does a low cpu speed will effect game smoothness?

theReaper0908 · 12-25-2006, 02:38 PM

If I have a cpu speed of AMD Athlon 2400+ 2.0ghz and a game required 3.0ghz, but I have 2gb of ram, will the game still run smooth? or will I experience a little choppyness?

oh and what does the cpu speed does to games? I've always wondered that... Like you have ram to improve the speed, a video card to improve the graphics but I always wanted to know what does the cpu speed does

swarner · 12-25-2006, 03:43 PM

First of all whats the game in question? Company of Heroes Mabey?

Also on the back of a game box when it says:
Reccomended System requirements:
CPU: 3.0GHz
etc
etc....

It means that it needs a Pentium 4 3.0GHZ. and doesnt account for AMD CPUs

Your AMD Athlon XP 2400+ runs at about the equivalent of a 2.4GHz Pentium 4.

The game will run, Wheather it will run smoothly is anothering thing!

To answer your second question "What does the CPU do in games?"

The cpu is the Brain of your comp. every signal and address passes through it at some stage. the cpu passes info between your RAM,HDD,Video card etc.
the cpu also plays a major part in processing in game things such as physics and some graphical elements.

also what vid. card do you have?

theReaper0908 · 12-25-2006, 05:10 PM

i got an ati radeon x1600 512 mb card

oh and im not talking about a specific game, I'm just talking in general, all the games out there

swarner · 12-25-2006, 05:38 PM

That system will run all modern games!

But it will by no means run games such as oblivion or company of heroes on high or possibly even medium settings, it will however run them!

your processor is deffintly bottlenecking your system and i would recomend an upgrade.

You have a good mid range vid. card but if you've got the money i would reccomend an X1900XT

Your 2Gigs of RAM is more than enough

theReaper0908 · 12-25-2006, 05:49 PM

the thing that stops me of upgrading my cpu is because i heard u need to get one that supports ur mother board and all and I don't know how to check if its compatible and also cpu's are kinda expensive

swarner · 12-25-2006, 06:24 PM

If you want to know any details on what hardware is in your computer such as motherboard,video card, RAM, system temperatures etc i recommend you download the free program Belarc Advisor from here: http://www.belarc.com/free_download.html

If you give me the make and model of your motherboard using this program i can advise some cheap upgrades!

CPU's have dramatically gone down in price since the advent of core 2 duo and thus the AMD price cuts!

theReaper0908 · 12-25-2006, 07:42 PM

I really apprieciate you helping me

After running a scan with that program, there were 2 sections that had my system model as well as my main circuit board model

System Model

Compaq Presario 061 DF260A-ABA S4030NX NA210 0n41411RE101SALSA10
System Serial Number: MXM3270GC1
Enclosure Type: Desktop

Main Circuit Board

Board: KM266-8235
Serial Number: 137928-32509760
Bus Clock: 133 megahertz
BIOS: Phoenix Technologies, LTD AM37312 03/17/2003

thank you so much for helping me

oh yea and in the scan report, under memory slots, it said i had 3 slots A0,A1, and A2, but I only have 2 slots and I'm pretty sure of it. Is this normal? or is there a hidden ram slot in my computer that I don't know about, lol.

ebackhus · 12-25-2006, 09:10 PM

Your system uses a Socket A processor, this includes the AMD Athlon, Athlon XP, Duron, and some Semprons. The highest you could probably get away with is a 3200+ (about the power of a Pentium 4 @ 3.2Ghz) but other factors come into play there. The FSB (Front Side Bus, where data travels between system components) is set at 133Mhz currently, which is just right for that particular CPU. If that can be increased then your ability to upgrade gets easier. If it's the highest it can go (which it may be, given the KM266 chipset) then you're stuck with just what you have.

Ok, I looked over the KM266 data sheets, looks like that chipset only support 200 & 266Mhz operation, so the 3200+ is out of the picture unfortunately. At this point you should consider moving up to a new system. I recommend building one, or having one built for you. You can still get hardware that will support your video card, but it'll likely be older or used hardware.

