core 2 quad q9550 enough to run current games?

vishalaestro · Oct 3, 2015

Here is my daily usage pattern
1)Browsing and youtube watching (daily)
2)gaming at weekends (currently GTA v)
my current rig
Intel core 2 Duo E8400 3GHZ(not overclocking since i'm running stock cooler)
windows 8.1 64bit
Asus P5KVM
RAM-Transcend 2x2gb DDR2 (Don't know at which speed the RAM is running but i get this error overclocking failed ,regularly )
PSU-corsair cs 550m
HDD-500gb
SSD-128gb sandisk sata 6Gb/s
GPU-Galaxy GTS 450 (soon to be upgraded to Asus GTX 550ti since one of my friend is giving it for free)
monitor resolution max =1600x900(LG E2041)
The question is ,i have installed and i'm playing GTA V at 720p since the vRAM is not enough.but i have some rendering problems when i'm driving and some lagging issues.with my GPU being upgraded to GTX 550ti will i be able to run the game and future games at low to medium settings without any issues?
i got an offer at ebay for intel core 2 quad 9550 and on a local retail store for 25$,since i'm very tight on budget ,does the change of processor from core 2 Duo to Core 2 quad will do for me for
gaming and primarily browsing for atleast a period of a year?does 4gb ram is good enough for gaming at 900p resolution?

ChumP · Oct 3, 2015

Yes the q9550, it's still a pretty strong CPU, that will handle the majority of the games.For now will be a great upgrade , but in the future, you shou build another rig as your current PC is getting outdated.
4GB's should be minimal for every game , for one year though should be enough, but I highly recommend making a new rig next year.

Geekwad · Oct 3, 2015

Going from two threads (cores) to four along with the GPU upgrade will certainly make a difference. I cannot say with certainty that it will resolve your issues entirely, but it should be easier to find a playable setting with the upgraded hardware.

Congrats on the deals and freebies!

vishalaestro · Oct 3, 2015

ChumP :

i though it was the 4GB RAM causing the issue and why do it regularly get this error as "cmos settings wrong and overclocking failed"?i'm sure both of the RAM are 800mhz based RAM..does the RAM frequency play a vital role in gaming ? or the 4GB ram isn't good at all for gaming?

vishalaestro · Oct 3, 2015

Geekwad :

and for you does RAM frequency important for gaming?

Geekwad · Oct 3, 2015

vishalaestro :

Not in a straightforward sense, at least as far as speed goes, but RAM is important. Troubles can start if the RAM was not matched (not purchased together in a pair). Did you happen to purchase the two sticks at different times?

delaro · Oct 3, 2015

vishalaestro :

1. A Q9550 + 550 TI will play GTA V in a mix of Low to Medium settings and average 45 FPS, more if you overclock the CPU. A 550TI is a bit weak for low settings in many of the current titles for that you would need a 650 TI or better.

2. A Q9550 for $25 is a hell of a deal if the chip is good, they normally sell for $45 and up.

3. Moving from a 3 ghz Duo to a 2.8ghz Quad in common tasks like browsing and Streaming, you wont notice a difference. In gaming you will only notice a difference in Titles that want to use more than 2 cores or primarily want to use certain cores , Core 3 is favored quite often on bad ports.

4. Is 4gb of RAM enough for modern games? NO.. Most games + OS will use 6gb during heavy use. DDR2 8GB is expensive It's a shame you don't have the next series on that board which supports DDR3

5. The alarm you are getting looks like the System is trying to auto Overclock the RAM to 1333mhz but the RAM itself fails. I would look into getting 4 X 1gb of either Samsung, G Skill or Kingston as they tend to be more stable on some of those LGA775 boards. 4 X1gb sticks will run you around $40 unless you get lucky and 8gb 4 X2gb will run $80 and up. DDR2 is damn expensive now.

vishalaestro · Oct 3, 2015

Geekwad :

vishalaestro :

Not in a straightforward sense, at least as far as speed goes, but RAM is important. Troubles can start if the RAM was not matched (not purchased together in a pair). Did you happen to purchase the two sticks at different times?

yes,but how should i find whether the ram sticks match each other or not ?the frequency is the same ,which is 667mhz

vishalaestro · Oct 3, 2015

delaro :

vishalaestro :

1. A Q9550 + 550 TI will play GTA V in a mix of Low to Medium settings and average 45 FPS, more if you overclock the CPU. A 550TI is a bit weak for low settings in many of the current titles for that you would need a 650 TI or better.

