Cheapest Upgrade Possible?

marcus.slee

marcus.slee

marcus.slee

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Joined
14 Dec 2009
Posts
50
Hi all

I did my first build 3 yrs ago with your help and think it's time to upgrade. I want to get some advice on how to get a cheap performance boost (basically being able to run Black Op's is my aim).

Is it worth me overclocking the processor and adding some more ram or will this be a negligible boost?

Will my current motherboard handle more ram/overclocking?

Is my graphics card still worth keeping?

Besides my first build I haven't really done any work on the system besides sticking in an Arctic cooler recently (with the intention of overclocking which I never got round to) so please assume my ignorance!

Thanks in advance - specs below:

Intel Pentium Dual-Core E2180 "LGA775 Core 2" 2.00GHz (800FSB) - Retail
Abit IP35-E (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard
OcUK GeForce 8800 GT 512MB GDDR3 HDTV/DVI (PCI-Express) - OEM (Grade A OEM - 3 Months Warranty)
Corsair VX 450W ATX Power Supply (CMPSU-450VXUK)
Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro CPU Cooler (Socket LGA775)
Corsair XMS2 2GB (2x1GB) DDR2 6400C4 TwinX Dual Channel (TWIN2X2048-6400C4G)
 
Hi, welcome back to forums
In order to run black ops youre going to want a quad core CPU and better gfx, plus more RAM, youll then need a 64bit OS to address all the RAM, youre prob going to be best building a new PC tbh and relegating your old one to family or something, not the cheapest route but if you want to play BO well its the best route
What is your actual budget?
 
thanks for the prompt response,

I have no need for 2 pc's so I'll be salvaging everything possible (case, fan, hard drive, current ram) from the current build

so you're saying I need a new motherboard, processor and graphics, plus additional ram an windows 7/vista (currently on XP)?

Budget is minimal (was hoping to get away with under 100 quid) realise that won't buy me much but was just looking for a small boost to last 6-9 months.
 
with that budget your best bet is going to be looking at 2nd hand stuff, try n pick up a 4 gig kit of RAM, and a Q6600 CPU, should be able to pick one up for about 70 quid, and RAM maybe 30, continue using your current gfx for now
 
Your gfx will handle black ops without much fuss, your weakpoint is the E2180 - although iirc correctly these things get way above 3GHz when overclocked, that in itself will give you a solid boost.

I would, as 95thrfiles said look to getting a quad core (Q6600 is the best bet for your budget, around £60-80 on the MM/the Bay) and then the ram. I'd then overclock the Q6600 to around 3.2GHz and off you go.
 
ok that sounds doable.

i think i remember being advised that if I wanted 4gb ram I'd have to upgrade my version of windows? does that make any sense? do I need a new 2X2gb or can I just buy another 2x1gb and add it to the existing 2x1gb ram?

will my motherboard be ok if I just replace the processor and stick in some more ram?

do I need to re-install everything or will by hard drive etc be as is?

sorry for the basic questions! - as I say I havent really touched the build in 3 yrs....

Thanks
 
for cpu and memory upgrades you won't have to re-install anything.

If your board supports 4 * 1 then you could do that, although I think OC'ing is more difficult.

With regards to 4gb ram of ram, XP can only see 4gb total, that's includes graPHICS card, so yes you would be wasting a little.

Why not try OC'ing the CPU right now, see what headroom it gives you, you have nothing to lose and you'll learn for when you have a q6600

* and i agree with the other poster, apart from cpu upgrade you are wasting your cash, modern hd's are quicker, windows 7 far better, the psu is weak for a modern graphics cards etc
 
ok - slightly confused about ram shared with gfx? any idea what ram the 8800GT uses? would it be worth spending 20quid to get another 1gb ram or is it just money down the drain?
 
i'd get the 2*1gb extra, you'll still have 3.5gb to use as such.

Basically windows xp will take the system ram, add the graphic ram to it and come up with a total, in your case it might be 4gb system ram and 1/2 gb gfx ram, it will then let you address the full amount of gfx ram, but only 3.5 gb of system ram
 
ok great guys - really helpful thanks

Think I'll OC and add in some ram and see how far that goes. I could feasibly end up with 3ghz processor and 3.5 gb ram which isnt a bad increase for under 30quid. will think about getting a new processor and gfx in maybe 9 months along with windows 7. any idea if i'd need a new motherboard too?

