Question about CPU or GPU bottleneck.

[crumbworks]

I have a Core i5 750 (Lynnfield, 4 core, 4 threads) with a conservative 10% overclock. GPU wise, I have the Radeon HD 5850 (1GB). I game at 1920x1080.

 

I'm considering getting a Radeon HD 7870 GHz Edition (2GB) that's on sale (7950 also on sale, but the 7870 is the most that'll fit in my chassis)

 

There seems to be a pretty significant difference in terms of achievable FPS between 5850 and 7870, according to the web. Am I likely to notice these improvements, or will my CPU be holding me back?

 

And even though I've heard there is supposedly no tangible difference, keep in mind it is a PCI-E 2.0 x16 lane, not 3.0

 

Thanks in advance :)

[Godlygamer23]

There is no tangible difference between the two. PCI-E 2.0 is not saturated by current cards. But you might see a small bottleneck with your 750. If you were running two of them though, you will most certainly see a bottleneck. You can either overclock your CPU more, or upgrade your motherboard and CPU to something better.

[TechFan@ic]

The i5 750 is still to this day a very capable processor, it will hold back performance slightly on the 7870 just like it is slightly holding back your 5850, but you will definitely notice a very significant performance improvement by upgrading to a 7870.

[gasho]

Go for the 7870 ! the performance will improve and the CPU can run along with it still.