Need advice on upgrade/system performance issues

[spike-It]

Hi I'm looking for some suggestions on what to do. My current desktop I use mainly for productivity applications, web browsing with some minor gaming - Civ 5, Civ 4, Portal 2. All of the games seems to lag, including Civ 4. Civ 4 used to run fine, and I'm unsure when the minor random stutters in that game started. Portal 2 runs fine for the most part, but can slow down randomly. I don't have any issues regarding web browsing or running productivity applications, although video streaming can occasionally have issues where a reboot seems to clear it. Frankly I expect issues with Civ 5 as my processor is pretty old and doesn't meet spec for the game. I've run scans and tests of my memory and hard drives and nothing seems unstable and I've never been able to detect any viruses or malware.

I'm wondering if a refresh of my OS may clear up some of this problem or an investment in an upgrade may be a better direction (with a clean OS install). The OS was installed clean around 20 months ago.

My current machine is:
Intel Core 2 Duo E6750 Conroe 2.66 Ghz
MSI P6N SLI Platinum LGA 775 Motherboard
6 GB DDR2 Memory
Gigabyte Radeon HD4850 1GB
Seasonic SuperTornado 400W PSU
Antec SLK3800 Case
Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit

If I was to entertain an upgrade, I figure the best use of my money would be to upgrade the CPU/Motherboard as that combo in my system is about 3.5 years old and I believe the CPU a limiting problem with Civ5 at a minimum. I believe the GPU should be sufficient for anything I'm running. My monitor resolution is 1680 x 1050. Agree? How significant of an improvement would I be looking at if I upgraded to an Intel Core i5 2500K setup? Would such a move necessitate me upgrading my PSU? I've ridden this PSU through a few configurations over 6.5 years, but its been rock solid so far.

Thanks for all advice! Sorry for the length.

 

[Slugbait]

You forgot that you'll need new RAM, too. If you want to take advantage of the K, you'll probably want an aftermarket cooler. Upgrading costs can spiral out of control if you don't plan for exactly what you need.

First thing I would suggest is looking for anything running in the background that could impact responsiveness. It may be something that doesn't show up in msconfig, so try using AutoRuns.

If you eliminated background processes, a clean OS install may be just the cure. Be sure to create an image so that you can restore again down the road if you run into this problem (or worse) again.

 

[spike-It]

Thanks for the quick response... I had forgotten about autoruns. I even had it stashed away somewhere on my machine. I was able to eliminate a couple of useless programs from starting, including what I believe to have been the culprit - a leapfrog connect program for my daughters leapfrog. Beyond initially setting up the toy, I've never connected it since. And the timeframe for the reduced performance matches up.

Anyhow, Civ 4 seems to be back to its normal self. Civ 5 is still lagging, but I don't think that will get resolved without an upgrade, which I'm strongly considering doing. I'll post my thoughts on that in a separate thread.

Going on your suggestion, what's the best tool to take an image of my OS install? When I do upgrade, I will want to do this.

Thanks again for your help.

 

[Slugbait]

what's the best tool to take an image of my OS install? When I do upgrade, I will want to do this.

Personally, I use Acronis True Image. Been using it since version 6.

 

[philosofool]

That video card should be just fine. To check, turn your resolution way down and see if the lag really goes away. If it does, that suggests the video card, but if not, it's probaby your processor.

I doubt a clean OS install would make a big difference.

Another test you could run wou,d be overclocking your processor. I wouldn't recommend it as a long term solution (you can test it this way, but get a real cooler if you want to do it consistently), but you can probably hit three GHz on the stock cooler. If your frame rate is approximately a linear function of your clock speed, you need a new processor for Civ Five, or a big overclock

Given what you're doing right now, you could upgrade with a new mobo, eight gigs or RAM, and an i5 2500k for about $375. If you wanted, you could save about $85 with a dual core, hyperthreaded processor. Ask on the Civ Five forums how well that will perform.