Also.....this is probably the wrong forum to start overclocking Q's but:

looking at the begginners guide (below)- it doesnt explain the concepts behind CPU and FSB speeds. what is the relation and do I have to do both? how do you know when you're 'maxing out' the system and about to blow it all up?!


Overclocking
The process of overclocking is an iterative process, where you gradually make changes and test to see how stable it is. You should only be making one change at a time so that you can assess if the change improves things, if it doesn't change it back and change something else. Also keep a note of your last stable settings so that you can revert to them if you reach a point where several minor increases in voltage etc makes no difference to stability.

If you're not comfortable with any of the voltages you're applying or temperatures you're reaching then stop and get a second opinion as there is plenty of people on the forum who are willing to give advice.

First off, in the BIOS set as many settings as possible to manual rather than auto. And switch on/off any features particular to your board that hinder overclocking (things like Cool and Quiet for example).

Finding Max CPU Clockspeed

1. Increase the FSB by 5MHz.
2. Decrease the RAM divider if required to keep it at stock or less
3. Run the standard OCCT stability test
4. Run it for 1hour, it may be worth testing for FSB stability as well if you haven't already proven FSB stability at this point. If it passes return to 1, if it fails goto 5. Keep an eye on temperatures whilst testing.
5. Increase the Vcore a notch and repeat the testing phase until temperatures are getting close to the maximum for your CPU, or the voltage increases don't allow you to overclock any further.

Once you've reached a point where you've maxed out voltage/temperature or you've reached a point where you're not comfortable with the voltage you're using run Prime/Linpack etc for longer to check for stability. If you find that it's not quite stable after the longer testing knock 5MHz off the FSB and retest until stable.

Finding Max FSB

Additionally, for CPUs that allow you to change (lower) the CPU multiplier, it is handy to determine what the maximum stable FSB of you're MB is. If you don't have the option to lower multipliers skip this section.

1. Increase the FSB by 5MHz.
2. Reduce the multiplier and RAM divider if requried so that both are at stock speeds or slightly less.
3. Boot into windows and run Prime Large FFT Test, this will also stress the chipset and RAM so will be testing the FSB not just the CPU.
4. Run it for 30mins monitoring temperatures, if it doesn't fail goto 1 again, if it fails, go to step 5.
5. Increase the chipset voltage a notch and go back to 4.

Eventually increasing the voltage will have little effect on increasing the FSB. At this point run a full range of tests and increase the duration of your Prime testing to 8 hours (some recomend more, some less, for me 8 hours is how long I'm at work give or take). If it fails any tests, reduce the FSB by 5MHz and retest until the required level of stability is achieved.
 
If you can, get the Quad core CPU now as BO is coded for more than 2 cores
Re the RAM, it doesnt matter what edition of windows youre using, its whether its 32 or 64 bit, 32 bit OS's are limited to only being able to address approx 4 gig of memory, this includes both gfx and RAM, gfx takes priority so even when you have 4 gig of RAM less than this is usable, but its still worth investing in as you really need more than 2 gig, I wouldnt worry too much about upgrading your windows until you do a complete rebuild, at that time buy windows 7 home premium 64 bit, you can either get OEM which will be tied to that computer, or retail which can be transferred
Although your board wont be the best clocker, its not really worth buying a new mobo no, if you start down this route your looking at a rebuild anyway
The CPU speed is determined by the FSB, its the FSB x multiplier, you can lower your multiplier but not raise it, I wouldnt worry too much about OCing straight away, buy the new RAM and CPU and see how it runs, if its still struggling then have a thorough read of as many guides as you can so you get a good understanding before you start, as long as you dont manually increase your voltage too much youre not going to do any damage to the CPU so dont worry about that, the worst that will happen when you start OCing is if you push it too far it will either crash or fail to boot and youll just have to reset your CMOS and start again
Good luck
 
ok cheers,

re: Q6600

any reason why you all recommend it? and why is it not available on overclockers?

Cookeh and 95thrifles suggest I can find one from ebay or MM (sorry whats MM?) for about 80quid second hand.

any implications of buying a second hand processor besides the usual uncertainty of buying anything second hand?
 
the 6600 was/is one of best value chips for that socket thats all, and they tend to clock well, try and get a G0 stepping one if you can
MM is members market, whilst youve been a member for long time, you havent made many posts, if you become more active in the forums and make more posts youll get access, check the FAQ
And no, theres no additional worries about buying CPU second hand more than anything else, but if you can, get access to MM here and buy from here as its a trusted community rather than the bay where you could be buying off of anyone
 
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