering wheter there was any way to test how much the processor is holding the card back if at all. thanks Kevin __________________ Sony Vaio PCV-RX670 P4 1.8ghz XP Pro SP2 1 GB PC2100 RAM ATI All in Wonder 9700 pro Audigy 2 ZS Aquamark ~29,500 3dMark03 ~ 5,000

Oct 19, 2005, 09:59 AM	#3
CDsDontBurn Lurking DriverHeaven Join Date: May 2003 Location: Southern California Posts: 22,779 Rep Power: 235 System Specs	well, the fact of the matter will remain true. a CPU can definatley bottleneck a G/VPU, and vice-versa. A faster gfx card will be waiting on the instructions being fed to it by the CPU, so a relativley slow CPU, will bring down the overall performance to a game because the gfx card is still waiting on instructions from the CPU. __________________ Her First Day \| A year later