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    What's the bottleneck: CPU or GPU?

    Discussion in 'Gaming (Software and Graphics Cards)' started by Mormegil83, Dec 4, 2008.

  1. Mormegil83

    Mormegil83 I Love Lamp.

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    I'm plaing warhammer online and finding when taking and defending keeps with a warband 20 or more guildies (especially when in close quarters) my frame rate can drop in the teens and sometimes the tens... gpu (9800m GTS) temp is always less than 70c i have it OC'd 698/988/1798. Could my CPU (p8400) be the bottleneck lowering frame rates?
     
    Mormegil83, Dec 4, 2008
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  2. potentv

    potentv Notebook Evangelist

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    It does look to me that your GPU is overly powerful in comparison to your CPU.
    That is also entirely dependent on what you are doing and game, some games are GPU intensive and others are more CPU intensive, it is very variable depending on the game.
    I cant tell you what part of the WAR is CPU intensive but I would expect that part to be related to physics if you have an option for that...
    On the bright side, CPU relatively easily swapped...
     
    potentv, Dec 4, 2008
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  3. Mormegil83

    Mormegil83 I Love Lamp.

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    Yeah i'm just trying to decide really if i should a an SSD or CPU for xmas. if a CPU would help WAR i'd get that but if the GPU is bottlenecking there is nothing i can do and might as well get an SSD. but i guess both will make my system a little snappier and SSD's still having some problems...
     
    Mormegil83, Dec 4, 2008
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  4. Mickbt26

    Mickbt26 Notebook Evangelist

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    Yes it certainly could be the case, I have a p8600 2.4 ghz and it is a bottleneck when i play oblivion with a 9700m GTS, Especially when there is a lot of characters on screen.
    I overclocked it and the frames did not improve at all, so i underclocked my cpu to 2.00ghz to see if it was the CPU and the frames were even lower, so it seems likely that your cpu is the bottleneck.
     
    Mickbt26, Dec 4, 2008
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  5. flipfire

    flipfire Moderately Boss

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    Simple.

    The test to confirm is to monitor your CPU usage whilst gaming.
     
    flipfire, Dec 4, 2008
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  6. Mormegil83

    Mormegil83 I Love Lamp.

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    Ur absolutely right. Thanks. I shoulda thought of that :rolleyes:
     
    Mormegil83, Dec 4, 2008
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  7. brainer

    brainer Notebook Virtuoso

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    if you're playing on 1900x1200 probably the GPU mate
     
    brainer, Dec 4, 2008
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  8. Mormegil83

    Mormegil83 I Love Lamp.

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    i did knock it back 1400x900 or whatever that res is and still didn't feel like i got much of an improvement... I'm gonna window it and check CPU usage with Nvidia system monitor tonight and see what that shows... Thanks!
     
    Mormegil83, Dec 4, 2008
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  9. Deks

    Deks Notebook Prophet

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    Have you considered the possibility the FPS dips down in these scenes due to the internet connection as well?
    You did mention you are playing the game online after all.
    The cpu would hardly be the bottleneck as it's enough for the card in question, and games mainly rely on the gpu, not the cpu (although some games will demand a bit more powerful cpu as well).

    The system requirements for Warhammer Online aren't that great to begin with and your laptop should be able to handle it without trouble.

    Check the cpu usage ... but again it is my personal feeling it's not the cpu.
    It shouldn't be.
     
    Deks, Dec 4, 2008
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  10. Mormegil83

    Mormegil83 I Love Lamp.

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    Thats also something to take into consideration. i'll check how it is wired Vs wireless. ty
     
    Mormegil83, Dec 4, 2008
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  11. Mormegil83

    Mormegil83 I Love Lamp.

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    I monitored my CPU usage with nvidia system monitor and watched temps for gpu (best way i can figuer GPU usage) CPU both cores were +75% usage with not much going on and 100% in some heated battles. Meanwhile the GPU held strong at 60c, when playing Crysis it can hit 70c-75c. so i'm thinking it isn't maxing my GPU otherwise it would get just as hot. Simple answer: I think the P8400 is just a little weak for WAR...

    Thanks for all the tips guys!!!
     
    Mormegil83, Dec 8, 2008
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