Is my processor fast enough for my 8500?

[BigRed]

well im starting to think that my processor is the bottleneck for my videocard :rolleyes: cuz i havent really noticed that big of a speed increase from my oc'ed radeon 32mb ddr.
is my 933 fast enough to make full use of the videocard?

[eh?]

well so solve that problem stop using a Radeon.:D

I don't really thin a 933 would hold back a videocard....

[Betty]

Damn. I should know this...I have an asus p3v4x mobo as well & a p3....however, that's where our similarities end....I have a gefore 2mx....and only 256mb ram. I noticed the speed difference right away (I used to have an Intel i840)

One thing about the radeon....it's more quality than speed, from what I understand.

[Violator]

Originally posted by BigRed
well im starting to think that my processor is the bottleneck for my videocard :rolleyes: cuz i havent really noticed that big of a speed increase from my oc'ed radeon 32mb ddr.
is my 933 fast enough to make full use of the videocard?

No it's not really fast enough. The old Radeons used to max out at around 1Ghz. However, on my setup it is now my CPU that's holding back performance, the 8500 definitely benefits from a fast CPU.

[Cisco Kid]

I would agree with Violator the 8500 needs a fast cpu, consider a 1.2 and higher and overclock it.

In your case if you like Intel consider the move to a P4 or go AMD & ddr with a XP 1700+ or more


Cisco Kid:D

[funnyperson1]

well even with the northwood at 2.5 im sure the video card would not be the bottleneck (with some ocing f course :))....

[BigRed]

drdingo21: um.. how about.. NO. radeon rules :p

and i cant afford buying a new processor, ram, mobo
im currently looking for a p3 1000e to oc to 1.33. i know radeon is more about quality. things DO look better in games, like the dynamic lighting is a whole lot better and the fog effects look cooler :). and i can turn on more video options without the game slowing down but i still didnt notice a fps increase from my old radeon.
im hoping my new cpu will help

[supergenius74]

anything over 700 mhz is enough for todays cards, the problem is the card are still the bottleneck when it comes to FPS, if that's what you are talking about. A simple test, turn on every option, and i mean every option you can for the best visual quality you can achieve and set it at a low resolution like 640 and load a heavy game like max payne or RTCW and watch your framerate, it should be very playable even under complex maps and many AI situations, somewhere around 100 fps or even higher with an 8500 or a gf3 ti-500, now increase your resolution each time testing your framerate and watch it drop terribly and when you go past 1024 res things become unplayable (under 30 fps). Essentially what you have just done is prove that the cpu is not the bottleneck becuase it could still run things fine at the lowest res but at higher resolutions the vid card could no longer render the amount of pixels that you were throwing at it. now if you ran the test and it still was unplayable at the lowest res then you need to upgrade your processor but that will only happen with sub 500 mhz processors or vid cards w/o hardware T&L etc.

[funnyperson1]

actually come to think of it the monitor is the bottleneck.....unless you turn V-Sync offf....youre not going to notice a difference...and v-sync off comes with a price...it looks like crap.....until Unreal 2 or some othre game like that comes out youre video card will not be challenged......

[Grande Juan]

I agree with funnyperson, its probaly the monitor causing the bottleneck. I started out with a PIII 450 WOW, TNT 32mb card I think and a 14" monitor all used, for $200US. I quickly upgraded to a 21" no name monitor, it was cheap. Then I bought a GForce 2 MX400 all I could get was a black screen with sound. Spent a lot of time trying to make it work but alas it never did. So then I built my current rig. Still had the same problem switched to the 14" monitor and presto! Everything finaly worked. So I went and bought a Viewsonic A95f 21" PerfectFlat. Now everthing is just peachy. This probaly won't help much I just felt like posting. Anyway check to see if your monitor can handle the vid card maybe lower the refresh rate, this did'nt work for me though.:)

[Richard]

As was mentioned earlier in the thread, the only time you'll notice a big difference is at low resolution and color depth.

However, these new video cards like the Radeon 8500 and GeForce3 Ti500 are practically CPU limited at up to 1024*768! That's quite an impressive feat.

