MP 1,1-5,1 Is a GPU bottlenecked in a 5,1?

[eicca]

My future computer plans include an Apple Silicon desktop, which will require me to build a gaming PC. My cMP currently serves as both. Question is, does the 5,1's older hardware limit a modern GPU (like my RX580) in any way? Would keeping the RX580 for my gaming PC result in better graphics performance with the newer hardware?

Not that it's unsatisfactory in the cMP. Just curious if the gap in hardware generations is hindering the GPU in any way.

 

[prefuse07]

Check this out First

I am getting ~60 FPS on 4K gaming @ ultra/highest settings in Windows 10 Pro. Cyberpunk, Elden Ring, SOTTR, Hitman Trilogy, Sniper Elite 5, Forza Horizon 5 are a few of the games. I'm fine with 60 FPS as my LG Ultrafines are 60Hz monitors anyway, so anything above that is wasted, although, if I drop down to 1440, I can easily get >120FPS, but again, I only do 4K, so, i'll let you decide if that sounds like a bottleneck.

Hope this helps!

 

[Norbert Mikołajczyk]

It is bottlenecked but overall the rig is still great, reaching great fps in many modern games at 1440p.
Thanks to 2x cpu and many cores the games aren't bottlenecked leaving a big margin of free power in overall CPU usage.
It seems that different things are bottlenecking here like:
- old overall architecture
- power / performance ratio
- single core performance
- unavailable SAM / Resizable BAR
- slower RAM
- PCIE 2.0

In Dying Light 2 at 1440p, highest settings without raytracing I have 100-115 fps
Control 70-115fps.

I checked the performance of the newest rigs and they are much more faster, but still cMP with RX6900xt is a great machine for gaming and pro work at 1440p. It is a shame that Ventura with AVX is the final frontier, and I believe many games and pro software will be using AVX, AVX2 in the near future, so it's a matter of time to leave the ship.

 

[joevt]

If a GPU is too fast for the CPU, slow it down with higher GPU related settings such as higher resolution or better anti aliasing.

 

[h9826790]

Mainly depends on resolution, game optimisation, and settings.

For RX580, that's a med to low end GPU nowadays. Unless you play games at unreasonably low resolution and setting (e.g. 640x480 at low settings), otherwise, absolutely most of the popular games should be GPU limiting, and able to run at higher than 60FPS.

Of course, some games still CPU limiting even you play it at very low settings, but that's relatively rare (e.g. Thief is one of them).

In my own experience, I play games on my cMP. Most games can run at about 100FPS with my Radeon VII at 3840x1080.

Anyway, here are some gaming benchmarks on my cMP. (P.S. That's with a 1080Ti, which is about 100% stronger than a RX580. So, if my 1080Ti isn't bottlenecking by the cMP, a RX580 also shouldn't be bottlenecked by the cMP.

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/noob-needs-advise-for-mac-setup-on-gaming-4-1-5-1.2165125/?post=26996511#post-26996511

Someone care about PCIe 2.0, I did some tests here, no evidence that's a problem even at PCIe 1.0 x16 (for at least up to 1080Ti)

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/2-1-to-5-1-real-world-difference-gaming-focus.2100440/page-2?post=25739652#post-25739652

 

[thirdhonk]

It might be a bottleneck but my 5,1 with a 2080 TI ran games in Windows 10 great at 1440p on my Studio Display.

I recently replaced it with a 5700 XT though, for Mac OS compatibility. Might upgrade to a 6800 XT or 6900 XT later.

 

[Stex]

Mainly depends on resolution, game optimisation, and settings.

For RX580, that's a med to low end GPU nowadays.

Like @h9826790 mentions above - as far as gaming, the RX580 might be more limiting than the rest of cMP hardware. It depends on what games you want to play and whether you want them to run with the best possible quality etc. Older games would do well with an RX580 on cMP. For a limited time, I ran Win 11 on my cMP with the Sapphire Pulse RX580, it was ok for older games but sub-optimal for more recent AAA games (like Cyberpunk 2077).

If you are gaming occasionally and don't need a dedicated PC for other workflows, then upgrading your cMP's GPU to a (patched) RX6800/6900 might be a "relatively" cost effective way to play recent/GPU intensive games while also getting more life out of the cMP (with the caveat of AVX/AVX2 being the cMP final frontier as @Norbert Mikołajczyk points out). And whenever the cMP end materializes, you could always use that RX6800/6900 on a new PC build.

Another option to keep in mind is using GeForce Now cloud gaming service on any of your Mac devices (including the Apple Silicon one). I tested the service for about 8 months with my cMP and I was surprised by how well it performs. It's not (yet) the same as gaming on a dedicated PC with all bells and whistles, but it's not far off either. To get the best out of GeForce Now, you do need a fast internet connection ideally wired via ethernet.

Full disclosure, I do have a PC (i5 12600K + RTX 3080 Ti) that I use for specific workflows and (of course) gaming, so the above outlook comes from having spent time gaming with the various setups mentioned.

 

[Stex]

I am getting ~60 FPS on 4K gaming @ ultra/highest settings in Windows 10 Pro. Cyberpunk, Elden Ring, SOTTR, Hitman Trilogy, Sniper Elite 5, Forza Horizon 5 are a few of the games.

You mean with Ray Tracing at max settings too but with FSR on, correct? If so, what FSR setting are you using? Just curious.

 

[AlexMaximus]

I had tried manny GPUs in my 5.1 the last six years. I even had a Vega VII for almost two years and used is for gaming as well. Guess what, I sold it and replaced it with a flashed RX 580 to get my bootscreen back and to have it water cooled for minimum noise. In the end it was better for me to game on Win10 and a wtercooled 580 than game on MacOS with a Vega VII and limited Mac games on Steam. The win10 performance and driver advantage nullifies the faster Vega VII on a macOS system without boot screen & windows capabilities. note: This applies to systems with older displays such as my original Apple Cinema Display. The strategy might be different on higher resolution screens such as more modern 4K & 5K Displays. But for 1080 and 1440 my current setup seems to be the absolute sweet spot.

 

[eicca]

I guess I didn't exactly make it obvious that I am gaming in Windows 10 on this thing. It handles everything I've tried so far just fine. Battlefront 2, Squadrons, Halo MCC, and even Jedi Fallen Order on max graphics, though that one does get a tad laggy every so often.

 

[prefuse07]

You mean with Ray Tracing at max settings too but with FSR on, correct? If so, what FSR setting are you using? Just curious.

FSR Ultra, but FYI in Cyberpunk you do have to mess around with the Raytracing settings