Upgrade suggestions please :]

Hey guys, i built this computer a year or 2 ago, and im starting to get
some low FPS in the new games and i was looking for an upgrade, but im
on a budget and ide like to know where you guys think i would get the
best bang for my buck :] heres my specs: i basically just cant decide
if i should upgrade my CPU or my GPU?

GIGABYTE GA-P35C-DS3R LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard

BFG Ge-force 9800GTX+

Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 Conroe 2.4GHz LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor
Model BX80557E6600
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819115003

Patriot Extreme Performance 8GB (4 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800
(PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model PDC24G6400ELK

Any input would be greatly appreciated




--
Manticora

"Manticora" wrote
Hey guys, i built this computer a year or 2 ago, and im starting to get
some low FPS in the new games and i was looking for an upgrade, but im
on a budget and ide like to know where you guys think i would get the
best bang for my buck :] heres my specs: i basically just cant decide
if i should upgrade my CPU or my GPU?
Have you tried overclocking? Those chips can usually do 3GHZ without
breaking a sweat.

Jim wrote:
"Manticora" wrote
Hey guys, i built this computer a year or 2 ago, and im starting to get
some low FPS in the new games and i was looking for an upgrade, but im
on a budget and ide like to know where you guys think i would get the
best bang for my buck :] heres my specs: i basically just cant decide
if i should upgrade my CPU or my GPU?

Have you tried overclocking? Those chips can usually do 3GHZ without
breaking a sweat.

Ditto on the overclocking the CPU, although it's less likely to help with FPS in
newer games than upgrading or overclocking the GPU. 9800 is a good card,
but it's getting pretty dated at this point. Some of the NVidia chips are
overclockable.

--
Nate Edel http://www.cubiclehermit.com/
preferred email |
is "nate" at the | "I do have a cause, though. It's obscenity. I'm
posting domain | for it."

On Apr 17, 4:16*pm, (Nate Edel) wrote:
Jim wrote:
"Manticora" wrote
Hey guys, i built this computer a year or 2 ago, and im starting to get
some low FPS in the new games and i was looking for an upgrade, but im
on a budget and ide like to know where you guys think i would get the
best bang for my buck :] heres my specs: i basically just cant decide
if i should upgrade my CPU or my GPU?

Have you tried overclocking? *Those chips can usually do 3GHZ without
breaking a sweat.

Ditto on the overclocking the CPU, although it's less likely to help with FPS in
newer games than upgrading or overclocking the GPU. *9800 is a good card,
but it's getting pretty dated at this point. *Some of the NVidia chips are
overclockable.

A gamer will notice a 25% difference in speed? In most other
applications, I'd say, don't bother.

Robert.

"Robert Myers" wrote
A gamer will notice a 25% difference in speed? In most other
applications, I'd say, don't bother.
It helps find the bottleneck. If benchamarks go up ~25% then a CPU upgrade.
If its much less then a GPU upgrade.
I know its time to put the A64x2 out to pasture but those Conroe's may still
have some life left in them.

On Apr 19, 11:13*am, "Jim" wrote:
"Robert Myers" wroteA gamer will notice a 25% difference in speed? *In most other
applications, I'd say, don't bother.

It helps find the bottleneck. *If benchamarks go up ~25% then a CPU upgrade.
If its much less then a GPU upgrade.

As a diagnostic, it sounds worth doing.

I know its time to put the A64x2 out to pasture but those Conroe's may still
have some life left in them.

http://www.cpubenchmark.net/high_end_cpus.html

If I had a Core 2 Duo (and I actually do have some), I'd be inclined
to stand pat, short of moving all the way up to Core i7.

Robert.

Robert Myers wrote:
On Apr 17, 4:16Â*pm, (Nate Edel) wrote:
Ditto on the overclocking the CPU, although it's less likely to help
with FPS in newer games than upgrading or overclocking the GPU. Â*9800
is a good card, but it's getting pretty dated at this point. Â*Some of
the NVidia chips are overclockable.

A gamer will notice a 25% difference in speed? In most other
applications, I'd say, don't bother.

That depends; if your games are CPU bound, you will notice the 25% speed
bump quite a bit. Otherwise, you won't notice it much if at all.

The one other application where it will be noticeable is video encoding.
Doing big batch encoding, I've got a machine that's been sitting with 3-4
cores (out of 4) continuously active for a month now and is about half done.
Even a bit non-linear, dropping 10 days out of 60 would be significant.

--
Nate Edel http://www.cubiclehermit.com/
preferred email |
is "nate" at the | "I do have a cause, though. It's obscenity. I'm
posting domain | for it."

Robert Myers wrote:
If I had a Core 2 Duo (and I actually do have some), I'd be inclined
to stand pat, short of moving all the way up to Core i7.

For serious gamers, the i5-650 is probably the sweet spot right now.

--
Nate Edel http://www.cubiclehermit.com/
preferred email |
is "nate" at the | "I do have a cause, though. It's obscenity. I'm
posting domain | for it."

On Apr 19, 3:00*pm, (Nate Edel) wrote:
Robert Myers wrote:
On Apr 17, 4:16*pm, (Nate Edel) wrote:
Ditto on the overclocking the CPU, although it's less likely to help
with FPS in newer games than upgrading or overclocking the GPU. **9800
is a good card, but it's getting pretty dated at this point. **Some of
the NVidia chips are overclockable.

A gamer will notice a 25% difference in speed? *In most other
applications, I'd say, don't bother.

That depends; if your games are CPU bound, you will notice the 25% speed
bump quite a bit. *Otherwise, you won't notice it much if at all. *

The one other application where it will be noticeable is video encoding.
Doing big batch encoding, I've got a machine that's been sitting with 3-4
cores (out of 4) continuously active for a month now and is about half done.
Even a bit non-linear, dropping 10 days out of 60 would be significant.

Well, sure.

I run long jobs, too. A day saved is a day saved, but that's not how
most people use PC's.

I've experimented with overclocking. My conclusion is that it isn't
worth it. Either settle for a shorter job, wait a little longer, or
wait for better technology.

As to whether a gamer would notice it, I have no clue. Most users
would never notice.

Robert.

Robert Myers wrote:
On Apr 19, 3:00Â*pm, (Nate Edel) wrote:
That depends; if your games are CPU bound, you will notice the 25% speed
bump quite a bit. Â*Otherwise, you won't notice it much if at all.. Â*
...
As to whether a gamer would notice it, I have no clue. Most users
would never notice.

I've experienced games being CPU bound. It's pretty rare, but it's
noticeable when it happens. More often in the form of noticeable
pauses/stutter than frame-rate degregation.

There's also, of course, the fetishization of small framerate differences
among some gamers.

--
Nate Edel http://www.cubiclehermit.com/
preferred email |
is "nate" at the | "I do have a cause, though. It's obscenity. I'm
posting domain | for it."