What do I need to upgrade?

[p0rkguy]

Operating System - Windows 7 64bit Ultimate possibly going Windows 8 after upgrade
Motherboard - Asus M4N72-E
CPU - AMD Phenom II X4 965 @ 3.4
Power supply - Tt Purepower W0100RU 500W ATX 12V
Memory - PNY OPTIMA 2GB (2 x 1GB) DDR2 800, Wintec AMPX 2GB DDR2 800
Hard drive - Samsung 470 128GB SSD (OS), Samsung HD250HJ HDD, WD WD1001FALS HDD
Video card - XFX HD-687A-ZNFC Radeon HD 6870 1GB 256-bit
Monitor - Asus VE278Q @ 1920x1080, LG 20" @ 1680x1050
Mouse/keyboard - Logitech Internet 350 Keyboard, Logitech G500 Mouse
Speakers - Logitech Z906 for gaming via SPDIF, Logitech X-540 for voice via 3.5mm audio ports

In need of an upgrade due to really bad lag while playing BF3. I've set it to medium with motion blur and AA off already and I still have choppiness.

Everest shows
Motherboard - 47C
CPU #1 - 69C
CPU #2 - 69C
CPU #3 - 69C
CPU #4 - 69C
MCP - 57C
Aux - 57C
Samsung 470 - 46C
Samsung HD250 - 43C
WD1001 - 51C
AMD Vision Engine Control Center shows GPU at 70C
These are all idle temperatures. Is this a heat issue or am I being bottle-necked?

 

[DooKey]

Your temps are way too high for idle. Get rid of the dust bunnies, buy an after market HSF for the cpu and put in some more fans to move some air.

 

[lehtv]

Your CPU temperatures have to be off, the maximum temperature for PII X4 is 65C, at that point the system will shut down automatically. Did you check BIOS readings? Try other programs as well, for example: HWinfo64, HWmonitor, Realtemp.

The rest of the temperatures look abnormally high also so you probably have a dust issue or otherwise insufficient cooling; but it won't hurt to double check with a different program. You didn't mention what your case is.

6870 should be able to play it at medium settings smoothly given enough CPU power. Phenom II X4 doesn't really cut it - I was CPU limited in BF3 with an i7-920 @ 3.36GHz, fps dropping to 45fps occasionally in 64-player maps despite medium settings with a 7950. Upgraded to 3770K and it plays super smoothly.

However, it is more likely that BF3 is simply maxing out your RAM and the choppiness results from having to use the swap file. Since your board doesn't support DDR3 and it makes no sense to spend on obsolete DDR2, I would recommend upgrading to:

i5-3570K
Z77 motherboard
2x4GB DDR3-1600 1.5V

Where are you located?

 

[hondaf17]

My 955 BE at 3.5 Ghz idles at 35 degrees C. That's with a Cooler Master Hyper 212 and Arctic Silver 5.

In BF3 - everything on Ultra - my rig (signature) gets 29 fps average. That is with my GPU at 100% usage and CPU at about 80%. 6870 should be good enough for OP to play BF3 on medium settings. I agree with LEHTV about the RAM.

I just bought a i5-3570k and AsRock Z77 Pro 4 mobo and can report back here with results if it will be helpful to OP.

 

[Ketchup]

Did I read that right? Are you really running Windows 7 on 2 GB of RAM?

Your bad results are from RAM. It is up to you if you want to upgrade to 8 GB of DDR II, or just upgrade the CPU/MB/RAM.

 

[mfenn]

Did I read that right? Are you really running Windows 7 on 2 GB of RAM?

Your bad results are from RAM. It is up to you if you want to upgrade to 8 GB of DDR II, or just upgrade the CPU/MB/RAM.

Memory - PNY OPTIMA 2GB (2 x 1GB) DDR2 800, Wintec AMPX 2GB DDR2 800

I think what he's saying is that he has 3 DIMMs totaling 4 GB.

 

[Ketchup]

Memory - PNY OPTIMA 2GB (2 x 1GB) DDR2 800, Wintec AMPX 2GB DDR2 800

I think what he's saying is that he has 3 DIMMs totaling 4 GB.

Ok, thanks for the clarification mfenn. I still think more RAM is in order.

 

[mfenn]

Ok, thanks for the clarification mfenn. I still think more RAM is in order.

Maybe. It really comes down to what the OP's budget is.

 

[p0rkguy]

OP here
I was thinking
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131754
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820145357
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835103099
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835103060 x3

https://www.dropbox.com/s/ik29ros02lqs1tr/Temperatures.png

I'm not planning on replacing the CPU and GPU anytime soon since I purchased them last year.

 

[mfenn]

https://www.dropbox.com/s/ik29ros02lqs1tr/Temperatures.png

I'm not planning on replacing the CPU and GPU anytime soon since I purchased them last year.

Are those idle temps? There is something seriously wrong with your CPU cooling setup if so. I would recommend removing the HSF, thoroughly cleaning both the HSF and CPU package, and then remounting the cooler (with fresh thermal compound of course).

As for the motherboard and RAM, I really see no reason to buy a new AMD motherboard just to get some more RAM. 4GB should be plenty until you upgrade to a new CPU.

 

[ElFenix]

i thought everest wasn't being updated anymore

edit: that reporting seems to be wrong. is that the latest version of HW Monitor?

 

[p0rkguy]

Yes, those are all idle temps.
AIDA purchased Everest but Everest still works fine.
Don't know if reporting is correct or not but it is CPUID's latest version, 1.21.0.

 

[riversend]

Maybe. It really comes down to what the OP's budget is.

This. What is your budget? Do you have a timeline where you might be able to save up a bit of cash to get a better bang for your buck? I agree that getting a new mobo and more DDR2 is just adding more to you sunk costs on the system you have leaving you with fewer resources down the road to do something meaningful.

Any possibility of assistance over the holidays?

 

[mfenn]

Yes, those are all idle temps.
AIDA purchased Everest but Everest still works fine.
Don't know if reporting is correct or not but it is CPUID's latest version, 1.21.0.

In that case, your cooling system is seriously busted. You're seeing massive thermal throttling under load, which is a big contributor to your poor BF3 performance. Give the machine some TLC as I laid out in my earlier post.