23 replies to this topic

[Faolan65]

Even with my chunky PC performance, I still have 1.67 K/D ratio... Dont get me wrong, I'm not all about the K/D, but I'm just using it here as a reference point.

So I'd like to remedy that and hopefully improve my K/D!!! I'm looking to stay under 200 bucks while hopefully getting a motherboard, processor, and ram. Any and all help is appreciated!!! I know 200 is a low bar to set, but hey wife, kids, mortgage, blah blah blah....


here's my Game-O-Meter results:

http://clients.futuremark.com:80/gom/gameometer.action?gameId=10528&sysInfoId=13876461

I have a 600W PSU

And some additional info:

Processor Information -
L2 Cache Ext Clock Load Intel® Pentium® Dual CPU E2200 @ 2.20GHz GenuineIntel 1024 KB 200 MHz 2 %
Hard Drive Information -
WDC WD2500AAJS-75B4A0 ATA Device 232 GB
System Memory Information -
EBE10UE8ACWA-8G-E DDR-2 1024 DIMM3
EBE10UE8ACWA-8G-E DDR-2 1024 DIMM3
EBE10UE8ACWA-8G-E DDR-2 1024 DIMM3
EBE10UE8ACWA-8G-E DDR-2 1024 DIMM3

Total RAM: 2048 MB, 874 MB free
Display Adapter Information -
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460 1024 MB 32 1600x900

Edited by Faolan65, 25 September 2012 - 07:43 AM.

[Hellgardia]

For close to 200$ you should go for:


ASUS M5A97 AM3+ - 64.99$ - http://www.newegg.co...82E16813131767R
AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition - 109.99$ - http://www.newegg.co...N82E16819103727
GeIL Enhance CORSA 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) - 43.90$ - http://www.newegg.co...N82E16820144486

Total(NewEgg) - 218.88$

[Dymitry]

Aniquilator6, on 14 August 2012 - 11:40 PM, said:

For close to 200$ you should go for:


ASUS M5A97 AM3+ - 64.99$ - http://www.newegg.co...82E16813131767R
AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition - 109.99$ - http://www.newegg.co...N82E16819103727
GeIL Enhance CORSA 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) - 43.90$ - http://www.newegg.co...N82E16820144486

Total(NewEgg) - 218.88$

Excellent advise here! Bang on budget, good components and upgradability!

[Faolan65]

Awesome! I appreciate the help, and am still open to any additional suggestions.

I am wondering though, are motherboards specific to what kind of RAM? as in, it has ddr2 right now, can I simply swap in the ddr3? or do I have to get the motherboard that supports ddr3?

[Vulpesveritas]

You need a motherboard with DDR3, the pin array is slightly different to keep you from using it in the same board.

[Narcissistic Martyr]

You have a 775 socket motherboard for that CPU I think, so you could maybe just get one of the core 2 quads off ebay and more DDR2 ram for maybe $100 if you're patient. It'd play the game just fine I'd think considering they said that the most basic quad core does make a pretty big difference in playability. It should last you until the next socket comes out from intel and AMD anyways.

Just giving a used alternative for you there though the phenom ii 965 would be a faster CPU and the AM3+ socket will work with piledriver so it'll be more upgradeable.

[Ashrok]

Your MB should support DDR3 before you go off buying some DDR3 sticks. Nehalem cores and above do only stick to DDR3 so its not a worry if you grab up an ~200USD i5 with a new mobo. Youd have to check for AMD stuff though, since they dont usually force in stuff.

And, I have to say, that E2200 is terribly old. That Phenom II is good though. Happy hunting!

[Vulpesveritas]

Aniquilator6, on 14 August 2012 - 11:40 PM, said:

For close to 200$ you should go for:


ASUS M5A97 AM3+ - 64.99$ - http://www.newegg.co...82E16813131767R
AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition - 109.99$ - http://www.newegg.co...N82E16819103727
GeIL Enhance CORSA 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) - 43.90$ - http://www.newegg.co...N82E16820144486

Total(NewEgg) - 218.88$

For a slightly better option than this given current sales, should you have yet to buy;
Motherboard $95
CPU $110
RAM $35
Total: $230, with a 970 chipset board and 8+2 phase VRM for overclocking.

[Fais]

I'm at work so i can't see your Motherboard info if its on one of those links. But I went from a socket 755 core 2 duo to a quad core and it fixed most of my issues. I have a GTX 460 and thats enough for now. Go for a used q9550 off ebay if its compatible with your motherboard, and pick up another 2gb of ram and you should be good to go. You will see a big improvement from the processor speed, extra cores, and the front side buss speed. Plus it will be alot easier then replacing your motherboard as you can just swap chips and your up and running. You can still beat alot of the first gen i-7 rigs with a q9650 if you have a decent motherboard. Thats really all you need.

[Vulpesveritas]

Keep in mind while a CPU swap to a core 2 quad is the cheaper option, a motherboard upgrade to AM3+ will give you more upgradability for the future, overclocking options, and more modern features right off the bat.

And i can, if need be, provide a sub-$200 AM3+ option, but it would involve a lower end motherboard no where near as well suited for upgrading over time, which is the main point of this route. You can however bring it down to $210 fairly easily by buying an AMD Fx-4100 in a combo deal with that motherboard and sacrifice a bit of out-of-the-box power, though will still be faster than most core 2 quads.

Edited by Vulpesveritas, 17 August 2012 - 07:14 AM.

[Fais]

Vulpesveritas, on 17 August 2012 - 07:09 AM, said:

Keep in mind while a CPU swap to a core 2 quad is the cheaper option, a motherboard upgrade to AM3+ will give you more upgradability for the future, overclocking options, and more modern features right off the bat.

And i can, if need be, provide a sub-$200 AM3+ option, but it would involve a lower end motherboard no where near as well suited for upgrading over time, which is the main point of this route. You can however bring it down to $210 fairly easily by buying an AMD Fx-4100 in a combo deal with that motherboard and sacrifice a bit of out-of-the-box power, though will still be faster than most core 2 quads.

My way is cheaper and requires less work. both ways are viable. If I was going to get a new board I would defintly rather go to a sandy bridge with an i-5 or i-7 and decent ram although more expensive you will get alot more firepower. I see used combos on ebay go in the $300-$400 range all lthe time. I dont bother overclocking processors cept maybe a few points if at all anmore. If you can get a decent 4 Core or better processor going, it will be all about the video card after that....especially these days. Just my 2 cents.

Edited by Fais, 17 August 2012 - 07:27 AM.

[Catamount]

The Core 2 Quad option really isn't that cheap. You can get something like a Q8200 for $80-$100, sure, but it's not going to be much of a CPU, since it's only 2.3ghz.

A decent C2Q CPU, something that would actually remotely stand up to anything more recent, like a Q9550, is more like $200, at which point you could get yourself a barebones AM3 system with similar IPC, and considerably higher clocks, and a better upgrade path, all without breaking out of the "ultra-budget" range

[Fais]

You really think that AM3 is going to beat a q9550? I honestly don't know. I just know my q9650 beats my friends i7-920 (its overclocked I think to 3.2 not sure) in alot of things with the same video card. I thought the AMD's really didnt have an answer for the i-7's but maybe that was just sandy bridge?

[Vulpesveritas]

Fais, on 17 August 2012 - 09:56 AM, said:

You really think that AM3 is going to beat a q9550? I honestly don't know. I just know my q9650 beats my friends i7-920 (its overclocked I think to 3.2 not sure) in alot of things with the same video card. I thought the AMD's really didnt have an answer for the i-7's but maybe that was just sandy bridge?

Pretty much just sandy bridge. an FX-4170 is faster than a 1st gen i7 in gaming at stock clocks. A Phenom II X6 1100t / FX-6200 are faster in multitasking.

Zambezi FX-8000 series chips are on par with SB i7 chips in multitasking.

[Catamount]

Fais, on 17 August 2012 - 09:56 AM, said:

You really think that AM3 is going to beat a q9550? I honestly don't know. I just know my q9650 beats my friends i7-920 (its overclocked I think to 3.2 not sure) in alot of things with the same video card. I thought the AMD's really didnt have an answer for the i-7's but maybe that was just sandy bridge?

Phenom IIs and Core 2 Quads have fairly similar IPC; they only real difference is clockspeed. A $100 Phenom II 965 runs at almost 600mhz (or about 20%) faster than a $200 Q9550. Phenom IIs competed reasonably with the Nehalem I5s, except in overclockability (where they got stomped on badly), but with the tradeoff that for awhile, the AMD chips were often cheaper, especially once motherboards were taken into account. That's why I got a Phenom II; there were good overall CPU/Mobo deals and an i7-750 would have driven the total system cost up by a considerable margin (though, in hindsight, I might still have preferred that overclocking headroom). In fact, I turned down the Core2Quad option as an Upgrade to my E8400 precisely because it was ultimately the same price or cheaper to go Phenom II, even back then.

Nehalem i7s were always faster than anything AMD fielded in gaming, and faster overall until Thuban (which was cheaper and faster, when programs could take advantage of it), but AMD has always competed in lower market segments.

[Fais]

I'm going to believe you two, even if you sound like you work for AMD . But I will say that time is money, and I would rather swap a processor any day then swap a motherboard and reinstall.

When I look at processor performance, I throw out almost all benchmarks. Basicly if its a true Quad Core or better (forget hyperthreading) then you just look at how fast it will pump the frames per second for whatever game you are playing. Multitasking benchmarks dont mean much if anythign for the average user as long as they have a Quad. I am still amazed how fast my E6850 was until I replaced it recently. As long as people know after they have a `3.0 ghz Quad with decent front side bus. All they really need to do is invest in a video card. Since the consoles killed the pc market, its really never been this cheap to game on a PC.

[Lightdragon]

cheapest suggestion i can think of is upgrade your processor, the card is perfect just needs more memory and a better cpu

[Master Kush]

I am in the same position. I am looking to upgrade my old e5200 cpu with a core 2 quad, as that is the only quad core that my mobo can accept. Problem is q9550's start at $100 and go up to $250 on ebay and there are very few available. the q6600 and q8200 go for about $70 on ebay if lucky. Its really frustrating to see 4 year old q9550's and q9650's go for $200 +, a brand new core i5 2500 goes for 220 on Tiger.
Will the q6600 get me in the game or should i be looking for something higher up the core 2 quad ladder?

[Hellgardia]

A Q6600 will get you in the game. If you can OC it to something around 3/3.2 Ghz, it still has good performance.

[Master Kush]

well what do we have here. http://www.ebay.com/...=item4a9d992041

Is it just me or is that just insane. the low end q6600 usually gets to about $100. I might have to forget getting an intel and go amd purely for the price. For about $100 I can get something like this http://www.ebay.com/...984.m1423.l2649.

Holly **** I just realized it says 26 sold on the first link. That has to be B.S.

that f letter word started with a c and had r an a and a p in that order and they still censored it. maybe if I spelled Holy right it would not have been censored.

Edited by Master Kush, 06 September 2012 - 01:20 AM.