Upgrade help...

[asauka]

Basicly my current build at the moment at doesn't run the games I currently play at 1280x1024 and max settings at a stable 50-60 FPS. Example of these games vary from Battlefield 2142, WoW, Call of Duty 2 and C&C3.

Here's a list of my -current- PC specs.

P5N32-SLI Premium
C2D E6400 2.13GHz
4x512MB RAM (5300 speed)
2x Nvidia 7900GS in SLI
2x 250GB 7300RPM HDD
Some DVD+/-RW and DVD-ROM
JEANTECH - 700W *STORM* ATX POWER SUPPLY UNIT
Dell 196FP Monitor

I'm not too hot on what would improve my performance the most and I'm not willing to overclock, so any help would be most appreciated.

Thanks for reading!

 

[yakyb]

better ram and an overclock wold probably sort you out best if theats not up to standard for you a couple of 8800gtxs will sort you out

 

[Daredevil_8]

For 1280x1024...SLI will not give you that much performance increase over a single card. You'd be better off getting an 8800GTS 640MB. Or even an 8800GTX. That should pan out the frames issue for you.

And that PSU...never heard of that brand at all..I'd be weary to use a PSU from them. If it seems to be working though...thats great Look at this list for power supply recommendations otherwise:
PSU Ref. List

 

[aevm]

DDR2-800 would help a bit, but anything better would be overkill in his case, i.e. no overclocking.

Even one 8800 GTX will be an improvement over what he has, at least that's what I suspect. He'll probably need a new PSU, especially for SLI. SLI isn't needed at that resolution IMO.

 

[asauka]

Thank you for the responses so far, I was looking at the possibility of a 8800GTX, for the overclocking response, I've been told to avoid it on my current motherboard, apparently it doesn't respond too well to it. So besides the card, there's not that much else?

EDIT: The PSU I'm using at the moment I'm quite happy with, can't compare it to one of the "recommended" ones but I think it's quality.

 

[Daredevil_8]

I'm glad that the PSU is working for you. The last one I thought was 'quality' crapped out on me for no apparent reason..just a heads up Shouldn't be a problem as long as you don't push it too hard. My only concern is if you do upgrade to the GTX, it might push your PSU. I have no idea though, because I have no way of knowing what your amps are on the rails for your PSU Should be fine though.

 

[aevm]

If your PSU has worked so far without problems then it's good quality. The problem is not so much quality, but whether it offers the required amperage. Did it come with a brochure? A system with two 8800 GTX cards needs 52 or 56 A.

Not much else to upgrade besides the videocard. You could get an E6700, I guess, especially after the price cuts next month. It has 2 MB more of cache and it works at a higher stock frequency, so it should help. Probably not enough to be worth the time and money though.

I wonder if the E6850 would work on your mobo, possibly after a BIOS update. That would be worth the $266, if it's possible. Too early to tell, of course, since the E6850 won't be available until July 22.