MY RIG : X2 6000+ @ 3.32 ghz

[GprophetB]

RIG:

AMD X2 6000+ (new style lower wattage) @ 3.32 ghz
4 gig Fatal1ty Ram at normal DDR2 800 speeds
EVGA 8800 GTS 640 meg running at about 15% overclocked on mem / gpu
Gigabyte AM2 / AM2+ board (nice but nothing too enthusiast)
1 TB Hitachi
Antec True power PSU

Help me out here guys, i game at 1920x1080 and i want to make an upgrade just not sure how. Ive been playing through the witcher for PC and its smooth most of the time but in big fights my frames will drop into the low 20's which sucks. I also want to be able to hammer out Diablo 3 and SC2 full bore, as well as mass effect 2 when it comes out.


Situation A) My CPU is fine and still fast , just upgrade video card to GTX 260 or higher

Situation B) My Graphics card is fine, grab a new i7 cpu and board

Situation C) My rig is getting old in general, part it out and start new

or...

Wait and be patient

 

[Gikaseixas]

since you want to play newer or unreleased games i think you're in a situation C lol

Your Gigabyte AM2+ board will work with a Phenom II 940BE or 720BE and get a GTX 260 or a ATI 4870 1GB. Easy fix and you won't have to spend more $$ for new memory or motherboard.

Sell your X2 6000+ and your 8800 GTS on Ebay and use that money on your new hardware. Good luck

 

[25 Romeo]

hey,
Well I have a pc at home with a GTX 260 vedio card. I am also running on 4 gigs of ram. Now I can play pretty much any game with all the settings on high. I do not lag nor do I bog my pc down. From my experience with pc I think your main problem is the graphics card. I run a 9600 gforce with no problems at all. Question: What type of MOBO do you have?

 

[soccerballtux]

You could get a Tri or Quad Phenom 2 and overclock by multiplier and hold onto that RAM like I did.
You will still need a new graphics card.

I would get the Quad; you'll be CPU future proof for quite some time...

 

[crazylegs]

What those guys said - u have an AM2+ MB so can stick in a Phenom II, Quad would be nice for future releases. See that you OC so you'll be able to squeeze all the power you can from your new Quad Lots of recent articles relating to AMD's good value for money when used in gaming systems, in comparison to i7 (which we probably havent seen the best of yet... might be a while till we do...)

Also you'll notice a nice improvement if you get a new GPU GTX 260 or look out for deals on a 4890 - this is a bit of a hot topic atm and most would argue the 4890 holds a 'bang for the buck' crown, especially for your intended resolution.

Rest of the system looks fine 4GB is ample and depending on which Antec PSU that is, you should be fine for the proposed upgrades.

 

[GprophetB]

Sounds good guys thanks, i just checked my exact mobo: GIGABYTE GA-M61P-S3

It DOES support : Phenom II X4 940

However it says " (Note) If you install AMD AM2+ CPU on AM2 motherbord, the system bus speed will downgrade from HT3.0(5200MHz) to HT1.0(2000 MT/s) spec; however, the frequency of AM2+ CPU will not be impacted. "

http://www.gigabyte.com.tw/Sup...oductID=2434#anchor_os

 

[MegaWorks]

Originally posted by: GprophetB
Sounds good guys thanks, i just checked my exact mobo: GIGABYTE GA-M61P-S3

It DOES support : Phenom II X4 940

However it says " (Note) If you install AMD AM2+ CPU on AM2 motherbord, the system bus speed will downgrade from HT3.0(5200MHz) to HT1.0(2000 MT/s) spec; however, the frequency of AM2+ CPU will not be impacted. "

http://www.gigabyte.com.tw/Sup...oductID=2434#anchor_os

Eh no your board doesn't support Phenom II, recheck the list the fastest CPU that would work is the Phenom X4 9650.

 

[soccerballtux]

Originally posted by: MegaWorks

Originally posted by: GprophetB
Sounds good guys thanks, i just checked my exact mobo: GIGABYTE GA-M61P-S3

It DOES support : Phenom II X4 940

However it says " (Note) If you install AMD AM2+ CPU on AM2 motherbord, the system bus speed will downgrade from HT3.0(5200MHz) to HT1.0(2000 MT/s) spec; however, the frequency of AM2+ CPU will not be impacted. "

http://www.gigabyte.com.tw/Sup...oductID=2434#anchor_os

Eh no your board doesn't support Phenom II, recheck the list the fastest CPU that would work is the Phenom X4 9650.

/

 

[SlowSpyder]

Originally posted by: MegaWorks

Originally posted by: GprophetB
Sounds good guys thanks, i just checked my exact mobo: GIGABYTE GA-M61P-S3

It DOES support : Phenom II X4 940

However it says " (Note) If you install AMD AM2+ CPU on AM2 motherbord, the system bus speed will downgrade from HT3.0(5200MHz) to HT1.0(2000 MT/s) spec; however, the frequency of AM2+ CPU will not be impacted. "

http://www.gigabyte.com.tw/Sup...oductID=2434#anchor_os

Eh no your board doesn't support Phenom II, recheck the list the fastest CPU that would work is the Phenom X4 9650.

