Need Advice On What To Upgrade First!

harry569 · 11-07-2009, 04:36 PM

Hey there. Basically My computer is a few years old. I've upgraded parts of it over the years, but now it's looking like it's time to upgrade again. As it currently is:

Intel Duo 6300 1.8ghz
3.25GB Ram
Nvidia 7800GT 256MB graphics card.
250GB Sata 7500rpm Hard drive.

It lags slightly when trying to play the demo of L4D2 even on lowish settings. I was just wondering which parts if any should be upgraded so that I could run games like L4D2 smoothly on about medium settings. If all the parts need to be upgraded which one should I upgrade first so that it's at least playable on low/medium settings without fps lag? I'd of thought it was my graphics card that is letting me down, but I could be wrong... Also if anyone has any recommendations of the hardware that would be upgradeable too, to suit my requirements, that would also be very useful.

Thank you for reading,
Harrison

**RockmasteR** · 11-07-2009, 05:19 PM

I suggest you upgrade your CPU and Video Card
your RAM is good
also I need to know your Power Supply cause I think you need a new one, a quality PSU is crucial for a good gaming PC

CPU:
Intel Core 2 Duo 2.8 Ghz
Price: 119$

Video Card:
Geforce GTX 260
Price: 180$

PSU:
Corsair 650W

Price: 100$, 90$ after rebate

Total Price:
389$

with that price you could play all your games on very high settings with stable frames/sec

harry569 · 11-07-2009, 11:29 PM

I went out today and bought : Intel Duo E8400 processer and a Radeon HD 5770 1GB card. I installed both, but now after about 1-3 minutes the computer just turns off. I tried removing certain parts of the pc and no difference. I finally tried putting the old CPU back in and now its working again. The E8400 came with thermal grease already but do you think it maybe needs more>? Question!: Could this happen if I installed the heatsink just slightly incorrectly? and if not, then I guess I sohuld be taken the CPU back for en exchange!

Note : I also bought a nice power supply 650 W quality one so I don't think it could be the power.....

Stil annoying D:

**koala** · 11-11-2009, 02:31 PM

Check the temperatures and voltages in BIOS and during fullscreen gameplay.

What make is your 650W PSU?

If you removed the heatsink, you need to clean off the thermal paste and reapply before re-attaching it to the CPU/motherboard.

**wrench97** · 11-11-2009, 02:52 PM

What motherboard and Bios version do you have?

11-07-2009, 04:36 PM	#1 (permalink)
harry569 Registered User Join Date: Jan 2009 Posts: 10 OS: Windows Home XP	Need Advice On What To Upgrade First! Hey there. Basically My computer is a few years old. I've upgraded parts of it over the years, but now it's looking like it's time to upgrade again. As it currently is: Intel Duo 6300 1.8ghz 3.25GB Ram Nvidia 7800GT 256MB graphics card. 250GB Sata 7500rpm Hard drive. It lags slightly when trying to play the demo of L4D2 even on lowish settings. I was just wondering which parts if any should be upgraded so that I could run games like L4D2 smoothly on about medium settings. If all the parts need to be upgraded which one should I upgrade first so that it's at least playable on low/medium settings without fps lag? I'd of thought it was my graphics card that is letting me down, but I could be wrong... Also if anyone has any recommendations of the hardware that would be upgradeable too, to suit my requirements, that would also be very useful. Thank you for reading, Harrison

11-07-2009, 05:19 PM	#2 (permalink)
RockmasteR Moderator, Games Team Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Lebanon Posts: 3,196 OS: Vista Ultimate 32bit My System Blog Entries: 1	Re: Need Advice On What To Upgrade First! I suggest you upgrade your CPU and Video Card your RAM is good also I need to know your Power Supply cause I think you need a new one, a quality PSU is crucial for a good gaming PC CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo 2.8 Ghz Price: 119$ Video Card: Geforce GTX 260 Price: 180$ PSU: Corsair 650W Price: 100$, 90$ after rebate Total Price: 389$ with that price you could play all your games on very high settings with stable frames/sec __________________ CPUz GPUz Nvidia Drivers ATI Drivers System Information for Windows (SIW) Revo Uninstaller RivaTuner ATITOOL Directx 9.0C !!Please don't PM me for Tech Support!!

11-07-2009, 11:29 PM	#3 (permalink)
harry569 Registered User Join Date: Jan 2009 Posts: 10 OS: Windows Home XP	Re: Need Advice On What To Upgrade First! I went out today and bought : Intel Duo E8400 processer and a Radeon HD 5770 1GB card. I installed both, but now after about 1-3 minutes the computer just turns off. I tried removing certain parts of the pc and no difference. I finally tried putting the old CPU back in and now its working again. The E8400 came with thermal grease already but do you think it maybe needs more>? Question!: Could this happen if I installed the heatsink just slightly incorrectly? and if not, then I guess I sohuld be taken the CPU back for en exchange! Note : I also bought a nice power supply 650 W quality one so I don't think it could be the power..... Stil annoying D:

11-11-2009, 02:31 PM	#4 (permalink)
koala Moderator Hardware Team Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: UK Posts: 12,433 OS: XP/7/Ubuntu My System	Re: Need Advice On What To Upgrade First! Check the temperatures and voltages in BIOS and during fullscreen gameplay. What make is your 650W PSU? If you removed the heatsink, you need to clean off the thermal paste and reapply before re-attaching it to the CPU/motherboard. __________________ New members: Subscribe to your thread (Thread Tools) to receive an instant email notification when you get a reply. TSF Folding@Home Team 85015 - details here

11-11-2009, 02:52 PM	#5 (permalink)
wrench97 Moderator, Hardware Team Join Date: May 2008 Location: S.E. Pennsylvania Posts: 18,780 OS: Win7	Re: Need Advice On What To Upgrade First! What motherboard and Bios version do you have? __________________ Power Supply and Selection