Q8400 and gtx 295

[m1k3ypwns]

would this work okay, with a stock 2.66ghz Q8400, as in little to no bottlenecking, or is the card too much?

[karlcloudy]

Originally Posted by m1k3ypwns

would this work okay, with a stock 2.66ghz Q8400, as in little to no bottlenecking, or is the card too much?

I doubt there would be a bottleneck, the Q8400 is a good chip

[m1k3ypwns]

alright, cool
new to the whole pc thing, and this was my first build, still asking lots of q's but, its the best way too learn

[Concept CBF]

Sure would be a bottlneck and a quite large one from what i have seen.

[m1k3ypwns]

aaah, mixed answers :s

[karlcloudy]

Originally Posted by Concept CBF

Sure would be a bottlneck and a quite large one from what i have seen.

So what is actually "needed" to not bottleneck this CPU. I mean, this is a quad core CPU after all. Is this one of those "games work better on dual cores clocked higher" scenarios? I honetly would not think this would be a problem, but please elaborate (without saying anything like "i7 is the only non bottleneck CPU', etc, etc)

[Concept CBF]

From what i noticed with oldmy quad core setup and this is just using an 8800gt +q6600 moving to 3ghz over stock 2.4ghz gained me a minimum of 10-15 frames in almost all of the games i played.
This improvement should be much larger on a 295.

For a card such as the 295 3.6ghz should be g afterwards your not going to notice that much improvement.

[m1k3ypwns]

how would a 3.0ghz Q8400 hold up with it, as in bottlenecking or anything, will i be able to use all of the 295's power

[karlcloudy]

Originally Posted by Concept CBF

From what i noticed with oldmy quad core setup and this is just using an 8800gt +q6600 moving to 3ghz over stock 2.4ghz gained me a minimum of 10-15 frames in almost all of the games i played.
This improvement should be much larger on a 295.

For a card such as the 295 3.6ghz should be g afterwards your not going to notice that much improvement.

I actually think the higher up the graphics settings and demand, the less the CPU will have to do with frame rates as most of the extra demand is on the graphics card, so I don't think 3.6Ghz is neccesary.

Originally Posted by m1k3ypwns

how would a 3.0ghz Q8400 hold up with it, as in bottlenecking or anything, will i be able to use all of the 295's power

I don't think the Q8400 is a bad chip to be honest, my Q9550 is 2.83Ghz, but I don't think it's a bottleneck, although I only have a GTX 275, I doubt a 295 would bottleneck mine. About the only thing is mine has 2 x 6MB of cache, whereas yours has only 2 x 2MB, and cache can improve performance in games supposedly, but I still say that the card will work fine and should run at it's best, but thats just my opinion

[m1k3ypwns]

toss up between 285 and 295, but thers more that needs to be done to my build before a gpu upgrade

[karlcloudy]

Originally Posted by m1k3ypwns

toss up between 285 and 295, but thers more that needs to be done to my build before a gpu upgrade

What sorta screen are you using to play your games on? What resolution? These are pretty important when choosing, although for todays games, a 285 is pretty good, heck, even my 275 runs well on my 22" 1680x1050 monitor. Also make sure your PSU has enough power as a 295 is basically 2 x 275's in one package and requires a decent PSU (ie. not that cheap one that comes with your case)

[m1k3ypwns]

its 24" 1920 x 1080, cant remember brand of psu, but it was bought seperate from case, and is 720w or something

[karlcloudy]

Originally Posted by m1k3ypwns

its 24" 1920 x 1080, cant remember brand of psu, but it was bought seperate from case, and is 720w or something

Yeah, I would actually not get the GTX 295 come to think of it. I just remembered the ATI 5870 . Much better card and has DX 11, it's the one to go for at this moment for high end.

[auApex]

Originally Posted by m1k3ypwns

its 24" 1920 x 1080, cant remember brand of psu, but it was bought seperate from case, and is 720w or something

You might want to check that PSU. If it's a generic/non-branded PSU it won't be good enough for a GTX295 or a GTX285. Check the brand name written on the side of the PSU and post back here before you buy a card. We'll tell you if it's good enough.