Do I need to upgrade just my GPU to play the latest games?

Kaiju · 10 Aug 2011 at 14:06

Intel E4300 @ 2.4GHz
Gigabyte G41-M Motherboard
XTX 9800GTX+ Graphics Card
OCZ 3GHz RAM
WD 74GB Raptor Hard Drive
Corsair HX620W Power Supply
ViewSonic 24" LCD

I was thinking about just upgrading the GPU to a GTX560Ti and maybe an SSD for the upcoming BF3. I also liked Crysis 2 so will be buying that too.

Would you guys think a new CPU/Mobo would really be worth it as I game at 1920x1080. I would prefer 4xAA/16AF.

Jony27 · 10 Aug 2011 at 14:07

gpu, then overclock the CPU so it doesnt bottleneck.

stulid · 10 Aug 2011 at 14:11

Buy a second hand Q6600 and a ATI 6870 or GTX560ti.

Kaiju · 10 Aug 2011 at 14:14

Cool, thanks guys.

logi-cat · 10 Aug 2011 at 14:19

I agree with Stulid. I was gonna recommend everything he mentioned.

Kaiju · 10 Aug 2011 at 14:27

Would a Q6600 really outperform my E4300 by much in the graphics department if I overclocked it to 3Ghz?

I thought most new games these days are bottlenecked by the GPU?

stulid · 10 Aug 2011 at 14:29

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/65?vs=53

thats a stock E4500 (faster than yours) vs a Q6600

overclccok the Q6600 to 3ghz too.

Marine-RX179 · 10 Aug 2011 at 15:06

The E4500 at just 2.4GHz would bottleneck even your 9800GTX+ if you are gaming at 1680 res...I had a XFX9800GTX+ as well before I upgrade my monitor to 1920 res together with a 5850.

I would sort out the CPU first, as 9800GTX+ would still handle 1680 res ok, but if you are gaming at 1920 res, you need to upgrade BOTH the CPU and graphic card. A fast graphic card that would do 60fps won't mean anything if the CPU is holding it back to only run at 25-30fps.

Kaiju · 10 Aug 2011 at 15:18

Would you guys mind taking a look at this CPU pricelist.

I live in HK and finding a Q6600 will be tough.

http://www.jumbo-computer.com/pricelist.aspx?id=3

Tell me what you think I should get?

Disco Boy · 10 Aug 2011 at 15:18

stulid said:
Buy a second hand Q6600 and a ATI 6870 or GTX560ti.

I'd say that a higher clocked E8*00 would be better for gaming than a Q6600 myself...

Pate · 10 Aug 2011 at 15:31

Disco Boy said:
I'd say that a higher clocked E8*00 would be better for gaming than a Q6600 myself...

The quad is a substantially better investment imo.

stulid · 10 Aug 2011 at 15:45

Disco Boy said:
I'd say that a higher clocked E8*00 would be better for gaming than a Q6600 myself...

I dont.

stulid · 10 Aug 2011 at 15:48

Kaiju said:
Would you guys mind taking a look at this CPU pricelist.

I live in HK and finding a Q6600 will be tough.

http://www.jumbo-computer.com/pricelist.aspx?id=3

Tell me what you think I should get?

Ar they new items? because that defeats the point of the upgrade, try and find a second hand,

Q6600
Q6700
Q8200
Q8400

Is this the motherboard? - http://www.gigabyte.com/products/product-page.aspx?pid=3500#ov

Make sure the CPU is on the support list - http://www.gigabyte.com/support-downloads/cpu-support-popup.aspx?pid=3500

Disco Boy · 10 Aug 2011 at 15:57

stulid said:
I dont.

Few games support more than 2 threads, so having a cpu at 4ghz rather than 3 will be better.

Plus they're a later architecture.

Kaiju · 10 Aug 2011 at 18:23

That's the one stulid, thanks for the heads up.

Right, I've got my E4300 to 3Ghz.

I can't find a Q6600, so does everyone agree I should still upgrade to a E8400?

Bare in mind my motherboard is NOT an overclocking board as it was bought on a budget.

stulid · 10 Aug 2011 at 18:26

Kaiju said:
I can't find a Q6600, so does everyone agree I should still upgrade to a E8400?

No, many games are using 4 cores etc, the only time a dual core is better than a quad is a Intel i3 2100 vs a AMD Phenom 955be, and thats because the i3 2100 cores are just much much faster per core.

Plus they're a later architecture.

But not a complete change of architecture are they

Certainly not like a P4 netburst to Core duo is it

Kaiju · 10 Aug 2011 at 18:29

So if I can't find a Q6600, what do you suggest I do?

stulid · 10 Aug 2011 at 18:31

Find any other quad core.

Or then save money for a complete change (cpu/ram and board)