 1 edit | Upgraded needed where? This is the hardware I have. I am not sure where I need to upgrade the most. I wanted to get more memory, but wasn't sure if that was going to make a difference. Should I upgrade the processor too?
I've been trying to play games and it seems like there is a lot of lag time. Just with basic games like the Sims 3.
I was also wondering if the hard drives are slowing me down. They are kinda old, but I wasn't sure if I bought a new one, if I could just copy the image of the hard drive I have and put it on the new one, or if I would have to start from scratch.
I have some potential upgrades from newegg, here is the list I was looking at upgrading:
Hard drive »www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a···22136533 Processor »www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a···19103727 Memory »www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a···20231568
Would that be worth upgrading? Or would the graphics card be slowing me down yet? Would there be a difference with the processor?
This is my current hard drive. »www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a···22144184
Let me know what your thoughts are, I am just tired of the computer being laggy.
Thanks folks! |
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 rusdiAmerican VPremium,MVM join:2001-04-28 Flippin, AR kudos:1 | I really don't know if anyone can answer your question(s).
Will all the "upgrades" you mentioned fix the lag? Maybe, maybe not! Any one thing you upgrade might have a minuscule effect on the overall performance.
Is the HDD over 1/2 full? How 'bout your internet? Is it, perhaps at fault? New vid card might help, but only if the graphics buss isn't bottle-necked.
Check the MoBo for bulging, or leaky capacitors. If you find any, the "upgrades" are moot.
I would check the easy things first.
On a side note, I recently had a lady want me to "upgrade" her old Tbred Athlon computer, so it would "go faster". I told her, "it's already running as fast as a turtle can run"! (Think I hurt her feelings).
 She bought a new i5 based platform, w/ Windows 7 64bit. She's VERY happy with it.  |
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 | Yeah, I have kinda been out of the computer building scene for a couple of years, so I've lost touch with what's new and what is good anymore. I wasn't sure if anyone could maybe point out a weak point in my system, or is it that old where I would be splitting hairs.
Thanks for the advice.  |
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 KoRnGtL15Premium join:2007-01-04 Grants Pass, OR | reply to Hyper Static Imo. The whole system needs a complete over haul. Better off building new. If it is a must working with current system. I suggest the following.
1. cpu Phenom II is dead to me. Get something new. Which requires a new mobo. Like I said though if it is a must working with said system. You made a solid choice.
2. 8gb ram
3. SSD/HDD setup. ssd is one of the biggest and best improvements you can make to speed things up.
4. gpu GTX 660 the current card you have is horrible. You will also be able to play at 1080p if you are below that now. |
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 rusdiAmerican VPremium,MVM join:2001-04-28 Flippin, AR kudos:1 | reply to Hyper Static I'm not suggesting you have a weak, or slow system. The Athlon II is a bit "dated", but still capable of running your games. I am jus' saying there may be other things, (like slow internet, or full HDD) that might be slowing it down, (lag). I've found that to be the case a lot of times.
If you have the $$, and want to build another system yourself, then I would start fresh, with a new Intel Ivy bridge platform, (Intel jus' soundly beats AMD in performance these days) and add on, according to how much you can stand to spend.  Good luck!  |
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 | It depends on the game you are playing. The hard drive and video card will slow any game down. Your CPU is dated yet may do the job. 4-GB RAM is the minimum you should have today and 8-GB will do better. Take a look at the recommendations for the games you are playing and then decide what to do. |
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 Reviews:
·Verizon Online DSL
2 edits | reply to Hyper Static Since we have no clue what is your PSU watts. I can't come up with a video card. I don't know do you want to try the video card you have now on this new system. And I don't know do you want to use the i5-3570k build in gpu Intel® HD Graphics 4000.
What I think you should do is. Get an i5-3570k + Z77 chipset mainboard + Arctic Silver 5 = $344.97.
Under the I5 picture(top of the video.), add the mobo ASUS P8Z77-V LK LGA 1155, and add the Arctic Silver 5 High-Density Polysynthetic. So, you will have a combo deal. Which mean you get some discount: »www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a···19116504
Add the 1TB you link »www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a···22136533
Grind total of $454.96, Not sure on the shipping part. 
Use the ram you have now, and move it over to the new system. The ram you have now are DDR3 1333, 1.5v. Should be fine with the new system. I'm not sure do you need a new windows or could you reuse it. shrug.
