Would you upgrade this? E4500 C2D, 8800GTS 640 OC

[VirtualLarry]

I built my BIL a computer, he was using a Pentium D 2.8 with a 7600GT. I gave him a C2D E4500 with a 8800GTS 640 OC.

It was a big step up for him, and he was happy, but some time ago, he said that the machine crashed after playing games for several hours. So I was thinking of some possible upgrades. It's not possible to overclock the CPU, it's a Dell G33 or G31 motherboard. So 2.2Ghz with 2MB of cache is the max he's going to get with that box, short of upgrading to a whole new machine.

Would it be worthwhile upgrading the graphics card to something newer? He just upgraded from a 1680x1050 to a 1920x1080 screen too. So I'm not sure how well the 8800GTS 640 OC is going to work out, since that's slower than an 8800GT 512MB, which is slower again than a 4850.

I was thinking 5770, or possibly even 5850, although I have a feeling he might be CPU bottlenecked by that.

His PSU is a cooler master "extreme power" 500W. Not the greatest, I threw it in there because I had it lying around, and the PSU that came with it had a dead fan.

Oh, btw his wife nixed the idea of a complete new gaming rig, so a whole system upgrade is out of the question for now.

 

[digitaldurandal]

I would change the motherboard. I had some issues with a similar build after a few months and bought a cheapy motherboard from MSI, no issues since. Dell tends to use cheap motherboards in my experience.

 

[mhouck]

sounds like money is an issue, what is his budget?

 

[GodisanAtheist]

First, what resolution is his monitor and what is his budget. Its gotta be around $200->$300 dollars if you're even considering a 5850.

If the machine is crashing after several hours of gaming, sounds like it needs some temp monitoring. Doesn't do anyone any good if he buys new parts and finds his machine keeps crashing. Regreasing some stuff/improving airflow should fix that.

A new cheapo motherboard should definitely be on your short list as well, a $50 mATX board or so.

 

[VirtualLarry]

Resolution is 1920x1080, budget is, say, $300. It would be a gift to him, so he's not paying for it, but that's about the max I can spare for a month.

One other thought, I would have to replace the PSU if I got him a 5850, because that has two 6-pin PCI-E connectors, right? The existing PSU only has one, although I have some enhance ENP-5150 500W PSUs that have two PCI-E 6-pin connectors on them. But they also only have 8-pin EPS12V CPU connectors, so I'd have to get an adaptor. Good thing I ordered two adaptors recently, they should be in within the week. (Egg Saver shipping)

But my primary question in this thread is, would an E4500 (2.2Ghz dual-core C2D) bottleneck a 5850, for gaming at 1920x1080?

 

[mhouck]

http://translate.google.com/transla...1404-FC2-und-Crysis-Warhead/Grafikkarte/Test/

shows a limitation on the 5870, so it will be comparable. you can get him the card and then he can upgrade the rest of the system around it later.

I think the system has too many issues as far as needing a new power supply and the possible mobo problem. I wouldn't suggest going the route of getting the new card until your friend could put something into the system for a major overhaul.

edit: I see the PSU is taken care of w/ the adapters. I still think you would be better off w/ taking care of the mobo if that is the issue as other posters have identified and holding off on the GPU upgrade until he can invest in the new rig.

 

[AzN]

Does your BIL have a decent power supply? He might have crashed because of his power supply. Those original GTS were power hogs.

He would def. be happy with 5770 and easier on the power supply as well.

 

[Patrick Wolf]

If the PSU in there is aging it may be the cause of the crashes. They lose wattage over time, I believe?

 

[VirtualLarry]

The PSU was brand-new as of.. hmm, whenever I got the Dell. I bought it off of some guy on CL for $300. Took it home and plugged it in, noticed that the PSU was getting warm and no airflow from it, so I swapped in that cooler master extreme power 500W. I think that was nearly a year ago.

I didn't know that the 8800GTS 640 OC was a power hog. Still, the rest of that system, (E4500, 3GB DDR2-667, 640GB WD Blue, 1TB WD Green) shouldn't take too much power.

I doubt that the problem is the motherboard, it was running fine for months before I gave it to the BIL. Then again, I wasn't gaming heavily on it either.

