Upgrade issue possibly?

[ViRaLRuSh]

I'm upgrading my cpu from an e4400 to an e8400 soon. The current MB I'm using is a MSI P6N SLI-FI w/ 2GB Giel DDR2-800 RAM.

Do I need to bother upgrading the MB and RAM? I'm using Winxp and I only play WoW but want it an fps increase. I OC'd my cpu from 2.0 to 2.66 but it won't let me go any higher.

Also, any recommendations off newegg? I just replaced my gfx card with a 9800GT.

EDIT: Forgot to mention, this is like a sub $200 upgrade so far....would I be better off just waiting to upgrade for StarCraft 2 to something like an I7 or will dual core be just fine for it you think?

 

[Blain]

An E4400 should get far more than 2.66. You've got some issues that need to be dealt with.
Forget the new CPU and start troubleshooting. :laugh:
...voltages, cooling, driver & BIOS updates, etc...

 

[ViRaLRuSh]

Maybe it's just my system has too much random crap on it and it's slowing it down, I don't know really.

I just feel like getting new RAM and a new CPU and ocing that cpu would be a better bet.

 

[Blain]

Originally posted by: ViRaLRuSh
...I don't know really.

That's exactly the point of troubleshooting, so that you will know what's going on with your hardware.
I realize it takes time and effort. But you may end up with a nice OC on the E4400 for little to no cash out of pocket.

On the other hand, if you simply throw money at new parts, you may be installing them with sub-par components.
Then you'll be back in same low performance boat... but with less $$$ in your pocket.

 

[ViRaLRuSh]

Well, what would you recommend as a first step though?

I'm a bit afraid to up the vcore to try and get 3.0 GHz out of it, this is mainly due to the nature of my MB having a 'hotter than usual' northbridge. Will upping the vcore have an affect on it?

 

[Blain]

I'd suggest setting everything to default and starting from there.
Don't rush through steps, but allow a little time for each change to show total system stability before moving to the next.
Simply "posting" at a higher OC isn't the end. It must be stable in every task.

 

[Denithor]

e4400 @ 2.66GHz + 2GB + 9800GT should be enough to run WoW at 1920x1200 with plenty of eye candy nice and smooth. Something else is going on here, methinks.

How long since you did a clean install of Windows? You may just have gotten bogged down with crap that's holding you back.

 

[ViRaLRuSh]

Haven't reinstalled Windows since May 2007.

 

[Denithor]

Do you have a spare hard drive laying around? Install a fresh copy on that and see if it's noticeably faster. I would be surprised if it isn't, a >1.5 year old copy of Windows has lots of clutter built up that needs to be flushed out.

 

[yh125d]

You'd notice the biggest difference upping the system ram. Vista's ~900mb + WoW at 1920 x 1200 sucks up every bit of RAM my 32 bit OS uses :\

 

[ViRaLRuSh]

Using xp still...haven't really liked any part of vista from using it at work