CPU or Graphics upgrade?

tumtums · 11 Feb 2011 at 00:53

Hey guys,

I currently have a E2200 @ 3.1 Ghz and an ATI 3870 graphics card.

I'm looking to get an FPS boost so I was wondering which would be more valuable. A CPU upgrade to a Q6600 or a graphics card upgrade to a ATI 5670? For some particular reason Quakelive does not run well on my system.

danewesley · 11 Feb 2011 at 00:56

Budget?

pastymuncher · 11 Feb 2011 at 10:20

Both actually. The E2200 with it's 1mb of cache will be a bottleneck for a modern graphics card. The 3870 is left way behind by modern cards as well. Unless you have a decent psu you may need a new one of those as well.

Orcvader · 11 Feb 2011 at 11:44

What's your full system spec and budget?

tumtums · 11 Feb 2011 at 14:10

Ah crap, forgot to mention. I've got £80 to spend on an upgrade.

Skellig · 11 Feb 2011 at 14:13

Can you stretch that a bit?

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-122-HT&groupid=701&catid=56&subcat=1515

tumtums · 11 Feb 2011 at 14:42

I'm just looking for something to boost the FPS a little. It's not holding a solid 125fps, it tends to drop to 80-100 in battle.

Peerzy · 11 Feb 2011 at 14:44

Correct me if I'm wrong but can't the human eye only see 25fps or something anyway - so the difference between 80 and 125 is only a little number you see if your using some program to test it.

BIGBC · 11 Feb 2011 at 14:50

Pretty stuck for good upgrade routes here.

If you could list ur whole current spec it would be handy.

You will be best looking at second hand parts.

EDIT: if you play with a regular group it may be worth seeing what specs they are running to figure out which yields the best FPS increase.

tumtums · 11 Feb 2011 at 14:57

E2200 @ 3.1 Ghz
ATI 3870
Gigabyte GA-P35C-DS3R
OCZ 4GB (2x2GB) PC2-6400C4
Be Quiet 530W Pure Power PSU

mame · 11 Feb 2011 at 14:59

I had an e2180 @3.2ghz up untill a couple of years ago. With that CPU you will find games hit and miss. Some will work fine but with slightly lower FPS while other won't run very good, a good example being GTA4. If your budget is only £80 for now then I'd try and find a Q6600. There is one listed in the clearance section here for £80 but even though it shows 1 in stock, it has no buy button. Don't make the same mistake I made in swapping the e2180 for an E8500 because it won't be long untill you want a quad.

Generally speaking, you will get better results with a low CPU and high GPU than you would the other way around but an £80 GPU isn't going to blow your socks off coming from a 3870.

BIGBC · 11 Feb 2011 at 15:33

Yeah a Q6600 or a 5770 if you can find a second hand one for the price would be a decent step up.