My CPU too slow?

[iBSOD]

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

The 80w Phenom looks nice. But would it work in my mobo without any flashing, and does my that CPU is socket AM3, mine is AM2. But it would still work?

Sorry, I'm just getting really confused now :/

 

[thingemajib]

id bite the bullet and get a new board pal.

 

[d_brennen]

id bite the bullet and get a new board pal.

A lot less headache. You can get an AM2+ board for now and use your CPU/RAM and save the extra for a new CPU

Monthly upgrades for the win

 

[dcsarge]

Another thing you may have to consider if you replace the motherboard is the position of the graphics card slot in relation to the space inside your Compaq case.

The slot on your current board is where the 1x slot is on most retail m-atx boards is. Will your 470 still fit in your case if you move it down one slot? I recently helped a friend upgrade his HP system with a version of that board and this was the problem he had.

 

[iBSOD]

Another thing you may have to consider if you replace the motherboard is the position of the graphics card slot in relation to the space inside your Compaq case.

The slot on your current board is where the 1x slot is on most retail m-atx boards is. Will your 470 still fit in your case if you move it down one slot? I recently helped a friend upgrade his HP system with a version of that board and this was the problem he had.

The card is just over the I/O port, so I will not be able to move it 'down', but I would be able to move upwards if possible. But I will probably be buying a new case anyway (XCLIO A380)

 

[dcsarge]

... But I will probably be buying a new case anyway (XCLIO A380)

Avoids that problem then

 

[Big.Wayne]

[Off Topic]

But I will probably be buying a new case anyway (XCLIO A380)

Oh dear!

Can I suggest the one below instead, more affordable and thermally advantaged with the PSU fitted at the bottom where its cool and nice fans in the roof to extract the heat that "rises"

Coolermaster Elite 430

£41.99 inc

Official website here

 

[Paracelsus]

Something seems iffy here - I could play Crysis on High with a 2.2ghz X2, 2GB ram and my 8800GTX at 1440x900 which is v.similiar to 1280x1024. The only area I had to drop to med was Frost. Similiar with Warhead.

And when I benched the game I saw no significant improvement in OCing upto 2.7ghz. 1 fps.

If you can't overclock, can you underclock? And see if FPS gets a lot worse - if not, it can't be the CPU! Because Crysis never needed a quad.

 

[iBSOD]

Something seems iffy here - I could play Crysis on High with a 2.2ghz X2, 2GB ram and my 8800GTX at 1440x900 which is v.similiar to 1280x1024. The only area I had to drop to med was Frost. Similiar with Warhead.

And when I benched the game I saw no significant improvement in OCing upto 2.7ghz. 1 fps.

If you can't overclock, can you underclock? And see if FPS gets a lot worse - if not, it can't be the CPU! Because Crysis never needed a quad.

Just played a bit of Crysis now. Very high, AA- 16Q, framerate was like 25. When I turned off AA, it increased only a little bit. Fraps said 25 - 30 but I looked much smoother.

I will try Warhead in a few days.

And if I can't overclock my CPU, I'm unlikely to be able to underclock it. (I can't)

I thought my CPU was 'good enough' for Crysis :/

 

[Paracelsus]

Very High and 16xAA ah, that sounds more reasonable. But what fps do you get on medium? Or say, Low but with High physics. If it goes up a lot..which I think it would...I really don't see it being the CPU. Like I said going from 2.2 to 2.7ghz (and 733 to 900mhz RAM) got me an extra 1 fps on Crysis on High.

A 2.9ghz dual core really shouldn't be holding Crysis at ~25 fps.