Best way to improve my setup?

Smokebelch

New member
Hi guys,

Ive recently refurbished my old PC by buying a replacement motherboard after a year of it not working and have come to realise it cannot handle the games I am now looking to play. Namely Starcraft2 and Dawn of War (DoW) Retribution. I Ran the Graphics test on DoW and received an average framrate of 9fps :/ maximum 20
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My Setup is

ASUS P5W DH Deluxe

Intel Dual Core 6600 @ 2.40ghz / 2.40ghz

4GB RAM - (but only 3gb usable when I look in system properties?)

Nvidia Geforce 7600 GS

42" Panasonic Viera 1080p Plasma (no image retention at all after years of heavy gaming)

550W Power supply



Basically I am looking for advice as what best to upgrade to improve performance as i have to run starcraft on the lowest settings and Dawn of War wont even run on the lowest settings
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I have very limited knowledge in this area so laymans terms are very welcome.

I would be willing to Spend about £300 overall, I am willing to have some leway in this area but am basically looking for the most cost effective way possible to improve to a satisfactory level to meet my requirements

Any help much appreciated
 
The obvious upgrade would be a GPU. I'm not sure how CPU intensive Starcraft and Dawn of War are, but for most games the GPU is the most important component. For your budget the best Nvidia GPU would be a GTX 570 and the best AMD GPU would be the 6970 or possibly the 6950.
 
if it was me i would pick up a 6950 for £220 ish and buy a q6600 on ebay for £60

the reason 3gb is useable is because your running 32bit windows
 
I think Starcraft 2 is very CPU intensive and it only uses 2 cores. Therefore, the old quads don't perform that well. But i'm not entirely sure on that.
 
Maybe it shows 3gb ram because of a 32-bit version operating system? or perhaps one stick is broken or loose.

I would upgrade to 1155 if i were you. Starting to throw money at an old set up is only going to be extra expencive when you realise you should have gotten a new system in the first place. But i leave that decission to you.

Like someone here said, you can get a used quad core and overclock it a bit. The gpu should also be replaced. I would have gotten a 560/560TI or a 6870/6950.

For 300£, you could get a decent 1155 mb, 2500k and ram. You would only need a gpu then, so maybe 130-160£ added to the 300£.
 
The obvious upgrade would be a GPU. I'm not sure how CPU intensive Starcraft and Dawn of War are, but for most games the GPU is the most important component. For your budget the best Nvidia GPU would be a GTX 570 and the best AMD GPU would be the 6970 or possibly the 6950.

By GPU You mean my graphics card? I thought that was the problem but i wasnt sure!

if it was me i would pick up a 6950 for £220 ish and buy a q6600 on ebay for £60

the reason 3gb is useable is because your running 32bit windows



Thanks for the advice, So if i switch to 64bit i can use all 4gb?


I think Starcraft 2 is very CPU intensive and it only uses 2 cores. Therefore, the old quads don't perform that well. But i'm not entirely sure on that.



Will my CPU be able to handle it then? Starcraft seems to run ok on low settings but on a 42" screen im upset at the low graphics!


What make is your PSU?

Just thinking if your getting a new GPU



PSU? whats that? I'll answer when i understand, thanks for the help so far


Maybe it shows 3gb ram because of a 32-bit version operating system? or perhaps one stick is broken or loose.

I would upgrade to 1155 if i were you. Starting to throw money at an old set up is only going to be extra expencive when you realise you should have gotten a new system in the first place. But i leave that decission to you.

Like someone here said, you can get a used quad core and overclock it a bit. The gpu should also be replaced. I would have gotten a 560/560TI or a 6870/6950.

For 300£, you could get a decent 1155 mb, 2500k and ram. You would only need a gpu then, so maybe 130-160£ added to the 300£.



what do you mean upgrade to 1155? I cant afford a new pc at the moment, i just want one to tide me over until late next year when I have more financial leway!

Thanks for all your help so far. I will look in to the "GPU's
 
Maybe it shows 3gb ram because of a 32-bit version operating system? or perhaps one stick is broken or loose.

I would upgrade to 1155 if i were you. Starting to throw money at an old set up is only going to be extra expencive when you realise you should have gotten a new system in the first place. But i leave that decission to you.

