Game pc upgrade

sxndy · 8 Apr 2008 at 11:33

I built my current PC to play Oblivion when the game first came out. Its spec is:

Windows XP pro 32bit

AMD 64 4000+ (single core)

Asus A8R32-MVP Deluxe motherboard (can take duel core)

2 x 1gig 400mhz RAM in duel channel configuration

2 x Seagate hardrives 250gig each, in raid 0

1 x ATI x1800xt graphics card

2 x 22" Flat screen monitors

Epsilon Sparkle 600w PSU

4 meg virgin cable connection

I now play EVE Online running 3 chars on one client. Frame rates normally run around 50-60/sec but in battle the can drop to around 5/sec.

Any ideas on upgrading for around £200 that would make a noticible difference to frame rates?

ash_scotland88 · 8 Apr 2008 at 11:45

maybe cheap AMD dual core and graphics card?

Snakedoctor · 8 Apr 2008 at 11:52

Really you should save your pennies and go for an Intel setup. You wont notice a lot of difference by adding a dual core to that system, as I learned about 14 months back. I would recommend a cheapish nforce 650-680 board with a C2D processor and a couple of gig of ram. Should be able to do that for £200. Then think about the gpu later.

bayo000 · 8 Apr 2008 at 13:44

Intel Core 2 Duo E2160 "LGA775 Conroe" 1.80GHz (800FSB) - Retail £37.99
(£44.64) £37.99
(£44.64)
PNY GeForce 9600 GT 512MB GDDR3 TV-Out/Dual DVI (PCI-Express) - Retail (GH9600GN1F51XPB) £84.99
(£99.86) £84.99
(£99.86)
GeIL 2GB (2x1GB) PC2-6400C4 800MHz Ultra Low Latency DDR2 Dual Channel Kit (GX22GB6400UDC) £24.99
(£29.36) £24.99
(£29.36)
Gigabyte GA-P31-DS3L Intel P31 (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard £39.99
(£46.99) £39.99

inc delivery £230.55 bit over your budget
you'll be able to OC that cpu to around 3ghz quite easily
if you cant afford it right now drop the gpu and use yours for time being or till you sell your old stuff and then get new one

sxndy · 8 Apr 2008 at 15:16

Thanks for the advice.

bayo000, that looks like a good improvement for a decent price.

Looks like I should really forget my upgrade budget and be thinking bigger.

The thing that worries me is that with EVE being single thread, I might not get any benefit with even the best of duel cores.

Still, an upgrade will do no harm.

bayo000 · 8 Apr 2008 at 15:39

if you gonna "forget" bout the budget get 8800gt for extra £20, for about tenner more you can get p35 mobo (see if theres any benefit for you) and you could add better cooler for cpu (AC 7 pro is good cooler, doesnt cost much and comes with preaplied thermal paste)
dont even think bout single core