What's my bottleneck?

Lord Nikon

Anyone see if I have a bottleneck with my rig? 3 years old and need to change stuff on a budget.

Processor : Athlon 64 X2 6000+ 3.0GHz
RAM : Corsair TWIN2X 6400C4 DDR2, 4gig
MOBO : Asus M2N32-SLI Deluxe, nForce 590 SLI
GPU : GeForce 8800GTS 320mb
HDD : Samsung 250GB SATA2
PSU : NorthQ , ATX 400W, 120mm

I have XP Pro, but hopefully getting Win 7 Ultimate over the weekend for free. A friend suggested I get a solid state HD, to relieve load times.

P.S. I play games.

lmimmfn

you dont really have a bottleneck, your rig is balanced, however the vram on your gfx card will hold you back( i am presuming you want high texture settings in game? ), but if you got a recent card your cpu would bottleneck you, if i were you i would decide:
1. Do you plan on changing your cpu soon for a quad core or tri core? if so i would go with a 5770 card
2. If you dont want to upgrade and want something to tide you over AND you use at least 1680x1050 i would get an ati 4870 or nvidia 260. You will definately bottleneck at that resolution but if youre running at 1920x1080 those cards are perfect
3. Sell that 8800GTS and get either an 8800GT or better still an ati 4850( depending on price, 8800GT should be got for 50euro and you'd get 30 for your current card )

Lord Nikon

GTS not better?

Solitaire

8800GTS 512MB > 8800GT 512MB >>> "Old" GTS (320/640MB)

I'd also like to point out that that PSU probably isn't the best... if upgrading go for a current card like the HD5750/5770. A 55nm card like the HD4870 on top of the high-TDP CPU could make a mess out of that PSU. It ain't no CX400

EDIT: From Hexus managing to blow one sky-high at just 23A on the 12V rails I really wouldn't run a HD4870 off it

lmimmfn

^^ oh yeah forgot the 8800GTS 512Mb version lol, theyre difficult to get though for some reason

neuromancer wrote: »

GTS not better?

no, its far far worse. First came the 8800GTX, then the 8800GTS 640 and GTS 320, then the next gen of those cards was the 8800GT. It consumes less power, overclocks to GTX levels, is fairly quiet( although some have complained about the fan noise ) and was one of the best cards released ever i reckon. I have 2 1 in my media rig, the other for driving my third screen and for nvidia physx( my main card is a 5850 )

See here - http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=3140&p=7

The performance and extra vram of the 8800gt will allow you to play with higher settings. Only do it if you get one for 50 euro as thats the asking price for those cards.

Solitaire wrote: »

EDIT: From Hexus managing to blow one sky-high at just 23A on the 12V rails I really wouldn't run a HD4870 off it

Youre right, maybe not such a good idea for either 4870 or 260 without a psu upgrade.

Lord Nikon

Good price?
http://www.amazon.co.uk/EVGA-512MB-8800GT-Superclocked-PCIe/dp/B000Y1S4IU/ref=sr_1_29?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1268974093&sr=1-29

lmimmfn

neuromancer wrote: »

Good price?
http://www.amazon.co.uk/EVGA-512MB-8800GT-Superclocked-PCIe/dp/B000Y1S4IU/ref=sr_1_29?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1268974093&sr=1-29

expensive, this cheaper - http://www.adverts.ie/showproduct.php?product=185663&cpage=2#poststart
Ignore his comments on MSI or EVGA being cheap and this being uber, Palit arent know for being uber suppliers, it'll be grand though

Heres another option( same as 8800GT but has 1gig of ram which can be handy tbh ) - http://www.adverts.ie/showproduct.php?product=164884&cat=all - i definately wouldnt go above 65 for it though

and sell your current card here - http://www.adverts.ie/showproduct.php?product=198956&cat=all

Solitaire

Try to replace that PSU when you get the chance. Just bumped into it on some lists and it turns out to be a Huntkey unit. This is very, very Not Good :eek::(

Lord Nikon

Solitaire wrote: »

it turns out to be a Huntkey unit.(

What's a Huntkey unit?

Komplett-Tech: Ryan

A very very poor maker of cheap hardware, known for exploding psu's.

Link to assploding miss branded psu:

http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/527/9

Deano12345

Komplett-Tech (Ryan) wrote: »

A very very poor maker of cheap hardware, known for exploding psu's.

Link to assploding miss branded psu:

http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/527/9

PSU dun 'spolded :O

OP : Get a new PSU double time

Edit : How rude of me not to offer a suggestion,the Corsair VX550 should be just right for you,will be fine with a high end graphics card and a high TDP processor,if you decide to upgrade to either

http://www.komplett.ie/k/ki.aspx?sku=339898

Anti

Ive seen one do this before: