[Mithn]

After some struggle to get my new PC up and running - now my new vid card is acting poorly :sigh: .

I've read a bunch of reviews and it appears that this video card should have very good performance; in BF2, this shows that on high detail at 1280x960 I should get around 60fps. I, at medium - high, can't hit the 25 mark at 1024x768 :sigh: .

Specs:
768 RAM
Radeon x800 Pro
Logisys PS350MA 350w PSU
Celeron D 2.66
MSI PM8M3-V Motherboard
*The PC is a former eMachines T2862*

I suspect that I need a new PSU but I'm really not sure what to do :normal: .

Thanks in advance :grin: .

 

[pharoah]

yeah that off brand 350 watt power supply is probably the cause.take a look at this for help deciding on a new one.

http://www.techsupportforum.com/f70/outdated-power-supply-information-and-selection-107466.html

 

[squantjack]

that celeron is going to be a bottleneck too.

 

[Mithn]

Can the Celeron really limit FPS?

 

[TheMatt]

Definatley. The CPU also plays a major role.

Not sure if your motherboard supports the Cedar Mill. If it does, this would be a nice upgrade:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819116003

If not, you will have to look at the Prescotts. They get hot, so you will be in need of a good HSF.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819116231
If you have an mATX case, getting a good HSF will be difficult because of the size. You will have to look at a smaller HSF, maybe this if it fits:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16835186134

If that is an mATX case, then unfortunatley getting a good PSU with enough power will be difficult.

 

[Mithn]

Thanks, but I have a really funky case, so I have no idea :normal: . Motherboard wise, it uses microATX but PSU wise it uses ATX...


I really have a 150- budget to get this thing up to speed, so what would help the most in speeding up fps?

Edit: My Mobo "Supports Intel® Pentium 4 / Celeron D processors in LGA775 package. Supports up to Pentium 4 5XX, 6XX(90nm) and Celeron D 3xx sequence processor. Supports Intel Hyper-Threading technology."

Hence, would this and this fix the problem?

 

[Mithn]

Oh, I only have the money to buy one or the other as of now, so which would show a greater increase?

 

[TheMatt]

I think you should go with the Cedar Mill P4 from the first link. Unfortunatley, you don't have a very good PSU. The P4 will work (you should have just enough power), but you realy should see if you can find a good quality 350+ w PSU.

 

[Mithn]

Is the PSU I listed above a worthwile investment?

Also, I don't think my mobo can use the Cedar Mills... it doesn't say it can anywhere.

Also, I'd like to point out that the cord connecting to my vid card from the PSU barely fits in the slot - I have to really cram it in... I have a feeling that might be the wrong cord -- could that cord not be working? It's a cord that has 2 connecters - one going to the hard drive, the one at the end going to vid card... I hope I'm explaining enough here :grin:.

And plz answer question in my last post someone :grin:.

Edit: As another thought... I think I need a new PSU anyway... The one I have has the loudest, most annoying fan in the world...

 

[Mithn]

Thanks for the help everyone :grin:. Still lookin at processor and PSU is on the way :grin:.