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My CPU too slow?

iBSOD

iBSOD

iBSOD

Associate
Joined
7 Aug 2010
Posts
1,332
Location
Chelmsford
Hi.

I recently upgraded mt gfx to a GTX 465. When installed, I was getting all excited thinking I could play Crysis on very high with avg fps of 40. But of course I can't the fps jump around a bit, but it's usually at 25fps. :( EDIT: The fps increase a little bit when on high, but it's pretty much only playable on med :( And the res is 1280x1024

My processor is a AMD Athlon X2 5600+ @ 2.9 GHz

It is the best CPU that's compatible with my mobo, and I can't OC it.

Some my questions:

Is it my CPU holding me back on Crysis, and would it be worth a mobo upgrade + Phenom processor(tight ass budget)?

Thanks in advance

System specs:

System Manufacturer/Model Number: COMPAQ Presario SR5019UK
OS: Windows 7 Ultimate x64
CPU: AMD Athlon X2 5600+ 2.9GHz
Motherboard: ASUStek Narra (M2N68-LA)
Memory: 4x 1GB DDR2 (cheapo RAM)
Graphics Card: Gainward GTX 465 1GB GDDR5
 
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just to have a idee about games, ( i dind't try Crysis) but with my old sistem i7 860 oc 4 Ghz and gtx 480 i have like 25-27 in metro 2033 all full. mybe after you upgraid you will have 27 fps.
 
for budgets upagrding, even a dual/tri/quad athlon II with an AM2+ board will a) show much better performance, and b) Overclock much higher. (the k8 athlons generally ran out of steam around 3.2-3.4ghz, the athlon IIs usually hit 3.6-3.7, never mind they should be faster clock for clock).

Obviously in games, the phenoms big chunk of L3 cache will make it faster still, but it depends on how far your money will stretch.

edit: you might have a problem with most budget AM2+ boards only having two RAM slots...
 
thingemajib said:
edit: you might have a problem with most budget AM2+ boards only having two RAM slots...
Click to expand...

iBSOD needs to be saving for a sizable upgrade. Good spot on the slot issue, budget board do indeed mostly have 2 slots.

On the plus side, iBOSD, you have a competent GPU and an OS already

What PSU do you have? Please don't say it's the one HP bundled!
 
If someone has "decent" DDR2 and they need a good AM2+ motherboard for running a modern AM3 chip then this can be had for approx £58 . . . I bought mine from OcUK but they no longer stock it?

ASUS M4A785D-M PRO


And in that board the two obvious choices of AM3 chip would be either:

  • AMD® Athlon™ II X3 440
  • AMD® Phenom™ II X4 955
The Rana TripleCore costs almost half the price of the Deneb QuadCore but delivers heaps of performance . . . my friend bought the Rana/M4A785D-M PRO combo for £116 smackers instead of the second Deneb/M4A785D-M PRO combo for £167 smackers! :p

ibsod.gif

Factor in a bit of OverClocking! . . .

Then sell off the old combo to offset the upgrade cost ££ . . . no idea what it would fetch? :confused:

  • AMD® Athlon™ 64 X2 5600+
  • HP M2N68-LA uATX AM2 mobo
ibsod.jpg
 
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Thanks for the suggestion Wayne! WIll start saving once I've payed my dad back for the 465 :P

And the stock HP/Compaq PSU would not power a 465. I have a G7 Power Extreme 780w

And that CPU is quite cheap :D
 
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And just looked at the Phenom, doesn't cost too much more; I think it's a keeper!

Anyway thanks for all the help!
 
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thingemajib said:
propably not the best of idea. The hp site says the max tdp is 89W. Arent athlon quads 95?
Click to expand...

Isn't that the problem that the BIOS mod is meant to solve?

And them posts about the BIOS mod, they all have a slighlty different mobo to me. And I just tried to install it now, but my computer doesnt meet the minimum system requirements. Probably cos of W7 :(
 
Does the boards bios have a flashing utility built in, accessible from within the bios? If so put the bios on a pen drive and give it a bash

Note there may be a chance of bricking the board :0

Edit; I have to say I do like Big.Waynes posts a lot ;)
 
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Almost nothing can be done from the BIOS, so no.

And I no almost nothing about flashing BIOS, so links would be nice.

And by flashing, I could use a CPU that is not supported by default?
 
iBSOD said:
Almost nothing can be done from the BIOS, so no.

And I no almost nothing about flashing BIOS, so links would be nice.

And by flashing, I could use a CPU that is not supported by default?
Click to expand...

There's a lot of variables. I'm not sure about the board you have and what the modded bios will allow but yes, a different bios can add support for CPUs that an OEM bios does not.

If you cant get it to work from within Windows 7 you could create a DOS bootable pendrive with the flash utility on it. It's quite in depth, Google is your friend here :)

Make sure you know what's what before doing any flashing. And as I said above, there may be risks involved
 
iBSOD said:
Isn't that the problem that the BIOS mod is meant to solve?

And them posts about the BIOS mod, they all have a slighlty different mobo to me. And I just tried to install it now, but my computer doesnt meet the minimum system requirements. Probably cos of W7 :(
Click to expand...

no, the bios mod adds a string of text and possibly a voltage setting for the board to recognise the cpu (so it would say AMD Athlon II 620 as opposed to AMD Proccessor Model Unknown). However, put a chip in thats too powerful, it will overstress the VRM circuitry and you could possibly end up with a frazzled board and/or cpu, regardless of whether it recognises it or not.

i know 6w over the limit is not a great deal and you might get away with it, but if it were me i wouldn't chance it.

edit: have you tried pressing ctrl+f1 in the bios? It can sometimes unlock hidden options.
 
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The 45W 2.6GHZ Athlon II X3 420e is around 80 quid and there is also the 65W 2.5GHZ Phenom II X4 905e and the 65W 2.6GHZ Phenom II X4 910e.

Alternatively a 65W 3.3GHZ Athlon II X2 265 or an 80W 3.3GHZ Phenom II X2 would also be a decent upgrade from an X2 5600 IMHO.

Here is a comparison of the X2 5600+ and the X2 255:

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/30?vs=121
 
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