Overall PC performance probs...please help??

bioshockeruk

bioshockeruk

bioshockeruk

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Hi guys, I'm having some performance issues with my machine playing some games, I have very little budget to improve this spec, which begs me to ask wether I should upgrade a paticular component, or maybe alter some settings (bios etc.) to improve this setup. My machine seems very sluggish and sometimes unresponsive, which I know it's no powerhorse but should at least be more stable than it is. If anyone can help please, my specs are listed below:


CPU: AMD Athlon X2 250 3.1Ghz
Mobo: Asus M5A78L-M LX V2
Ram: 4.00 GB Single-Channel DDR3 @ 647MHz
Graphics: ATI Radeon HD 5670 512mb
19" Monitor running @ 1280x1024@60Hz
Sound: onboard Realtek High Definition Audio
HD: Western Digital 320GB Sata III 6gb/s
OS: Windows 8 Pro with Media Center 64bit
PSU: 550w Corsair 80 plus

if you need more info please ask, I'm desperate to try and resolve these issues, it's probaly the way my machine is setup in bios, or i could be bottlenecked by some hardware.
 
general sluggishness surfing internet can be solved by doing a full wipe and reinstall of windows possibly onto a ssd, if your trying to play new games, id say ur cpu and gpu are both holding you back. probably more ur cpu at that res but probably a bit of both. i dont think 512 megs is enough for anything these days, and the 5670 wasnt a great gpu to begin with
 
would a cpu upgrade to AMD Athlon II X4 635 2.9 GHz Quad-Core be of much use to me in say battlefield 3, because my bro has a phenom x6 with the same gfx card and he is running bf3 fine. but I seem to be struggling.
 
You are running a 64-bit OS with only 4gig of RAM. This is pushing things a bit. If your mobo will take more, try and cram 8 in there. If it won't take more, it may be upgrade time.
Windows will be constantly grinding the page file on a 4GB system, slowing everything down to the speed of the hard drive.

EDIT
Just done some reading. Seems Win8 should run OK on 4GB. I'd say do a clean reinstall of Windows, then...
 
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i think 4gigs is fine for the moment unless your incapable of keeping malware off your system inwhich case 8 gigs would help but more of a band aid than a fix
 
think thats an older phenom so will likely be a step down on most games with the odd exception like bf3 that really utilises quads but wont be a major step up, doesnt look like its compatible with ur mobo, looking at ur mobos cpu support list it looks like u can get anything up to fx series, id recomend a fx x4 x6 or x8 if you can afford it, i think this is u mobos cpu support list http://uk.asus.com/Motherboards/AMD_AM3Plus/M5A78LM_LX_V2/#CPUS
 
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bioshockeruk said:
if i add 4gb, i could probaly afford this cpu: Phenom Quad 9500+ (2.2GHz) AM2, would this help a lot, or is that phenom stepping down in performance?
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That CPU is not compatible with your motherboard.

As metioned ideally a quad core Phenom II Or FX CPU would be a good upgrade.

Even an Athlon II X4 should be an improvement though...
 
cool, so as noted that phenom is out the question, so that leaves me with this as my next choice AMD Athlon II X4 635 2.9 GHz Quad-Core. Also, I'm almost 100% sure i dont have malware and from what i've read and been told, many games won't use more than 4gig ram anyways, and i dont tend to multitask too much anyways, photoshop and chrome mainly. Also, i noticed in speccy that my Ram is showing as 647mhz when it should be higher i think, is that affecting it maybe?
 
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yeah go for the athlon ii x4 if that's all you can afford, will give a boost to a lot of games. reinstall windows if internet surfing etc is still feeling sluggish. i dont think ram speed makes a great deal of difference.... then save up for a better gfx card, great cards can be had second hand..pretty cheap and then you'll likely be set for another 1-2 years at least.
 
ok thanks guys, i've ordered the x4, added another 2gb of ram and also bought a 6450 2gb gfx card today, to replace the 5670 512mb card, i thought it was faulty and they swapped for another one, and i still have this problem...my screen seems to be hazy, and even in bios its hazy, I also just updated my bios to the latest version, what could be the problem now guys as im stumped?
 
bioshockeruk said:
ok thanks guys, i've ordered the x4, added another 2gb of ram and also bought a 6450 2gb gfx card today, to replace the 5670 512mb card, i thought it was faulty and they swapped for another one, and i still have this problem...my screen seems to be hazy, and even in bios its hazy, I also just updated my bios to the latest version, what could be the problem now guys as im stumped?
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you probably should have done some research on gfx cards, the 6450 is slower, probably by quite a way than the 5670. the second number is the major performance number, 6 is mid range 4 is the lowest. the first number is the series number, and the lower end cards are often just re brands so no different than the last series - ie 5450 would probably be much the same as 6450 therefore worse than your 5670, 3rd number is minor performance number ie 5670 slightly better than 5650 etc. 2 gigs of vram means nothing if you have no graphics grunt, its just a gimmick to sell cheaper cards!

if your screen is hazy its probably more to do with your monitor or connections, try different leads etc, try your pc on your tv via vga or hdmi etc to rule that out. but id probably take back that 6450 until you can afford something better.
 
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thanks i will be doing that in the morning then lol, the guy in shop said it was a better card, and i thought it wasnt but hey ho, guess ill be searching on overclockers for a better card now then, thanks for the info, thats been really helpfull.
 
bioshockeruk said:
thanks i will be doing that in the morning then lol, the guy in shop said it was a better card, and i thought it wasnt but hey ho, guess ill be searching on overclockers for a better card now then, thanks for the info, thats been really helpfull.
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no probs, the 7770 for £100 should be decent and a nice pairing with your athlon ii x4 and monitor resolution, or you could go second hand, the 7850 is probably the best bang for buck at the moment at around £150 but might be a bit overkill for your other hardware, but if you get an even better cpu later (beauty of amd they dont constantly change there sockets like intel!) and a 1080p monitor it will benefit you then.
 
thanks for your help, i managed to fork out a bit extra, the wife let me!! lol so i went with the Asus HD 7850 DirectCU II V2 1024MB GDDR5, and the x4, so i should have room to expand a little in the future maybe. CPU should arrive 2moz and the GPU arrive monday as i was a little late, and as stated i added an extra 2gb ram as it was only a few pound in the shop down the road, so it wouldnt hurt, hopefully my machine should run better now, specially as I've replaced every component now apart from the fans!!! lol


thanks again for the help buddy, you been awesome! :)
 
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