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CPU upgrade

Darryl_1983

Darryl_1983

Darryl_1983

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Joined
20 Dec 2007
Posts
1,319
Location
Nottingham
CPU upgrade for gaming

I built myself a system about 6 months ago to replace a tired old shuttle, with a AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800+ processor, i think the motherboard is an Asus M2N4-SLI, 2GB of cheap 800mhz ram, and a X1650 graphics card.

Anyway i purchased a 8800GT from OC to enable me to play UT3, as the ati wasn't upto it. But i'm still getting lag during game play, which i think must be due to the processor not being upto it.

Would it be worth getting a replacement AMD processor, or swapping the MB and getting an Intel Dual? Or is it worth waiting a few months and overclocking the 3800+ and making do?

I'm tempted to get the 6400+ black edition, with a good heatsink, and 4GB of quality ram. But the price is making me have second thought as i've also got a 360.
 
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going to a P35 board and dual core would be an excellent choice and not too expensive.

The 6400+ is a decent CPU but the cost of the chip alone makes P35 and Dual core the better choice, even the low end £50 Dual cores will get 3ghz+
 
Surely it would be a lot cheaper to go with an AMD though. the P35 MB are £70+, If i were to take this option i'd want something that was going to last a good while, so i'd probably opt for something like the E6550 (1333FSB) which are £110.

To get optimum performance from my system with the 8800GT whats the slowest/cheapest processor i could opt for. with or without a little overclocking? taking into account it'll be for gaming.
 
Darryl_1983 said:
Surely it would be a lot cheaper to go with an AMD though. the P35 MB are £70+, If i were to take this option i'd want something that was going to last a good while, so i'd probably opt for something like the E6550 (1333FSB) which are £110.

To get optimum performance from my system with the 8800GT whats the slowest/cheapest processor i could opt for. with or without a little overclocking? taking into account it'll be for gaming.
Click to expand...

up to you at the end of the day, but the P35 boards will support the new intel chips that are out next year etc.
 
would this make much of a difference to game play. Cause i've just spend £180 on a 8800GT and if skimping on the processors going to effect game play i'd rather pay a little more. Just don't want to over do it.

I was hoping for a christmas bonus to help fund this, but it doesn't look like i'll be getting one, so money is going to be tight over christmas, as i'm sure a lot of people are suffering with.
 
Gigabyte P35 DS3L - £63.44
Intel E2180 - £58.74

£122.18 + delivery

6400+ Black Edition - £115.14 + delivery

I know which I would rather have. Clock that E2180 to 3ghz and it will out perform the 6400+ with ease, and you've also got the option to go for a higher spec Intel chip and will run cooler.

Cant see any reason to even consider AMD currently when a £55 chip will out perform anything they have on offer (minus Phenom of course.)
 
ManCuBuS said:
Gigabyte P35 DS3L - £63.44
Intel E2180 - £58.74

£122.18 + delivery

6400+ Black Edition - £115.14 + delivery

I know which I would rather have. Clock that E2180 to 3ghz and it will out perform the 6400+ with ease, and you've also got the option to go for a higher spec Intel chip and will run cooler.

Cant see any reason to even consider AMD currently when a £55 chip will out perform anything they have on offer (minus Phenom of course.)
Click to expand...


exactly what i would do
 
Tetras said:
What kind of lag (can you describe it)? What resolution/settings are you playing at?
Click to expand...

My first try with the new 8800GT was on UT3 at 1440x900 with settings set to max, the game play was lagging. It was kinda like playing an online game with a connection that wasn't quite fast enough. the only other way i can decribe it is that it was jumping. maybe due to slow frame rates.

So i reduced the resolution to about 1100x750 (not exact numbers but roughly) and put the settings onto medium, and i still experienced the same thing, although not to the same extent.

Which lead me to believe it was my processor letting me down.
 
ManCuBuS said:
Gigabyte P35 DS3L - £63.44
Intel E2180 - £58.74

£122.18 + delivery

6400+ Black Edition - £115.14 + delivery

I know which I would rather have. Clock that E2180 to 3ghz and it will out perform the 6400+ with ease, and you've also got the option to go for a higher spec Intel chip and will run cooler.

Cant see any reason to even consider AMD currently when a £55 chip will out perform anything they have on offer (minus Phenom of course.)
Click to expand...

I didn't realise i'd be getting just as good a chip with this lower speced intel. Ok so the AMD option is definitely a no then.

So just out of interest how much better would the E6550 be? and would it be worth the extra £55. or would any of the others cheaper ones be a better choice, or even more expensive without spending to much more?
 
It was kinda like playing an online game with a connection that wasn't quite fast enough. the only other way i can decribe it is that it was jumping. maybe due to slow frame rates
Click to expand...
Hmm well having characters skip on the screen (like warping) is not performance lag but connection, if you mean a slideshow (juddering) then yes but you'll also find it slow to turn and aim then which you won't with connection lag (though your shots won't hit the target if you aim at them).

If a resolution notch downwards made such a big difference to judder then I'd try a small overclock.
 
Tetras said:
Hmm well having characters skip on the screen (like warping) is not performance lag but connection, if you mean a slideshow (juddering) then yes but you'll also find it slow to turn and aim then which you won't with connection lag (though your shots won't hit the target if you aim at them).

If a resolution notch downwards made such a big difference to judder then I'd try a small overclock.
Click to expand...

Its not a connection lag, cause i'm playing off line in single player mode. Which makes me think its a hardware weakness, its not the gfx card, and i doubt its the ram, the weakest point of my system is the processor.
 
Well obviously i've got nothing to lose from overclocking the 3800+, so i'm going to give that a bash.

But will be investing in the intel chip in the future, hopefully very near future.
 
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