Hope this helps!

swarner · 12-26-2006, 01:02 PM

As ebackhus said you havve a dated socket A motherboard, and i wouldnt recommend spending money updating this system as the performance increase will not be worth it.

I recommend continuing to use this system for the moment and then building an entire new system some time in the future using an AM2 motherboard (AMD's newest line of processors run on these) or a socket 775 motherboard (Intels newest line of processors run on these).

Building a new system is expensive and can be difficult and frustrating for a firstimer!

Whatever you choose to do Good Luck

theReaper0908 · 12-26-2006, 03:24 PM

thanks alot. i think building a new system is less expensive rather than buying one from a company like dell, compaq, or alienware pre-made already

ebackhus · 12-26-2006, 05:38 PM

Indeed! There's also the flexibility in there that allows you to totally choose everything you want. If you feel like taking this road and have questions I suggest talking to our Hardware team.

12-25-2006, 02:38 PM	#1 (permalink)
theReaper0908 Registered User Join Date: Oct 2005 Posts: 352 OS: Win XP SP3, Vista SP1	does a low cpu speed will effect game smoothness? If I have a cpu speed of AMD Athlon 2400+ 2.0ghz and a game required 3.0ghz, but I have 2gb of ram, will the game still run smooth? or will I experience a little choppyness? oh and what does the cpu speed does to games? I've always wondered that... Like you have ram to improve the speed, a video card to improve the graphics but I always wanted to know what does the cpu speed does Last edited by theReaper0908; 12-25-2006 at 02:43 PM.

12-25-2006, 03:43 PM	#2 (permalink)
swarner Registered User Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Ireland Posts: 272 OS: Vista Ultimate	First of all whats the game in question? Company of Heroes Mabey? Also on the back of a game box when it says: Reccomended System requirements: CPU: 3.0GHz etc etc.... It means that it needs a Pentium 4 3.0GHZ. and doesnt account for AMD CPUs Your AMD Athlon XP 2400+ runs at about the equivalent of a 2.4GHz Pentium 4. The game will run, Wheather it will run smoothly is anothering thing! To answer your second question "What does the CPU do in games?" The cpu is the Brain of your comp. every signal and address passes through it at some stage. the cpu passes info between your RAM,HDD,Video card etc. the cpu also plays a major part in processing in game things such as physics and some graphical elements. also what vid. card do you have? __________________ Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit; Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad Computers are like air conditioners. They work best with windows closed.

12-25-2006, 05:38 PM	#4 (permalink)
swarner Registered User Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Ireland Posts: 272 OS: Vista Ultimate	That system will run all modern games! But it will by no means run games such as oblivion or company of heroes on high or possibly even medium settings, it will however run them! your processor is deffintly bottlenecking your system and i would recomend an upgrade. You have a good mid range vid. card but if you've got the money i would reccomend an X1900XT Your 2Gigs of RAM is more than enough __________________ Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit; Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad Computers are like air conditioners. They work best with windows closed.

12-25-2006, 05:49 PM	#5 (permalink)
theReaper0908 Registered User Join Date: Oct 2005 Posts: 352 OS: Win XP SP3, Vista SP1	the thing that stops me of upgrading my cpu is because i heard u need to get one that supports ur mother board and all and I don't know how to check if its compatible and also cpu's are kinda expensive Last edited by theReaper0908; 12-25-2006 at 05:55 PM.

12-25-2006, 06:24 PM	#6 (permalink)
swarner Registered User Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Ireland Posts: 272 OS: Vista Ultimate	If you want to know any details on what hardware is in your computer such as motherboard,video card, RAM, system temperatures etc i recommend you download the free program Belarc Advisor from here: http://www.belarc.com/free_download.html If you give me the make and model of your motherboard using this program i can advise some cheap upgrades! CPU's have dramatically gone down in price since the advent of core 2 duo and thus the AMD price cuts! __________________ Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit; Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad Computers are like air conditioners. They work best with windows closed.

