Which components should be upgraded?

Mackner · 03-29-2008, 09:36 AM

Okay, I'm not really very good with Hardware or software for that matter, I just enjoy gaming and about 4 months ago I bought a computer I thought had good specs.

I can run the source engine games smoothly. Highest settings in a 1440x900 resolution, full HDR etc. That includes HL2, the episodes, Team fortress 2, Counter strike source etc.

But when I go over to games like Bioshock, Crysis, FEAR, Prey, Lord of the rings online, and even Audio surf. I can't play them without tweaking the graphics to a mimimum with a very very bad resolution. Which I find hard to understand and it annoys me greatly.

As far as I know, my drivers are fully updated, though I can't seem to use DX10, not sure if I need something special for that.

My specs are as follows:

Packard Bell
2048 MB DDR2 RAM (2 x 1024 MB)
Intel Core 2 CPU 4300 @ 1.80GHz 1.80GHz
ATI Radeon X1650 series
600 GB Harddrive (2 x 300 GB )

32-bit operating system
Windows Vista Home premium (Which i run in Windows Vista Basic, rather than Aero to save memory usage, is that worth it?)

I'm not certain what my motherboard is, if it's important, could someone please tell me where I can check for it?

If anyone has hints and tips, knows which components I should upgrade in order to run some of these games properly, I'd greatly appreciate it.

Be warned though, I don't know very much about tweaking or messing with either soft- or hardware. I know how to change components and I do know my way around windows and such, though the technical hard stuff, I'm not very good at.

Thanks beforehand,

-Mackner

~~Computer_Doctor~~ · 03-29-2008, 09:58 AM

Hmmm..............Seems like a good cpu and videocard should do the trick. First, what is the wattage output on that computer?

Usually the model number on the motherboards are in the middle. See also if there is a new bios on the Packard Bell website as upgrading the cpu might need a bios flash.

I recommend the 8800GT, very good videocard.

Mackner · 03-30-2008, 06:11 AM

Okay, it says on my power thingy:

(3.3v & +5v = 115 Watt max) Total output continous shall not exceed 250watts.

I don't know if this is any of the needed info on my motherboard, but it's what I could spot:

MSI N1996
MS - 7301 VER: 1.0
VIA VT8237A

What would you reccomend for a CPU?

03-29-2008, 09:36 AM	#1 (permalink)
Mackner Registered User Join Date: Mar 2008 Posts: 2 OS: Windows Vista Home Premium	Which components should be upgraded? Okay, I'm not really very good with Hardware or software for that matter, I just enjoy gaming and about 4 months ago I bought a computer I thought had good specs. I can run the source engine games smoothly. Highest settings in a 1440x900 resolution, full HDR etc. That includes HL2, the episodes, Team fortress 2, Counter strike source etc. But when I go over to games like Bioshock, Crysis, FEAR, Prey, Lord of the rings online, and even Audio surf. I can't play them without tweaking the graphics to a mimimum with a very very bad resolution. Which I find hard to understand and it annoys me greatly. As far as I know, my drivers are fully updated, though I can't seem to use DX10, not sure if I need something special for that. My specs are as follows: Packard Bell 2048 MB DDR2 RAM (2 x 1024 MB) Intel Core 2 CPU 4300 @ 1.80GHz 1.80GHz ATI Radeon X1650 series 600 GB Harddrive (2 x 300 GB ) 32-bit operating system Windows Vista Home premium (Which i run in Windows Vista Basic, rather than Aero to save memory usage, is that worth it?) I'm not certain what my motherboard is, if it's important, could someone please tell me where I can check for it? If anyone has hints and tips, knows which components I should upgrade in order to run some of these games properly, I'd greatly appreciate it. Be warned though, I don't know very much about tweaking or messing with either soft- or hardware. I know how to change components and I do know my way around windows and such, though the technical hard stuff, I'm not very good at. Thanks beforehand, -Mackner

03-29-2008, 09:58 AM	#2 (permalink)
~~Computer_Doctor~~ Troubled Join Date: Feb 2008 Posts: 644 OS: Windows XP	Re: Which components should be upgraded? Hmmm..............Seems like a good cpu and videocard should do the trick. First, what is the wattage output on that computer? Usually the model number on the motherboards are in the middle. See also if there is a new bios on the Packard Bell website as upgrading the cpu might need a bios flash. I recommend the 8800GT, very good videocard.

03-30-2008, 06:11 AM	#3 (permalink)
Mackner Registered User Join Date: Mar 2008 Posts: 2 OS: Windows Vista Home Premium	Re: Which components should be upgraded? Okay, it says on my power thingy: (3.3v & +5v = 115 Watt max) Total output continous shall not exceed 250watts. I don't know if this is any of the needed info on my motherboard, but it's what I could spot: MSI N1996 MS - 7301 VER: 1.0 VIA VT8237A What would you reccomend for a CPU?