ASUS P8Z77-V LK LGA 1155 »www.asus.com/Motherboards/Intel_···overview
Intel® Core i5-3570K »ark.intel.com/products/65520/Int···3_80-GHz |
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 | reply to Hyper Static
 GTX 460 1 GB - WoW (DX11) |
What other games are you trying to play on it? I looked at a few different reviews/benchmarks of the Sims 3, and it looks like it favors quad-core processors. A Phenom II ran it well, so an Athlon II shouldn't be too much worse off. It was pretty lenient on video cards too (a Radeon 4770 was able to run it well at 2560x1600).
One review mentioned quite a bit of choppiness/lag when scrolling around, and that was using a Core i7 965 CPU. Is that what you're experiencing with it? Is the game patched to the latest version? When was the last time you updated your video card drivers?
Another thing you can try doing is running Task Manager and GPU-Z in the background. With Task Manager going, you can see if you're getting tight on RAM, as well as short-term CPU usage. With GPU-Z, you can see if the video card is maxed out, or if it's a lack of video memory. -- KI6RIT |
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 | said by n_w95482:One review mentioned quite a bit of choppiness/lag when scrolling around, and that was using a Core i7 965 CPU. Is that what you're experiencing with it? Is the game patched to the latest version? When was the last time you updated your video card drivers? Yeah choppiness and lag. It is patched to the latest version. I hadn't updated my drivers at all, but I just did and was going to give it a try. I did reduce all the setting in the graphics options though and it didn't make a difference. I'll have to run the game and watch the levels you mentioned.
On another note, I was looking around newegg for a different video card and saw this one: »www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a···14127684 Is that basically a flop? Wasn't sure why it was so cheap.
My budget isn't really there for a complete rebuild, although I would love to. I was basically looking to see if I could do a quick replacement of some parts and make somewhat of a difference. I knew that the parts are out of date. I don't play many games, but the newer ones that I do play seem to lag a little. |
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 1 edit | So, you only have money for.. 1 upgrade?
Do you know how much watt is your psu? |
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 | reply to Hyper Static The GT 630 is a low-end card, and 4 GB is WAY more than what is useful with that GPU. -- KI6RIT |
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 | reply to FizzyMyNizzy said by FizzyMyNizzy:So, you only have money for.. 1 upgrade?
Do you know how much watt is your psu? Well depending on what it would cost and what effects it would have. I'm thinking like 250-300 if it would be a good upgrade for the few games I play. I don't actually play many graphic intense games. More strategy and building type of games. And of course the older games no one plays anymore. |
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 | reply to FizzyMyNizzy I just checked and I only have a 400w Corsair PSU. |
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 Reviews:
·Verizon Online DSL
1 edit | said by Hyper Static:I just checked and I only have a 400w Corsair PSU. Hd 7750 »www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a···14131481
Gt 640 vs hd 7750 »www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/535?vs=612 |
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 | I don't think that my motherboard supports the PCI Express 3.0.
On the details on the newegg site, it says that my board supports: Expansion Slots PCI Express 2.0 x16 2 (one x16 or dual x8 link)
Is that right? |
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 KoRnGtL15Premium join:2007-01-04 Grants Pass, OR | 3.0 is backwards compatible with 2.1, 2.0 and 1.1 |
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 | said by KoRnGtL15:3.0 is backwards compatible with 2.1, 2.0 and 1.1 Oh ok, that works then. Still would be worth the update then? |
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 Reviews:
·Verizon Online DSL
| said by Hyper Static:said by KoRnGtL15:3.0 is backwards compatible with 2.1, 2.0 and 1.1 Oh ok, that works then. Still would be worth the update then? If you do not plan to play games that use the gpu a lot(exp high graphic games.). Since you only play games like The Sims 3, and older game. This GPU should be great. Since your cpu is slow. It will bottle neck the video card. I think the new cpu also. But not as bad as the old cpu. Yes, that old harddrive need to be changed. Ram is optional. But then again. I am guessing you using 32bit window which goes up to 4GB ram. If you want to use higher than 4GB, like 8GB. Then you will need a 64bit OS. |
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 | reply to Hyper Static Give this guide a shot. I've also seen a few people recommend using the "resetsim *" command in the cheat window. -- KI6RIT |
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