GTX 570 with Core 2 Duo - worth it? • Gaming • PC • Eurogamer.net

manuel_garcia 20 Dec 2011 08:40:17 4,079 posts
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Hey all. I'm in need of some upgrade advice if anybody has a moment!

My system is a relatively stable old e8400 running at 3GHz, paired with 4GB RAM (slow DDR3 if memory serves) and an ATI 5750 running straight into my AV setup via HDMI.

Most games still run fine on the 5750 at medium to high settings, but I'm finally feeling the upgrade bug. I was wondering if I could get away with one more GPU addition before chucking in the towel on the processor and motherboard next year some time.

The GTX 570 seems to be the sweet spot for value at the moment (happy to take advice on that though), but would the older CPU become a bottleneck at that point? Not sure on the state of games requiring multiple or quad cores these days, and if it's only a few that demand a beefy CPU then I can happily wait out and upgrade that further down the line.

Cheers all!

OnlyMe 20 Dec 2011 08:51:03 3,135 posts
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I have the same CPU, and I can't answer your question, but wouldn't the motherboard be a bigger bottleneck than the CPU, due to the PCI-E slot version?

uiruki 20 Dec 2011 09:05:20 5,975 posts
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It depends on the game. I had a Core 2 Quad running at 3GHz when I bought my 570 and many games were CPU limited - DX9 ones being the main culprits as they don't thread as well. You'll certainly be able to up the resolution and image quality but you won't get perfect smoothness a lot of the time.

THFourteen 20 Dec 2011 09:09:27 54,987 posts
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there are some new ATI cards coming early next year which might drive down the price of existing gfx cards.

i'd suggest waiting and just doing the whole lot in one go.

roz123 20 Dec 2011 09:10:14 7,104 posts
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I am in basically the same situation as you but with a 9800gt. I think I am going to hang on with what I have, I can still run battlefield 2 and other games on low settings so whilst I want to upgrade I know I would be better off hanging on until it becomes more neccessary and then it will all be cheaper.

coastal 20 Dec 2011 09:24:19 5,432 posts
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you mean BFBC2 don't you? You should be light years ahead of BF2.

manuel_garcia 20 Dec 2011 09:26:56 4,079 posts
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I should have stated originally that the aim would be to run at 1080p with something approaching 60fps for most titles. I'm not into 3D and my screen won't go above 60hz, so anything more than that is just overkill really.

@uiruki - what sort of issues were you encountering on those games?

roz123 20 Dec 2011 09:32:43 7,104 posts
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Sorry I meant BF3. I was very tempted to upgrade after seeing the minimum requirements for that game, I am so glad I didn't as not only can I run it reasonably well but the game is not as good as I expected.

Edited by roz123 at 09:33:29 20-12-2011

Whizzo 20 Dec 2011 10:13:26 44,810 posts
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I installed a 560Ti for a friend in his E6600 (at stock speeds as he's a wuss about overclocking) and he's finding things to be pretty damn groovy even on his relatively modest spec CPU.

I'd certainly go that route rather than a 570.

Edited by Whizzo at 10:13:59 20-12-2011

manuel_garcia 20 Dec 2011 10:19:04 4,079 posts
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Hmmmm. Tempting. Looks like a �80-90 saving for that card over the 570 as well.

Just worried it wouldn't give me too much more than my ageing 1GB 5750?

2scoops 20 Dec 2011 10:34:45 132 posts
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I went from a 8800gt to a 560ti & it gave me a bigger improvement than I was expecting - especially on the image quality side (I'm now ticking all the MSAA/FXAA boxes I usually left well alone).

I had to stick a quieter cooler on it tho - mine was a bit of a noisy bastard.

Currently running a (slightly overclocked) core 2 quad - Q6600. I think this card is a nice stopgap so I can put off a major upgrade for a few years.

manuel_garcia 20 Dec 2011 10:40:27 4,079 posts
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Er... never mind. Just spotted a brand new and sealed 560 ti on ebay for �140 or best offer. Offered �120 and they accepted. Bargain!

They have four left if anybody is interested: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=280793472418#ht_500wt_1202

Cheers for the recommendations chaps