Which component should I upgrade for better gaming performance?

Toggle sidebar Toggle sidebar
T

terrancez

Distinguished
Nov 28, 2013
10
0
18,510
Hi All, so my current spec:

CPU: Intel Core 2 Quad Q9550 @2.83G OC 3.40G
Motherboard: ASUS P5Q Deluxe
RAM: Mushkin XP2-8500 Xtreme Performance 2GB x 2
Video card: ATI 4850 x 2 crossfire
Power supply: THERMALTAKE Toughpower 750w
Hard drive: one SSD, two hard drive in RAID0.

With this spec, I'm having a low FPS running TESV: Skyrim with the official high res DLC. My goal would be running a bunch of high res texture mod + ENB + other things and get a nice playable FPS, I'm not sure if I'm asking too much for this old gear, and I don't even know with the 2 hard drive and one SSD if my power supply could handle the upgrade? So here I am, hope you guys can give me some suggestion for upgrading, thanks!
 
Solution
Swordkd
Well, your easiest upgrade is going to be the video card. I'd imagine that the 4850x2 prolly draws about as much power as a single mid-high range card nowadays, so you should be fine. Assuming you have the right Pci-e connections. Other than that, if you can get a good deal on another 2x2gb's of Ram, that's another thought.

After the video card, it's time to upgrade the Cpu/Motherboard/Ram. I wouldn't worry about the Psu, it's listed as a tier 2 according to the list I use, and as such it's super solid and not worth changing out right now.

As far as your gpu upgrade options, I'd just buy whatever is within your budget, and if the Cpu happens to bottleneck it(I doubt it would, really) just deal with it and plan for 100% usage when...
Sort by date Sort by votes
Swordkd

Swordkd

Splendid
Oct 3, 2012
2,795
1
21,965
Well, your easiest upgrade is going to be the video card. I'd imagine that the 4850x2 prolly draws about as much power as a single mid-high range card nowadays, so you should be fine. Assuming you have the right Pci-e connections. Other than that, if you can get a good deal on another 2x2gb's of Ram, that's another thought.

After the video card, it's time to upgrade the Cpu/Motherboard/Ram. I wouldn't worry about the Psu, it's listed as a tier 2 according to the list I use, and as such it's super solid and not worth changing out right now.

As far as your gpu upgrade options, I'd just buy whatever is within your budget, and if the Cpu happens to bottleneck it(I doubt it would, really) just deal with it and plan for 100% usage when you upgrade the rest of your gear.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Solution
S

swifty_morgan

Illustrious
Feb 10, 2006
13,566
1
42,960
you can get a 6950 or a 7870 (2gig cards) for very little money right now. ( you didn't give budget ). the q9550 couldn't take advantage of more card...( you will be cpu bound )....... if you have plans of upgrading the platform ( suggested above ).......... a 3gig 7950 minimum.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
T

terrancez

Distinguished
Nov 28, 2013
10
0
18,510


Thanks for the suggestion on the video card. Aside from that, I'm also considering a bigger ram, when playing Skyrim, most of the time my memory is at 90% full, is that a indication for a bigger ram?

Also what kind of memory should I get? I think last time I check PC8500 memory are nowhere to be found, and a few month back I actually bought 2 sticks of PC6400 and they don't play nice with the 8500s, and I have to revert my CPU overclock back to 2.83 to be able to even boot up, so I end up sold the 6400s and kept the 8500s for overclocking...
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
S

swifty_morgan

Illustrious
Feb 10, 2006
13,566
1
42,960
not really wise to upgrade that machine.

but find it hard to believe the 8500 wouldn't under clock itself. if 8500 isn't available you should have gotten more 800 and ran that. good 800 would have clocked pretty close to 1000.

skyrim will eat vram with the more mods you put on it. not uncommon for some people to use more than 2.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Swordkd

Swordkd

Splendid
Oct 3, 2012
2,795
1
21,965
Ram would be the best upgrade, but with your board only supporting DDR2, it becomes a matter of cost vs. gain. I wouldn't buy more ram, unless you find a really good deal on ebay or something, because otherwise it's just too expensive.

The Asus page for that motherboard says it supports ddr2 1200mhz, so I'd check around to see if anything is available at a good cost. I wouldn't worry about getting a video card that is too much for the machine to handle, because you are most likely going to be upgrading the rest of it sooner rather than later I'd be guessing.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
T

terrancez

Distinguished
Nov 28, 2013
10
0
18,510




Yeah I know this machine is old, but I just want to squeeze a little bit more performance out of it for now so I can play Skyrim with some high res textures, and maybe after 2 years or so I'll get myself a complete new system.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
T

terrancez

Distinguished
Nov 28, 2013
10
0
18,510


I just did some more research on the memory, you are right, they are expensive for some 5 years old memory... So if I want to only upgrade the video card, do you have any suggestions? I'm looking at GTX760/770 or HD7950/7970, I'm not sure how they compare and if my system could handle them...
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
T

terrancez

Distinguished
Nov 28, 2013
10
0
18,510


So are you saying that even if I upgrade my video card to something like GTX760 I still won't be able to get a good performance playing Skyrim with graphic mods?
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Swordkd

Swordkd

Splendid
Oct 3, 2012
2,795
1
21,965
I think you'd get just fine performance with the 760 or 7950 honestly. Might bottleneck a 770, but that's fine since you are planning to upgrade the system soonish. However, for Skyrim, I think the 7950 would do better because of the 3gb of vram over the 2gb for the 760.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

Latest posts

Moderators online

Share this page

COMPANY
RESOURCES
FOLLOW
Top Bottom