why would my new GTX 460 not outperform my old 8800 GT? : Crysis

» Wed Apr 29, 2009 4:44 pm

I just purchased an Asus ENGTX460 DirectCU TOP/2DI/1GD5 to replace my Asus EN8800GT TOP/G/HTDP/512M.

For reference, here is a comparison chart of the approximate cards on Tom's Hardware.

I ran the Crysis GPU benchmark with results of:
8800GT = approximately 32FPS
GTX460 = approximately 32FPS - no increase in performance.

The Crysis settings for both tests were exactly the same for each test. And the test were run 3 times on each card.

Any ideas why the results would be nearly identical? Would this be a case where my older system is limiting any further FPS increase regardless of the video card I use?

My current system specs:
Motherboard: Asus A8N SLI Premium
Processor: AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core 4400+
Memory: 4 gigs Corsair DDR-400 (XMS-3200C2)
OS: Win XP x86

Thanks for any input/insight you can provide.

» Wed Apr 29, 2009 10:31 pm

I just purchased an Asus ENGTX460 DirectCU TOP/2DI/1GD5 to replace my Asus EN8800GT TOP/G/HTDP/512M.

For reference, here is a comparison chart of the approximate cards on Tom's Hardware.

I ran the Crysis GPU benchmark with results of:
8800GT = approximately 32FPS
GTX460 = approximately 32FPS - no increase in performance.

The Crysis settings for both tests were exactly the same for each test. And the test were run 3 times on each card.

Any ideas why the results would be nearly identical? Would this be a case where my older system is limiting any further FPS increase regardless of the video card I use?

My current system specs:
Motherboard: Asus A8N SLI Premium
Processor: AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core 4400+
Memory: 4 gigs Corsair DDR-400 (XMS-3200C2)
OS: Win XP x86

Thanks for any input/insight you can provide.
You problem in CPU!!!
I too was once CPU AMD Athlon x2 4600 and GPU 8600GT. When I bought and installed the new GTX 470 graphics card, the FPS rate remained almost the same and sometimes the game lug! As soon as I bought and installed a new CPU AMD Phenom x4 2 955, productivity has grown considerably, and the game began to fly! New video cards need powerful processors, preferably quad and a frequency not less than 3.0 MHz

» Thu Apr 30, 2009 2:25 am

Did you put the 460 in the Blue slot or the Black slot?
What resolution are you running? What settings?

» Wed Apr 29, 2009 9:33 pm

Did you put the 460 in the Blue slot or the Black slot?
What resolution are you running? What settings?

I installed the card in the blue slot (same as previous card). Running at 1920x1200 (or is it 1080?

Crysis settings were the same as I had used on the previous card. Definitely not maxed out, more along the lines of mid to upper settings. Sorry, I have the computer dismantled at the moment.

Someone else pointed out that my AMD X2 4400+ is over 5 years old now which, along with my older motherboard (which only supports PCIe 1.0, the 460 is designed for PCIe 2.0), is severely limiting any gains from the new video card.

I'm fairly certain the CPU is my bottleneck now. But, I'm still a bit shocked that there was absolutely NO increase in performance.

(fyi: I did a clean install of the video drives when updating the card)

» Thu Apr 30, 2009 2:11 am

For this to be the case... it seems like your CPU was bottlenecking your 8800GT by a couple FPS as well.... so yeah.

HUGE bottleneck.

Also, by clean-installing your drivers, you used a program like 'Driver Sweeper' to clean out the old ones, right? CCleaner is also a good idea as well.

If you cannot afford a new CPU, get an awesome heatsink for your CPU and overclock the heck out of it.

» Wed Apr 29, 2009 4:50 pm

That is a clear and definite CPU bottleneck. Unfortunately that GTX460 is pretty much a waste of potential until you replace the CPU configuration.

» Thu Apr 30, 2009 4:25 am

Definitely not maxed out, more along the lines of mid to upper settings
You could probably turn it up to high without much FPS drop ('high' still involves some more CPU intensive settings) because as already mentioned, that 4400+ will be choking the life out of a 460. CryEngine2 really craves clock speed from your CPU, so long as you've got 2 cores or more, all it wants is more MHz

To put it into perspective, i had a 4GHz E8500 and i could run an extra 4xAA at 1920x1200 on my 4870X2 without any FPS drop. That's how much CPU bottleneck i was getting with that much CPU power.

» Wed Apr 29, 2009 8:49 pm

Sorry for not replying sooner. I thought I'd receive an email notification when there was a reply. I am subscribed to the thread - is the email subscription not working in the forums?

Also, by clean-installing your drivers, you used a program like 'Driver Sweeper' to clean out the old ones, right? CCleaner is also a good idea as well.
Yes, clean install using Driver Cleaner.net. And follow up with a reboot into safe mode and cleaning again.

That is a clear and definite CPU bottleneck. Unfortunately that GTX460 is pretty much a waste of potential until you replace the CPU configuration.
I was planning on building a new system by the end of the year anyhow. Guess the 460 will sit on the shelf for a couple of weeks.

CryEngine2 really craves clock speed from your CPU, so long as you've got 2 cores or more, all it wants is more MHz

To put it into perspective, i had a 4GHz E8500 and i could run an extra 4xAA at 1920x1200 on my 4870X2 without any FPS drop. That's how much CPU bottleneck i was getting with that much CPU power.
Great info and mini-case study!

I never realized how much the CPU could bottleneck until this experience. Thanks for the information guys!

================================================

As mentioned, I was planning on picking up a new system by the end of the year and this was the impetus to move forward. I went ahead and ordered my base parts which should arrive in a few days:

Case: Fractal Design's Define XL Black Pearl
MoBo: ASUS Crosshair IV Formula AM3 AMD 890FX
CPU: AMD Phenom II X6 1090T Black Edition Thuban 3.2GHz
CPU Cooler: Tuniq Tower 120
RAM: CORSAIR XMS3 16GB (4 x 4GB)
PSU: ABS SL series SL1050 1050W

With a few NewEgg promo codes and some combo deals, I picked up everything for around $1,000 U.S. Looking forward to the build next week! And if I get ambitious I should be able to OC the CPU to 4GHz without much effort.

Next step will be to wait for the 460's to come down in price and SLI the system.

Thanks all.

» Thu Apr 30, 2009 4:58 am

Looooved my Tuniq. That cooler saw me through an E6600, Q6600, E8500 and Q9550 before i changed over to the 1156 platform. Had no troubles handling the punishment i put those CPU's through xD

I would recommend that you take a look at Intel's offerings in the CPU department too. Something like the i5 750/760 is an incredibly powerful CPU that has a clear lead over something like the 1090T, cheaper too!: http://www.anandtech.com/show/3833/intels-core-i7-970-reviewed-slightly-more-affordable-6core/5

Australian pricing...

Code:

1090T - $270
i5 760 - $215

Asus Crosshair IV Forumula - $315
Gigabyte P55A UD4 - $220
I'm not up to date with Asus boards at the moment but the UD4 is what i'm using atm and it's got all i need

Tom: Posts: 3463; Joined: Sun Aug 05, 2007 7:39 pm