12-25-2006, 05:10 PM	#3 (permalink)
theReaper0908 Registered User Join Date: Oct 2005 Posts: 352 OS: Win XP SP3, Vista SP1	i got an ati radeon x1600 512 mb card oh and im not talking about a specific game, I'm just talking in general, all the games out there

12-25-2006, 07:42 PM	#7 (permalink)
theReaper0908 Registered User Join Date: Oct 2005 Posts: 352 OS: Win XP SP3, Vista SP1	I really apprieciate you helping me After running a scan with that program, there were 2 sections that had my system model as well as my main circuit board model System Model Compaq Presario 061 DF260A-ABA S4030NX NA210 0n41411RE101SALSA10 System Serial Number: MXM3270GC1 Enclosure Type: Desktop Main Circuit Board Board: KM266-8235 Serial Number: 137928-32509760 Bus Clock: 133 megahertz BIOS: Phoenix Technologies, LTD AM37312 03/17/2003 thank you so much for helping me oh yea and in the scan report, under memory slots, it said i had 3 slots A0,A1, and A2, but I only have 2 slots and I'm pretty sure of it. Is this normal? or is there a hidden ram slot in my computer that I don't know about, lol. Last edited by theReaper0908; 12-25-2006 at 08:08 PM.

12-25-2006, 09:10 PM	#8 (permalink)
ebackhus Manager, Design Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: SATX Posts: 14,284 OS: WinXP Pro SP3/Windows 7 RTM My System Blog Entries: 28	Your system uses a Socket A processor, this includes the AMD Athlon, Athlon XP, Duron, and some Semprons. The highest you could probably get away with is a 3200+ (about the power of a Pentium 4 @ 3.2Ghz) but other factors come into play there. The FSB (Front Side Bus, where data travels between system components) is set at 133Mhz currently, which is just right for that particular CPU. If that can be increased then your ability to upgrade gets easier. If it's the highest it can go (which it may be, given the KM266 chipset) then you're stuck with just what you have. Ok, I looked over the KM266 data sheets, looks like that chipset only support 200 & 266Mhz operation, so the 3200+ is out of the picture unfortunately. At this point you should consider moving up to a new system. I recommend building one, or having one built for you. You can still get hardware that will support your video card, but it'll likely be older or used hardware. Hope this helps! __________________ ----------------------------- There are no dumb questions, unless a customer is asking them. Help in the fight against cancer and other serious illnesses.

12-26-2006, 01:02 PM	#9 (permalink)
swarner Registered User Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Ireland Posts: 272 OS: Vista Ultimate	As ebackhus said you havve a dated socket A motherboard, and i wouldnt recommend spending money updating this system as the performance increase will not be worth it. I recommend continuing to use this system for the moment and then building an entire new system some time in the future using an AM2 motherboard (AMD's newest line of processors run on these) or a socket 775 motherboard (Intels newest line of processors run on these). Building a new system is expensive and can be difficult and frustrating for a firstimer! Whatever you choose to do Good Luck __________________ Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit; Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad Computers are like air conditioners. They work best with windows closed.

12-26-2006, 03:24 PM	#10 (permalink)
theReaper0908 Registered User Join Date: Oct 2005 Posts: 352 OS: Win XP SP3, Vista SP1	thanks alot. i think building a new system is less expensive rather than buying one from a company like dell, compaq, or alienware pre-made already Last edited by theReaper0908; 12-26-2006 at 03:28 PM.

12-26-2006, 05:38 PM	#11 (permalink)
ebackhus Manager, Design Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: SATX Posts: 14,284 OS: WinXP Pro SP3/Windows 7 RTM My System Blog Entries: 28	Indeed! There's also the flexibility in there that allows you to totally choose everything you want. If you feel like taking this road and have questions I suggest talking to our Hardware team. __________________ ----------------------------- There are no dumb questions, unless a customer is asking them. Help in the fight against cancer and other serious illnesses.