I'm thinking of perhaps a 5770, that wouldn't be as badly bottlenecked as a 5850, and I wouldn't have to replace the PSU, and it would still handle 1920x1080 gaming. It's also half the price: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814161317

Are prices still in transition due to the Fermi release? Any chance that 5770s will go down in price soon?

 

[GodisanAtheist]

5770's are going to stay pretty stable in prices, that's almost guaranteed given the rather gigantic gulf between them and any reasonable high end model.

I would say go with a 5770. Maybe get a new mobo for OC'ing purposes. 5770 is generally fine for 1920x1080 if you don't crank the AA.

 

[Blue Shift]

Seconding the recommendation on the 5770... Prices on them will probably hold steady for the next couple of months, at least.

 

[edplayer]

..., but some time ago, he said that the machine crashed after playing games for several hours.

clean the dust off the videocard's fan

 

[arkcom]

Those 8 pin cpu connectors will work. Just let it overhang the socket.

 

[marsbound2024]

Like another guy mentioned: 1) check for airflow.

2) Also, there are devices you can get to monitor power draw from the outlet so you can see how much power your system is consuming.
3) I'd also get a power supply tester to see how it's performing.
4) Make sure the system and all fans are cleared of dust.
5) You might also consider reimaging the machine and reinstalling the newest drivers. I would do this before upgrading parts alone.
6) Also, run DFT (Drive Fitness Test) on you hard drive AFTER BACKING UP DATA to ensure your hard drive is still going strong.
7) You can try running Memtest to test your memory to ensure there are no errors. Run checkdisk and defragment also.
8) Check condition of thermal paste on your CPU and reseat the heatsink and fan if necessary.
9) Get some utilities to monitor system temperature while you are in the OS.
10) If you have an extra higher wattage PSU around, test it out and see if that helps alleviate the issue. I would try these tests (most are either cheap or free to do) before committing my wallet.

 

[RussianSensation]

I would definitely get a 5770 and that's about it. A C2D 2.2ghz is NOT going to provide sufficient minimum frame rates. Next time he should build a new computer so he is not stranded with crappy mobo + PSU.

 

[jaggerwild]

I built my BIL a computer, he was using a Pentium D 2.8 with a 7600GT. I gave him a C2D E4500 with a 8800GTS 640 OC.

It was a big step up for him, and he was happy, but some time ago, he said that the machine crashed after playing games for several hours. So I was thinking of some possible upgrades. It's not possible to overclock the CPU, it's a Dell G33 or G31 motherboard. So 2.2Ghz with 2MB of cache is the max he's going to get with that box, short of upgrading to a whole new machine.

Would it be worthwhile upgrading the graphics card to something newer? He just upgraded from a 1680x1050 to a 1920x1080 screen too. So I'm not sure how well the 8800GTS 640 OC is going to work out, since that's slower than an 8800GT 512MB, which is slower again than a 4850.

I was thinking 5770, or possibly even 5850, although I have a feeling he might be CPU bottlenecked by that.

His PSU is a cooler master "extreme power" 500W. Not the greatest, I threw it in there because I had it lying around, and the PSU that came with it had a dead fan.

Oh, btw his wife nixed the idea of a complete new gaming rig, so a whole system upgrade is out of the question for now.

The 5770 while a great card is not much better than the 8800 GTS640 I should know I have both(in SLI an CF) take away the DX11. One thing is will a new GPU even work with the motherboard as it may not(PCI-E) is it 1, 2 or what?

 

[VirtualLarry]

In my defense, the reason I got him another Dell, is so that I could clone the HD straight over with his existing XP installation, without having to deal with activation bullshit or buying another XP license.

A reformat might potentially work wonders though. The crashing could be his crufty XP install.

 

[marsbound2024]

In my defense, the reason I got him another Dell, is so that I could clone the HD straight over with his existing XP installation, without having to deal with activation bullshit or buying another XP license.

A reformat might potentially work wonders though. The crashing could be his crufty XP install.

Yeah man I'm telling ya. Do that. Those steps I outlined should help eliminate a lot of things. If anything, don't worry about the power supply and at least check on the rest. You might skip memtest too unless you want to double-check. DFT is a good idea. You can download it for free.