2. A Q9550 for $25 is a hell of a deal if the chip is good, they normally sell for $45 and up.

3. Moving from a 3 ghz Duo to a 2.8ghz Quad in common tasks like browsing and Streaming, you wont notice a difference. In gaming you will only notice a difference in Titles that want to use more than 2 cores or primarily want to use certain cores , Core 3 is favored quite often on bad ports.

4. Is 4gb of RAM enough for modern games? NO.. Most games + OS will use 6gb during heavy use. DDR2 8GB is expensive It's a shame you don't have the next series on that board which supports DDR3

5. The alarm you are getting looks like the System is trying to auto Overclock the RAM to 1333mhz but the RAM itself fails. I would look into getting 4 X 1gb of either Samsung, G Skill or Kingston as they tend to be more stable on some of those LGA775 boards. 4 X1gb sticks will run you around $40 unless you get lucky and 8gb 4 X2gb will run $80 and up. DDR2 is damn expensive now.

currently i'm not planning to buy anything new ,only the used one's so i will try to buy 4x2gb ram if possible for cheap else i have to manage with the existing one.

delaro · Oct 3, 2015

yes,but how should i find whether the ram sticks match each other or not ?the frequency is the same ,which is 667mhz

667mhz RAM should work but you wont be able to Overclock much at all, 800mhz is preferred if you even want to consider this later on. I understand your not wanting to spend much money on replacing RAM if everything worked right you would only gain about 3% gaming performance from the RAM and then 10% boost from Overclocking.

For that Alarm check you Bios and make sure your not trying to load a overclock Profile

How to tell if the RAM sticks are the same, Pull them and look for the sticker if they are both labeled or run CPUZ. Your Bios should also list detailed specs on both Sticks.

? Or bad?

http://entreri28.hubpages.com/hub/5-Symptoms-of-a-RAM-Problem-and-How-to-Fix-It

Or Memtest86
www.memtest86.com

vishalaestro · Oct 3, 2015

delaro :

i set the RAM frequencies to DDR2 800 MHZ manually and ran the memtest. ,the test result was fine but in cpu-z the DRAM frequency was still at 400 MHZ ,why is that?

delaro · Oct 4, 2015

DDR is short of Double Data Rate (DDR).

The speed you saw in CPU-Z is the speed for each rate. So the actual rate is double that 400x2=800 Mhz.

vishalaestro · Oct 4, 2015

delaro :

so currently my RAM is running stable at 800MHZ and i have overclocked my cpu to 3.2 GHZ,here are my temp readings.

can i ovecrlock further to 3.6ghz?

delaro · Oct 4, 2015

60°C is as high as I would take it on that Cooler, your going to hit the Thermal Throttling limit if you take it further, that is where the System will start undervolting the CPU to keep the temps down. You need to look at replacing the Cooler to continue overclocking, there are plenty of Air Cooler options available. How large is your Case?

vishalaestro · Oct 4, 2015

delaro :

Here are my case pics.

i have got a atx case but still need to fit it ,it's a local one

jeffredo · Oct 4, 2015

It will play them, but not particularly well. Here's a test with a Q9650 (and other older and current processors). It has an E8600 in the test as well. Again, none of those oldies are particularly good anymore.

http://www.techspot.com/article/1039-ten-years-intel-cpu-compared/page5.html

vishalaestro · Oct 4, 2015

jeffredo :

if i upgrade the case to an ATX one ,will be able to reduce the temperatures and overclock further? and the test results you mentioned are all played at high settings ,it's enough for me if i hit the 30 fps mark consistently at medium settings at 1600x900 resolution or even atleast at 1333x768 resolution.

Cryio · Oct 5, 2015

The Q9550 is a bad CPU today, but for the 550 Ti it's sufficiently fast.

delaro · Oct 6, 2015

Cryio :

You guys couldn't be more wrong, if your only concern is 1080p max settings then yes it is a bad CPU as well as everything AMD has on the market. If you want "playable" fps and settings then a Q9550 and Q9650 overclocked will give you the same results you can get out of a FX-6300, Athlon II X4 860K and A10-6800K. For someone that happens to have a LGA775 board that can run these chips it's a good investment "$50-$75" to stave off a major upgrade another year of two. Even if you pay the $50-$75 you will get that back and most of the time more when you upgrade by selling it off as a Combo.

vishalaestro · Oct 6, 2015

delaro :

i'm not going to play at 1080p max settings ,i'm going to play at 900p medium settings and thats it ,i'm not going to overclock since i'm running with stock cooler

core 2 quad q9550 enough to run current games?

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