Is my desktop upgradable for better gaming performance?

[andrewr47]

My current desktop setup:

Intel(R) Core(TM) 2 Duo E6750 CPU @ 2.66GHz 1333FSB 4MB L2 Cache 64-bit
2GB (2x1GB) PC6400 DDR2/800 Dual Channel Memory
NVIDIA GTS 8800 (could be GTX or GT, can't remember)
600 Watts Power Supplies
Asus P5N-E nForce 650i SLI Chipset LGA775 FSB1333 DDR2 Mainboard

I'm currently playing some games such as one of the popular MMO's, SC2, and some first person shooters. I'm able to crank up the graphics to medium-high settings with decent performance, but cannot do maximum quality. Without changing the CPU, will upgrading my RAM and/or graphics card allow me to crank up the performance while on max graphics quality? Games include starcraft 2, EQ2, Crysis 2. If so, any suggestions?

 

[SolMiester]

My current desktop setup:

Intel(R) Core(TM) 2 Duo E6750 CPU @ 2.66GHz 1333FSB 4MB L2 Cache 64-bit
2GB (2x1GB) PC6400 DDR2/800 Dual Channel Memory
NVIDIA GTS 8800 (could be GTX or GT, can't remember)
600 Watts Power Supplies
Asus P5N-E nForce 650i SLI Chipset LGA775 FSB1333 DDR2 Mainboard

I'm currently playing some games such as one of the popular MMO's, SC2, and some first person shooters. I'm able to crank up the graphics to medium-high settings with decent performance, but cannot do maximum quality. Without changing the CPU, will upgrading my RAM and/or graphics card allow me to crank up the performance while on max graphics quality? Games include starcraft 2, EQ2, Crysis 2. If so, any suggestions?

A GTX460 would be a nice upgrade and viable with that CPU, however it could probably do with an overclock....

 

[mnewsham]

Windows 7 or XP? x32 or x64? Upgrading to 4GB of RAM in a 32bit OS would help upgrading to 6 or 8 would be sweet on a 64bit OS. Wait for a few months for the next gen GPU's on 28nm to come out if oyu have waited this long another few months wont kill you.

 

[MustangSVT]

you would be able to set it to ultra texture with new card but framerate in general will be same for SC2. it's a huge cpu hog.
now if you overclock that cpu to somewhere near 3.5ghz, its a different story.

my c2q 8200 @ 3.1 completely bogs down in heavy 2v2s. (sub 10 fps)

 

[andrewr47]

thanks for all the responses!
im on XP 32 bit. my motherboard supports
PCI Express x16 2 (SLI mode: x8, x8)
but the GTX460 needs PCIe 2.0 x 16, will my MB even support that?

 

[toyota]

thanks for all the responses!
im on XP 32 bit. my motherboard supports
PCI Express x16 2 (SLI mode: x8, x8)
but the GTX460 needs PCIe 2.0 x 16, will my MB even support that?

yes but the 460 supposedly had some compatibly issues with some 775 boards.

what res are you playing at? it would also be helpful if you could give the exact specs of your power supply. also what is the exact card you actually have now? don't just guess...

 

[andrewr47]

ok so to summarize again, I went back and looked at the specs:

Intel(R) Core(TM) 2 Duo E6750 CPU @ 2.66GHz 1333FSB 4MB L2 Cache 64-bit
2GB (2x1GB) PC6400 DDR2/800 Dual Channel Memory
NVIDIA GeForce GT 8800
(CoolerMaster Unit 600 Watts eXtreme Power - SLI Supports)
Asus P5N-E nForce 650i SLI Chipset LGA775 FSB1333 DDR2 Mainboard
Running Vista 32 bit
Res 1680x1050

from the above discussion im thinking about just upgrading my RAM to 8 GB (the max allowed) and upgarding to GTX460. will that be compatible and be able to increase performance (b/c i dunno how to overclock CPUs)? if not what is the next best card that is compatible? thanks

 

[cusideabelincoln]

Effectively you are limited to around 3GB of RAM with a 32-bit operating system, give or take depending on what video card VRAM size you get. You need to upgrade to 64-bit to utilize more than 4GB.

 

[toyota]

no point in upgrading your ram to 8gb ram since you have a 32 bit OS that will not be able to use it anyway. you could get another 2gb of ram for 4gb total but your 32 bit OS will only be able to use around 3 gb.

you will certainly get a noticeable boost in most games going from an 8800gt to a gtx460 at 1680x1050. some cpu intensive games may not see very much improvement though. overall at stock speeds your cpu will certainly limit the potential of a gx460.

you may want to read up on cpu overclocking since you have a lot of untapped power there if you get a fast card.

 

[Bateluer]

RAM and video card, with Windows 7 64. RAM is easy. Video card will generate much debate.

 

[DirkGently1]

That's a very balanced rig you have and was probably a decent gaming machine in it's day. That day has long passed now and you should ask yourself if there is any point sticking with that platform and wasting money prolonging it's suffering.

Time for an overhaul, if your budget can stretch to it.

 

[gramboh]

That's a very balanced rig you have and was probably a decent gaming machine in it's day. That day has long passed now and you should ask yourself if there is any point sticking with that platform and wasting money prolonging it's suffering.

Time for an overhaul, if your budget can stretch to it.

If you can afford a new build, you will see well over a doubling (or even tripling) of performance. If you want to stick with your base config for now I would buy:

- 2x2GB DDR2 memory (should be about $50), sell or give away the old 1GB sticks, overclocking with 4 DIMMs doesn't work well. No point in >4GB ram with 32bit Windows, it won't be able to address/use it.
- Overclock your CPU to 3.2GHz
- Buy a GTX 460 for $100ish