This does not mean that you'll find 1024*768 unplayable with a Radeon 8500. It merely means that you'll be hitting the framerate wall a little sooner than...someone with a 2 GHz P4.

The situation changes at higher resolution though. At 1600*1200 chances are you'll be getting very very close to the same framerate as the aforementioned CPU.

In other words, a lot of it depends on specifically what games you play and at what color depth/resolution. Another variable is FSAA (smoothvision). In your case, smoothvision is something you should be using since you aren't pushing the video card to its max anyway. Don't let that fillrate go to waste! :)

Should you upgrade the CPU? Depends. What do you expect out of an upgrade? Going from a P3 933 to any other P3 CPU is a waste, IMHO. The only way it would be remotely worth your while would be to move to an entirely new platform. Which, let's face it, is not a totally sensible thing to do for only a few more frames per second.

The P3 933 is still a very fast CPU. For games, it is a beauty. That combined with your Radeon 8500 should provide you with more than adequate framerate for quite some time. If I was you, I'd crank that res up to 1024*768*32 and turn on quality 2x smoothvision and enjoy. Save your cash for when you're able to move to an entirely new platform.

[Mojoman]

Yeah im havign worreis wth my duron 900 + GF2 Ti combo. Im not getting blazingly fast performance. When i can be arsed ill do 3dmark 2k1 - in fact ill do it now... IS it my CPU im on a matsonic MS8127C+ mobo (i cant return it - or sell it for that matter - the floppy controller does not work) - and well im not convinced that its that much better than my tnt2 (well yeah it is but i was expecting silky-smotoh framerates in everything) - its a non-reference Ti - it runs at 250/333 - when my blorb.sinks arrive ill be doing a little oc.

Thanks in advance for replying :D

[BigRed]

i dont have vsync turned on so it cant really be my monitor thats slowing me down
Originally posted by Richard
As was mentioned earlier in the thread, the only time you'll notice a big difference is at low resolution and color depth.

However, these new video cards like the Radeon 8500 and GeForce3 Ti500 are practically CPU limited at up to 1024*768! That's quite an impressive feat.

This does not mean that you'll find 1024*768 unplayable with a Radeon 8500. It merely means that you'll be hitting the framerate wall a little sooner than...someone with a 2 GHz P4.

The situation changes at higher resolution though. At 1600*1200 chances are you'll be getting very very close to the same framerate as the aforementioned CPU.

In other words, a lot of it depends on specifically what games you play and at what color depth/resolution. Another variable is FSAA (smoothvision). In your case, smoothvision is something you should be using since you aren't pushing the video card to its max anyway. Don't let that fillrate go to waste! :)

Should you upgrade the CPU? Depends. What do you expect out of an upgrade? Going from a P3 933 to any other P3 CPU is a waste, IMHO. The only way it would be remotely worth your while would be to move to an entirely new platform. Which, let's face it, is not a totally sensible thing to do for only a few more frames per second.

The P3 933 is still a very fast CPU. For games, it is a beauty. That combined with your Radeon 8500 should provide you with more than adequate framerate for quite some time. If I was you, I'd crank that res up to 1024*768*32 and turn on quality 2x smoothvision and enjoy. Save your cash for when you're able to move to an entirely new platform.
too late :p lol i already bought a p3 1000e and im going to oc it to 1.33ghz
an increase of 400mhz over my current processor should increase fps a little but im not expecting much. i just wanted a faster processor for when i get everything upgraded and completed :p
i am running 32bit color and 2x quality smoothvision (newest leaked radeon drivers). normally i run at 1200*1024 (or whatever that rez is, i think im close on the numbers) at games, sometimes the one lower than that when theres a lot of people playing.

[Mojoman]

NOOOOOO NOT THE EVIL PENTIUM 3 AHHHHHHH

Sorry. I still have a Intel phobia. I am currently undergoing counselling for my problem but it appears there is no cure. I have been offered drugs - but my feeble cerebrum did not like the drugs.. (thanks goodness)


Farewell.:beer: