Still good enough or upgrade?

[finfin_nemo]

Hi all,

I have not post anything at TPU so far but I have a concern now, and I need experienced advice from others. I'm from Malaysia btw.

I will buy a used desktop from my friend. It was cheap enough for whole set plus samsung monitor (MYR400 ~ around USD131). the specs are as in my profile specs.

the concern is, is the current config is enough for me to play games like borderlands 2, crysis 2 (dx9), skyrim, diablo 3, battlefield 3 (multiplayer), dirt 3, modern wrfare 3, and mass effect 3 (plus some other recent games)? since the monitor is 1080p, i plan to game on that resolution. i dont mind reducing the details quality to medium though. i just want to game on 1080p smoothly, doesnt matter medium or low details. is the config good enough for this demand?

well, so far i do not plan on upgrading the pc but if you guys think otherwise or possible bottlenecking issue, i would like to hear what you have in your head.

Thank you

[Hood]

Originally Posted by finfin_nemo

is the current config is enough for me to play games like borderlands 2, crysis 2 (dx9), skyrim, diablo 3, battlefield 3 (multiplayer), dirt 3, modern wrfare 3, and mass effect 3 (plus some other recent games)?

I would have to say no, if they play at all it will be at low frame rates with choppy video. I am sorry to inform you that your whole system is a bottleneck, especially when trying to play newer games. There's really no upgrade path either - the system is too old and any money you spend on it is wasted. For those games you'll need a modern CPU, motherboard, and RAM. I just went through the same thing last year when I was trying to game on a Pentium 4 system with DDR 800 RAM - it almost worked, but not good enough. I spent a lot of money on that old system trying to make it work, and it was all wasted (sold that system for $100). So I did the research for a long time and read hundreds of reviews and tutorials until I knew enough to build a new system (see system specs). I'm not saying you need to spend as much as I did ($1000), you could game just as well on the much cheaper AMD Bulldozer platform and build an adequate system for about $500. Good luck!

[Widjaja]

Recently I tested out my old HD4850 (resot of the system specs to the left) on Windows 7 in games compared to Windows XP.
Some games were unplayable that were playable on XP.

Tribes Ascend was a good example.
Same in game settings as in XP but the performance was far worse and this is on a 1440X900 resolution and I see you are running at full HD.

[cdawall]

Dual core, 2GB of ram and a 4850...A quad core 4GB of ram and any choice of modern VGA would wake it up for current games.

[eidairaman1]

Use this tool here for a general idea of where your machine sits in performance

http://sites.amd.com/us/game/technol...uirements.aspx

[Melvis]

I would have to say yes it would, but my main concern is the 2GB of RAM you have, that alone will course issues. If that was increased to 4 or 8GB then id say it should run those games at low to medium settings.

But like others have said, id upgrade the CPU to a Quad (3.2GHz) or higher and a new Video card (7770) or higher to run all those games a lot smoother.

I run the same video card in my mini PC i use for LAN's (even though i plan to upgrade it to a 7770) it has no issues playing games at medium settings, not that i have tested Crysis 2/Battlefield 3/Skyrim on that card, but the rest should be fine.

[Fourstaff]

More ram and faster graphics will handle most of them except for Battlefield 3, that needs a faster processor.

[eidairaman1]

might aswell max out the CPU with a Phenom II X4 980 or X6 1090T.

8 GB DDR 2 1066.

[Dent1]

Upgrade -

BF3 uses more than 4GB of ram, you will struggle with just 2GB. Upgrade the ram to 8GB. Drop in a Phenom II X6 and a ATI 7850.

Really comes down to your budget. If you got real money to drop maybe a new i5 build.

[HammerON]

Originally Posted by Dent1

Upgrade -

BF3 uses more than 4GB of ram, you will struggle with just 2GB. Upgrade the ram to 8GB. Drop in a Phenom II X6 and a ATI 7850.

Really comes down to your budget. If you got real money to drop maybe a new i5 build.

^^^^Agree

[finfin_nemo]

Thank you for all of your replies. that is really helpful

Okay, so basically, the system is rather old and not good enough to play games on 1080p (despite low details). older games may be fine. thats what i can draw from you guys comments.

Still, i am short on budget. upgrading the system wholesale seems not an option. i can only upgrade few components, the crucial ones. from what i understand, i will need to:

(1) add more RAMs (the board only have 2 slots so i guess selling the old 2gb stick and buy 2 sticks 4gb),
(2) more cpu cores (any amd cpu - 4 cores and 3ghz above speed perhaps),
(3) and better graphics card (this part i can spend a bit but not much(300 bucks), perhaps latest geforce 600 series or radeon 7000 series).

Is this kind of okay to upgrade? assuming other components are left untouched (such as the 550w psu). If it is okay, then i'll do as that when i bought the system from him this saturday.

[Dent1]

Originally Posted by finfin_nemo

Thank you for all of your replies. that is really helpful

Okay, so basically, the system is rather old and not good enough to play games on 1080p (despite low details). older games may be fine. thats what i can draw from you guys comments.

Still, i am short on budget. upgrading the system wholesale seems not an option. i can only upgrade few components, the crucial ones. from what i understand, i will need to:

(1) add more RAMs (the board only have 2 slots so i guess selling the old 2gb stick and buy 2 sticks 4gb),
(2) more cpu cores (any amd cpu - 4 cores and 3ghz above speed perhaps),
(3) and better graphics card (this part i can spend a bit but not much(300 bucks), perhaps latest geforce 600 series or radeon 7000 series).

Is this kind of okay to upgrade? assuming other components are left untouched (such as the 550w psu). If it is okay, then i'll do as that when i bought the system from him this saturday.

If you do all that you should be fine. Except skip the 4 core. Get the 6 core. This is your last upgrade on this motherboard you may as well get the fastest. Games like BF3 and Skyrim will really appreciate it too.

[joeyck]

Originally Posted by finfin_nemo

Thank you for all of your replies. that is really helpful

Okay, so basically, the system is rather old and not good enough to play games on 1080p (despite low details). older games may be fine. thats what i can draw from you guys comments.

Still, i am short on budget. upgrading the system wholesale seems not an option. i can only upgrade few components, the crucial ones. from what i understand, i will need to:

(1) add more RAMs (the board only have 2 slots so i guess selling the old 2gb stick and buy 2 sticks 4gb),
(2) more cpu cores (any amd cpu - 4 cores and 3ghz above speed perhaps),
(3) and better graphics card (this part i can spend a bit but not much(300 bucks), perhaps latest geforce 600 series or radeon 7000 series).

Is this kind of okay to upgrade? assuming other components are left untouched (such as the 550w psu). If it is okay, then i'll do as that when i bought the system from him this saturday.

just sold my amd x6 + mobo + 4Gb ram + nice sound card for 150$... I would of added the 6950 for a total of $320... u need to keep an eye on the for sale sections dude.

[finfin_nemo]

Originally Posted by Dent1

If you do all that you should be fine. Except skip the 4 core. Get the 6 core. This is your last upgrade on this motherboard you may as well get the fastest. Games like BF3 and Skyrim will really appreciate it too.

That sound plausible as well. The board seems to support up to 125w model, though i am not so sure the coolermaster psu will still hold its own with 125w cpu. anyway, nice suggestion. games to come also seem to favour more cores.

and, is athlon II X6 models any good? i've seen benches of athlon II X2 250 is quite positive given its price. phenom line up pretty pricey here in Malaysia but if performance increase over athlon is justified, i'll take the deal then.

[finfin_nemo]

for reference, these are links of the board and psu.
http://my.asus.com/Motherboards/AMD_...specifications
http://www.coolermaster.com/product.php?product_id=5888

for the graphics part, i kinda like (either one of these gpus) radeon hd 7770 or geforce gtx 650. are they good for 1080p gaming? medium details mostly.

and the slot on the board is pcie 2.0. i see on nvidia website gtx 650 is pcie 3.0. does that means problem if i am to use gtx 650 on pcie 2.0 slot?

[Melvis]

Originally Posted by finfin_nemo

Thank you for all of your replies. that is really helpful

Okay, so basically, the system is rather old and not good enough to play games on 1080p (despite low details). older games may be fine. thats what i can draw from you guys comments.

Still, i am short on budget. upgrading the system wholesale seems not an option. i can only upgrade few components, the crucial ones. from what i understand, i will need to:

(1) add more RAMs (the board only have 2 slots so i guess selling the old 2gb stick and buy 2 sticks 4gb),
(2) more cpu cores (any amd cpu - 4 cores and 3ghz above speed perhaps),
(3) and better graphics card (this part i can spend a bit but not much(300 bucks), perhaps latest geforce 600 series or radeon 7000 series).

Is this kind of okay to upgrade? assuming other components are left untouched (such as the 550w psu). If it is okay, then i'll do as that when i bought the system from him this saturday.

(1) Yes, it will cost you a little over $100 for 8GB of DDR2 (Brand new)
(2) Yes, if you look around on here or ebay you might get lucky as i got a Phenom II X4 955 (3.2GHz) for $75
(3) Yes, $300 for a new GPU is plenty, something like a 6950/6970/7850 would do the trick.

So thats a big three yes's from me and im an Aussie

BUT most importantly check your PSU and make sure its up to the task first otherwise it might all go up in a cloud of smoke

EDIT: Your PSU is pretty good, 16 AMPS on the 12v rail x2 is good enough.

Also if your looking at the 7770 or gtx650 the 7770 wins hands down and your psu will handle it with ease

pci-e 2.0 vs 3.0 i wouldnt even worry about, all cards will work fine on 2.0

[finfin_nemo]

Originally Posted by Melvis

(1) Yes, it will cost you a little over $100 for 8GB of DDR2 (Brand new)
(2) Yes, if you look around on here or ebay you might get lucky as i got a Phenom II X4 955 (3.2GHz) for $75
(3) Yes, $300 for a new GPU is plenty, something like a 6950/6970/7850 would do the trick.

So thats a big three yes's from me and im an Aussie

BUT most importantly check your PSU and make sure its up to the task first otherwise it might all go up in a cloud of smoke

Yeah, $300 is maximum budget, i wish to spend less than that, which means lesser wattage gpu. plus, if possible, i intend to retain the psu. dont want the cloud of smoke

EDIT: thank you for the update. so, no real problem using pcie 3 card in pcie 2 slot? okay then, that cleared up my mind =)

[Melvis]

Originally Posted by finfin_nemo

Yeah, $300 is maximum budget, i wish to spend less than that, which means lesser wattage gpu. plus, if possible, i intend to retain the psu. dont want the cloud of smoke

EDIT: thank you for the update. so, no real problem using pcie 3 card in pcie 2 slot? okay then, that cleared up my mind =)

7770 is a good card and thats what my mini PC will be upgraded to from its 4850, but only due to size and PSU on mine with you you can go higher still even look second hand for a 5870, 6870 something like that on ebay for $150 ish would be more of a upgrade over the 7770/4850

Just a thought

[redeye]

what you can expect for a 955be ... i've dug out my old benches from 3dmark06... compare them to your system... so that you can see if upgrading the cpu is worth it... alone with the graphics card.

14363 ...9800gtx 675g1102m phII955be 3g2 8G 800 55518. ... http ://www.3dmark.com/3dm06/14990063

16556 ...6850asus790g1000m CnQon_3g2 4g 1066 55518...http ://www.3dmark.com/3dm06/15221287

7725 ... 5570'1g 650g800m 955be 3g2 55515 1066... http ://www.3dmark.com/3dm06/14473651

15579 ... vista v64 4870'1g 850g1000m 3g2 9850be 1066 55518 ... http ://www.3dmark.com/3dm06/9762025

17031 ... gtx560ti 900g1K_3g2phII955_1333_99924ddr3 ...http ://www.3dmark.com/3dm06/16339898

19235 ... gtx560ti_900g1002m 3g7be955_77721 ddr3 1333 ...http ://www.3dmark.com/3dm06/16359273

19875... gtx560tig900m1002i3_2120_3G1t99924ddr3 1333 ...http ://www.3dmark.com/3dm06/16874413

[eidairaman1]

ive seen machines with 955 be with a radeon 4870 have a score of ~22K

[Dent1]

Originally Posted by finfin_nemo

That sound plausible as well. The board seems to support up to 125w model, though i am not so sure the coolermaster psu will still hold its own with 125w cpu. anyway, nice suggestion. games to come also seem to favour more cores.

and, is athlon II X6 models any good? i've seen benches of athlon II X2 250 is quite positive given its price. phenom line up pretty pricey here in Malaysia but if performance increase over athlon is justified, i'll take the deal then.

There is no Athlon II X6. Athlon II X4 would be a worthy cheap upgrade. But in all honesty it's 3 years old and was midrange back then. You really want something like the Phenom II X6 1100T to give you peace of mind and the biggest performance boost.

[finfin_nemo]

Originally Posted by Dent1

There is no Athlon II X6. Athlon II X4 would be a worthy cheap upgrade. But in all honesty it's 3 years old and was midrange back then. You really want something like the Phenom II X6 1100T to give you peace of mind and the biggest performance boost.

Oh noob me, my bad

[eidairaman1]

find a Phenom II X4 970

[finfin_nemo]

Thank you for all of your ideas

Now i have clearer idea on what to do to upgrade the pc to meet my ends. Thanks again guys! You guys are