What component should i upgrade.

[Phoboz001]

Hey all,

I want to get a lil better performance out of my system before i buy a whole new comp. This PC is just for gaming. Which component is the best bang for my buck upgrade? Any suggestions onwhat to buy would be helpful too.



CPU: AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core Processor 4200+

GPU: NVIDIA GeForce 7600 GS

RAM: 2g DDR2 800

Mobo: ASUS MSN32-SLI Deluxe

Thanks

 

[DATANK1436]

I would suggest a ATI 4850 video card.

 

[Phoboz001]

Anyone else have any input?

 

[DSF]

What games do you play?

As a catch-all answer though, DATANK1436 is probably right that a new video card would help the most.

 

[0roo0roo]

Originally posted by: DATANK1436
I would suggest a ATI 4850 video card.

 

[imported_Zeke]

4850 is hot like fire

 

[Boobs McGee]

GPU upgrade would provide the biggest performance increase I would say.

 

[Phoboz001]

Can i put a ATI card on this mobo?

ASUS MSN32-SLI Deluxe

 

[Roguestar]

Yes.

Buy the 4850.

 

[happy medium]

With that cpu (4200+) I suggest a 8800gt. Unless you play at ultra high resolutions. (1900x1200 or higher).

 

[Rockhound1]

Originally posted by: Roguestar
Yes.

Buy the 4850.

:thumbsup:

 

[happy medium]

A x2 4200 will be a bottleneck to a 8800gs/gt. Why on earth would you tell him to buy a 4850 thats as fast as a 8800 ultra?

Now if he overclocks his cpu to say 2.8/3.0 then I can see a 4850.

If he dosen't overclock he can use the money he saves for a high end x2 cpu.

A x2 6000 @ 3.1 like this one for 92.00$ shipped

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16819103272

You can easily get a used 8800gt for about 90.00$.

180.00$ and he will have better fps then a stock 4200+ and a 4850.

 

[Rockhound1]

Originally posted by: happy medium
A x2 4200 will be a bottleneck to a 8800gs/gt. Why on earth would you tell him to buy a 4850 thats as fast as a 8800 ultra?

Now if he overclocks his cpu to say 2.8/3.0 then I can see a 4850.

If he dosen't overclock he can use the money he saves for a high end x2 cpu.

A x2 6000 @ 3.1 like this one for 92.00$ shipped

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16819103272

You can easily get a used 8800gt for about 90.00$.

180.00$ and he will have better fps then a stock 4200+ and a 4850.

When the OP does decide to upgrade his system, he can easily transfer the 4850 to the new system. The 8800GT is already "old" technology - I was just looking to suggest something more "future proof" that he could use in his next system. Right now, the 4850 gives you the most bang for your buck. The OP can easily overclock his current CPU using that ASUS motherboard. That was my thought process... The OP can pick up a 4850 for as cheap as $140 after rebate.

 

[Phoboz001]

I think i am going to upgrade to the 4850. Can someone point me to a guide to overclock AMD processors? or a guide to overclock with my motherboard?

 

[heyheybooboo]

Originally posted by: Phoboz001
I think i am going to upgrade to the 4850. Can someone point me to a guide to overclock AMD processors? or a guide to overclock with my motherboard?

The Radeon HD 4850 will pull between 110-145 watts (depending upon who you trust).

Your 7600gs will pull around 25 watts.

At a minimum you need to verify that you have a quality >80% efficient 450w power supply. A 500w would be much better. The HD4850 should come with an adapter that will power the video card thru a 4-pin molex connector.

Download and install HW Monitor. Run the program and note CPU temp and voltage.

Download and install CPUz. Run the program. Your CPU should be 2200MHz, your HT speed should be 1000MHz and your ram speed 366MHz.

Read up on your BIOS settings in your manual. Learn how to reset your CMOS. Under the advanced tab in the BIOS select 'Jumperfree'

1) @ AI Tuning set overclocking to manual.

2) @ AI Tuning set CPU Freq to 219 MHz

3) @ AI Tuning set PCIe Freq to 100MHz

4) @ Chipset tab set the ""CPU<->NB HT, NB->SB HT & SB->NB HT"" speeds at '4x'

5) @ CPU Configuration tab disable 'Cool & Quiet'

6) Save and exit the BIOS.


The computer should restart and load Windows. If you have a problem you must reset the CMOS.

When Windows launches open CPUz. Your CPU speed should be 2410MHz, your HT speed should be 876MHz and your ram speed should be 401MHz. (AMD memory speed is 'double-pumped' so you RAMs will be running 802MHz)

Open HW Monitor and check your temps.

This should be simple enough. If you have a problem you may need to slightly bump your cpu voltage. It would be to your advantage to run a stress test on your computer to load the CPU 100% so that you may monitor your temps....

You most likely will be able to OC higher but that will involve reducing the memory ratio, more voltage tinkering, and would most certainly require stress testing and temp monitoring.

 

[Phoboz001]

OK thanks for the write up. Ill post back here with what happens.

 

[roid450]

new video card for sure. i went form a socket 939 Opteron 2.6 dual core and nforce 4 mobo, to a evga 750i and Q6600 at 3.0 ghz and 4 gb ram, spent almost 700$ on all that plus a power supply, and noticed almost no difference. the single thing that made the most difference was the video card for sure. also i did get a lil more multi taskability and much easier to use windows overall with the enw hardware. but it wasnt much of a gain in gaming until i got my gtx260 vid card