Maybe I'm missing somegthing, but on the AM2+ list I see the PhII 940 listed...

That would probably be his best bang for the buck upgrade, stick that in there and overclock. Then a 4890 and it'd be like a new system.

 

[Denithor]

What wattage PSU do you have? Some of those True Power models from a few years back had issues - if it's several years old you might want to replace that also before throwing in a new more power-hungry GPU.

Make sure if your board supports the new PhII X4 that you perform any BIOS flash required before switching the chips.

 

[GprophetB]

I missread this as well , on the right hand column there is a box that says "N/A" which means the CPU is not available for this board... dang

 

[GprophetB]

The Phenom X4 9650 would not be an upgrade for gaming considering the CPU i currently have... Might be time for a complete upgrade and turn this machine into a file server / HTPC

 

[SlowSpyder]

Originally posted by: GprophetB
I missread this as well , on the right hand column there is a box that says "N/A" which means the CPU is not available for this board... dang

Ah, got it... Megaworks gets the reading comprehension award for the day.

 

[crazylegs]

Originally posted by: SlowSpyder

Originally posted by: GprophetB
I missread this as well , on the right hand column there is a box that says "N/A" which means the CPU is not available for this board... dang

Ah, got it... Megaworks gets the reading comprehension award for the day.

Uhuh, if you cant get a Phenom II, its probably time to contemplate a new build.

Bang for buck is pretty good right now, especially considering that you could probably get a decent enough price for your current system.

However there is also i5 and next gen GPUS due to debut later this year... so if you satisfied with your system atm, might be a good time to wait it out over summer

 

[Gikaseixas]

Damn, i feel bad 4 you but it's not the end of the world. You'll find great deals

 

[WaitingForNehalem]

I'm going with: Wait and be patient

 

[cusideabelincoln]

Originally posted by: WaitingForNehalem
I'm going with: Wait and be patient

I'm going to agree with this. You'll basically need a new build, so wait and save up money for one. You can't put a faster processor in that board (the 9650 would not be an upgrade over what you have unless the games you're playing take advantage of more than 2 cores; and even then it would only be a marginal improvement). I don't think upgrading the processor alone is going to give you substantial benefits either since you only have an 8800GTS 640MB video card.

So to even see true benefits, you'll want a new motherboard, processor, and video card. And if you do these upgrades, I do recommend getting a new power supply as well. I'm under the assumption you've been using the True Power for at least a few years, and it's probably in the 400-500W range. It would be a good decision to get a new unit to avoid instability, as age does degrade a power supply. And depending on the setup you choose, you might need to get new RAM. DDR3 is required for Core i7/i5 and socket AM3 AMD motherboards.

 

[apoppin]

Originally posted by: WaitingForNehalem
I'm going with: Wait and be patient

screw patience
:Q

what about that slow as hell 8800 GTS 640?


He can *start* there and it can be the first piece of his upgrade puzzle
- he will get much better *details* and also filtering; even if he will not be able to take full advantage of a 4870/4890/GTX 260 or 275 class card

Graphics cards are really great bang for buck now imo

 

[WaitingForNehalem]

Originally posted by: apoppin

Originally posted by: WaitingForNehalem
I'm going with: Wait and be patient

screw patience
:Q

what about that slow as hell 8800 GTS 640?


He can *start* there and it can be the first piece of his upgrade puzzle
- he will get much better *details* and also filtering; even if he will not be able to take full advantage of a 4870/4890/GTX 260 or 275 class card

Graphics cards are really great bang for buck now imo

How is a 8800GTS 640 slow? What games need it? Why upgrade if you don't need to?

 

[apoppin]

it is half as slow as yours

ALL DX10 games are slow on a GTS 640

 

[happy medium]

Buy a 4890 and enjoy it now @(1900x1080) and with your core i5 rebuild with windows 7 Christmas time.

 

[WaitingForNehalem]

Originally posted by: apoppin
it is half as slow as yours

ALL DX10 games are slow on a GTS 640

LOL, there are so few of those and they show little improvement over their DX9 modes except for Clear Sky and Call of Juarez.

 

[kylebisme]

If you can turn down the resolution to get acceptable framerates, it is your videocard holding you back rather than your CPU.

 

[GprophetB]

Well i beat the witcher, what a great game!

In all honesty i played that game at 1080p with all details on high and only got slowdowns about 3-4 times (in the huge areas with burning houses and spells being cast etc..)

I think i might wait another month and try to pick up a GTX 280 when the new cards hit and enthusiasts upgrade (and buy the GTX used)

Thanks for the tips, feel free to keep them coming