Like someone here said, you can get a used quad core and overclock it a bit. The gpu should also be replaced. I would have gotten a 560/560TI or a 6870/6950.

For 300£, you could get a decent 1155 mb, 2500k and ram. You would only need a gpu then, so maybe 130-160£ added to the 300£.

Yup that is true. I would suggest depending on the quality of the PSU being 550W, a GTX 550/560 or HD 6790/6850 if you decide you don't want a completely new system.
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Some video cards you may take a look at:

http://www.aria.co.u...productId=44564

http://www.aria.co.u...productId=43660

http://www.aria.co.u...productId=46517

http://www.aria.co.u...productId=44472
 
Had a little google. Power supply unit!
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Its a Super Silent EZ Cool 775 socket.

Does that help? Will that be compatible with the above advised GPU's?

I'd definitely replace the power supply with a unit that's better built and suited to handle more power hungry video cards. You may take a look at the links provided above. In the end, you may just have a bit of money left over, which is always a great thing right?
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If the PSU has dual 6/8 pin connectors then you might not need a replacement, but seeing as you have £300 to spend, get a 560ti and a better PSU.
 
Had a little google. Power supply unit!
smile.gif


Its a Super Silent EZ Cool 775 socket.

Does that help? Will that be compatible with the above advised GPU's?

You need to check if the psu have two 6pinn/6+2 connectors. Most cards needs two 6 pinn pci-e connectors. I checked your psu and as far as i can see it only have one 6-pinn connector. Maybe get a 600-650w quality psu, used quad cpu and a 560/ti card ?

Your motherboard Support Intel next generation Mulit-Core CPU. Check that you have latest bios if you get a used quad cpu.

Where can you order components from?
 
seeing as you have £300 to spend, get a 560ti and a better PSU.

I was going to say this
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ASUS P5W DH Deluxe

I have that mobo on my test system and would say just stick with getting a new gpu and psu (as the mobo is an old 775 with ddr2)

Then maybe later move onto a full upgrade of motherboard/cpu/ram

The P5W DH is also a pretty good overclocking board if ever u wanted to overclock
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I get a constant 40fps in DoW:R on my rig even in some missions! Starcraft is more CPU than GPU, get a GTX 460 and a i3 2100 if those are the main type of games you play
 
If the PSU has dual 6/8 pin connectors then you might not need a replacement, but seeing as you have £300 to spend, get a 560ti and a better PSU.



Can anyone show me a link to what a 6pin and 8pin look like? im confused as my current one just plugs in to the motherboard and goes.

Like i said computer noob here so alot of the lingo is confusing me
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I think i found the spec for my PSU...

Ezcool 550w psu with 120mm fan

Quiet fan technology

24 pin ready; 2 x 6 pin PCI-e; 1x SATA;6 x 4 pin; 2 x floppy

PFC ready- save 40% power usage for high efficiency

Meets Intel v2.03 enhanced +12V

230V with rear on/off power down button

Over-voltage and current protection +3.3V;+5V;+12V

100% Burn in and hipot tested; short circuit protection

EMI Filter built in

For 775; AM2 and all backward compatible CPU's

Retail boxed

CE/ FCC/ UL approved

ROHS Compliant

+3.3V 30A; +5V 32A;+12V 36A;-5V 0.5A; -12V 0.8A;+5VSB 3.0A

Any help?
 
This is what they look like (the bits that go into the GPU)

pcie-connectors.jpg


And the GPU should have connections similar to the below Image:

imageview.php


EDIT: If you buy a 560ti you will need a better PSU that has dual 6 or dual 6 + 2 PCIE connectors. Most of the better quality PSU's will have them.
 
just build a new system ... tbh fighting a lost cause. id get a e8400 and then a new gpu and then e better cooler and a psu ... with all that you might aswell go i7 or i5 or even i3 with a slightly cheaper gpu and then get ddr3 ram aswell ...

thats what i would do my e8600 / 4870x2 if i wanted to ipgrad to say a q9650 etc and a better gpu i might aswell keep my gpu and just egt a new mobo / cpu config. silly to spend money on a old system theses days. sell your bits and buy a new rig pal
 
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