Where's the weak link?

arqueturus

arqueturus

arqueturus

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Joined
14 Feb 2007
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16
The story:

I bought a shiny new monitor, yay!

However it has a native resolution of 1650x1080 which seems to be just push my current system that little bit much in some of the newer games around as the same settings as before and I'd like to rectify this.

The Current Spec:

Intel Dual Core [email protected]
2GB Geil Ram 800mhz
Asus P5N-E SLI
Geforce 9800GT@Stock
WinXP Pro (so I can't throw loads of ram in, just an extra Gig)

The Question:

Is there one particular area that needs a boost? (that doesn't require silly money), for instance, will throwing in a new Vid Card be a waste of time with the current CPU? and vice versa.

I'm looking for the best price performance punch and I'm not adverse to swapping out a single part or parts. Price wise I'd be wanting to spend about £350 but that's not set in stone just a hope.

Thanks in advance to all that reply as always.

Cheers,

arq
 
think the 4850 will outperform the 9800GT not sure if it will be value for moeny but at under £100 for a new gfx which runs sweet at 1650x1050 dont see why not
 
millsy888 said:
try and overclock the cpu more, download windows 7 RC 1 7100 and add another 2 gig of ram maybe.
Click to expand...

Interesting. I've heard that Windows 7 won't give me a particular boost in games?

Still, I don't want to overclock my cpu anymore than it is - it's one of the original dual cores.

Thanks for the reply though.
 
Got any more details on that processor like Exx00? Otherwise I agree with post above. Graphics card is a little on the weak side for that resolution but should be able to cope.

However, if it's an issue of wanting to play on pretty high settings you'll probably need a new one.
 
valdai said:
Got any more details on that processor like Exx00? Otherwise I agree with post above. Graphics card is a little on the weak side for that resolution but should be able to cope.

However, if it's an issue of wanting to play on pretty high settings you'll probably need a new one.
Click to expand...

It's an E4300. The native resolution on my old monitor was 1280x1024 so yes, I've been spolit with all the high settings I guess :)

Would throwing a new card at it make much of a difference?
 
As you have a 9800gt and a SLI motherboard, howabout adding a 2nd card? (just make sure your PSU can handle it)

I agree with what people are saying about more RAM, you will likely see a nice boost.
Also, have you considered going for a new OS? The new windows 7 Release candidate is out, if you get the 64 bit version of that along with more RAM i'm sure you will see some nice performance improvements.

In terms of overlclocking the cpu, we overclocked my friend's CPU (intel e4400) up to 3.4GHz using a TRUE cooler. With some nice cooling i'm certain you could have it sitting happily at 3.0GHz no problem.
 
arqueturus said:
Interesting. I've heard that Windows 7 won't give me a particular boost in games?

Still, I don't want to overclock my cpu anymore than it is - it's one of the original dual cores.

Thanks for the reply though.
Click to expand...

i wasn't saying get win 7 to give you a boost in games, i was referring you to it so that you could get the 64bit edition and add more ram :)
 
It's hard to say any one new component would make a huge difference there because your system is reasonably well balanced. If you could overclock to 3GHz, get 2GB more ram (cheap) then that would make a pretty good difference.
Not sure about how much difference a new card would make considering the cost. Maybe google some comparisons between 9800GT, 9800GTX+ and ATi 4850. 4850 would definitely be powerful enough for that resolution.

As for Win7, I agree it would prob be a nice solution to the ram issue as it will last around a year, but no point getting 64-bit as 32-bit version already lets you use 4GB, but moving from 2GB to 4GB along with 32bit to 64bit you will hardly notice a difference in performance. The two are pretty much equivalent.
 
I think your cpu is your weak link here BUT 2 gig of ram and a 9800gt just arent cutting it these days either. In your spec list you dont say what PSU you currently have. Providing your psu can handle it how about this little combo. You will be able to play any game currently available at your resolution with this setup :)
I know the full 4 gig of ram wont show using xp but you will get 3.2 which will be better
If you need to upgrade your PSU selling your existing 9800gt , cpu & RAM will probably generate enough funds to buy a new one :)
350upgrade.jpg
 
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Thanks to everyone for their advice, this is exactly why I always come here when I need to start looking at upgrades.

My PSU is a Corsair 520W HX Series Modular, which I know isn't ******** by any stretch but I'm not sure whether it's quite up to snuff for the newer cards.
 
arqueturus said:
Thanks to everyone for their advice, this is exactly why I always come here when I need to start looking at upgrades.

My PSU is a Corsair 520W HX Series Modular, which I know isn't ******** by any stretch but I'm not sure whether it's quite up to snuff for the newer cards.
Click to expand...

Should be fine for quad core and one graphics card, as long as you dont go SLI.
 
arqueturus said:
Thanks to everyone for their advice, this is exactly why I always come here when I need to start looking at upgrades.

My PSU is a Corsair 520W HX Series Modular, which I know isn't ******** by any stretch but I'm not sure whether it's quite up to snuff for the newer cards.
Click to expand...

That PSU will be fine for the upgrades I have shown :) Go on you know you want to :)
 
well your 4300 is overclocked to 2.4 and has only 2mb cache . Now when you consider you can overclock the 6700 to 3.6 easily (though you will want a good cooler for these type of speeds) and it has 8mb of cache I think its safe to say that YES it will be CONSIDERABLY faster :)
 
4 gigs of ram under xp? what a waste guys.

for gaming you g card is the weak link. Upgrade it! GTX 260 or HD 4870.

CPU is a little on the weak side but still fine. I would overclock your CPU as high as it will go as it should clock condierably better then what you have now.

forget a ram upgrade.
 
4 gig is the best cheapest upgrade option you can get 2gb for £20.

I notice a big difference when running 3.25 gb of ram over 2gb on xp pro especially after playing a game and or alt tabbing multitasking and overclock your cpu.

Company of heroes for xample runs way better under 4gb on xp than 2gb.
 
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