Will the 8800gts bottleneck with my amd am2 3500+, even IF, I run all my games at 1280x1024 with prolly AA + AF maxed out?
Well proberbly not, depend if the game is more dependant on the CPU. Your cpu is a good cpu, so it shouldent be a problem, allthough dual core is slowely becoming better for games. Also your mobo supports PCI-E (PCI-Express) right?
Yeah ofcourse. Another question, the 3500+ is stocked at 2.2ghz, what kind of cooling would i need to get it up atleast to 2.4-2.5ghz? Willz i see you got yours to 2.8 ghz =D, how'd you get it so stable and not melt?
You can probably OC that with stock cooling quite easily, at least the speeds you're looking at. Also keep in mind that he has a different core than you do, so that can affect results as well.
i think 3500+'s can get to 2.6ghz fairly easy, my cpu is known for its good overclocking, there aint a massive difference in temperature between stock clocks and overclocks, but i did have to bump the voltage up, some people have got the 3700+ stable at 3.0ghz. I am also using the stock cooler, no need for better coolers unless you want 100% quiet or are extreme overclocking
Yes Willz but you're forgetting that you have a 3700+ which while it may be clocked at the same speed uses a totally different core - and overclocking is something that you'll never be able to predict, as 2 cores manufactured on the same day in the same place etc etc will perform differently.
i know that, but nearly all owners of 3700+'s who have tried overclocking have succeeded in getting to the high speeds, it's not just luck with the 3700+'s, i read a review before i bought mine, said most can get up to 2.8ghz stable, and when i got mine, overclocked it, and it did.
The 3500+, being AM2 will give you good yeilds, you could probably hit 2.6 with the stock fan and no voltage change. Granted now and then a cpu comes along that simply doesn't overclock well even though others of the same make a model do great, there is s a big of luck involved in how far you can push it. Either way with games focusing so much more on graphics rather than seriously advanced AI and updated physics (I mean Havok 2 has been used for ages now) I don't think you'd run into a bottle neck, at least not with most shooters and rpgs say. Really intensive strategy games with tons of units might get a little choppy due to your proc but only if you don't OC it.
The only really intensive strategy games i play is Rome Total War, and soon Medieval total war 2 . Hopefully i can get it runnin decently with my cpu overclocked!
[google]Prime 95[/google] is your friend. Run it for 24 hours straight. If it runs that long without errors, it's considered stable. Just because you get into Windows doesn't mean it's stable. As long as you go slowly on the OC, you should be fine.
Nice program, its going to be my best friend for a couple of days for sure . What program can i use to monitor the temperature of the cpu?
I thought it was 12 hours ? i ran for 12 hours and got no errors, i did get errors when i had my other case, coz the cooling was bad, and even the graphics card overheated, since putting it in my newer case i get no errors at all.
