Is my 3200+ causing low FPS ?

[enli]

Hi

I prefer to call myself as a casual gamer but when i play games it matters to me that game should run atleast at mid settings if not high. Recently i tried to play Assassins Creed and it runs at 5-10 FPS at mid settings. So i was wondering what would be the culprit.

I have following configuration :
AMD Athlon 64 3200+ (OCed to 2.2GHz)
Asus A8N-VM Mobo
Nvidia 6600GT PCI Graphics card
1 GB DDR 400 RAM
160GB Sata

I did test for same game on http://www.systemrequirementslab.com and it pointed out that my processor is the cause of my incompatibility with the game. Is this right ? If yes , i m going to upgrade my cpu only (socket 939) as i dont have much budget and i wont be having enough money for next 2 years ( i m a student ) so i cant upgrade to new AM2 and motherboard combo.

Which processor would be good for me (provided i m a gamer) ? My budget is around $100 , and is it really worth to upgrade only cpu in my case ?

Regards
EnLi

P.S. : I will be away for next 1-2 days..so accept my apology in advance for late reply.

 

[JDocs]

Bad news... Its your processor.
Worse news.... Good luck finding an upgrade for a Socket 939 motherboard...

 

[Dudeson]

I have an AMD 64 3700+ 939. it's overclockable upto 2.8ghz on my old Biostar NF4ST, only 1.375v needed, sits at stock now.


Bad news....i live in australia

 

[mi1ez]

I would have said upgrading the processor won't give much of an increase before the GPU becomes the problem.

Assuming it's not currently!

 

[enli]

Hmm ..i didnt get exactly what you said mi1ez.

What should i do then ?

 

[doomturkey]

I don't think its your proc as much as its your graphics card and your RAM. There is no way a 2.2ghz A64 will bottleneck a 6600GT. That system is about as old or older than mine, and pretty much the same (cept I run 2gb RAM and an X800pro). Assassins Creed is a pretty demanding game, you are going to need an entirely new CPU/mobo/gfx/RAM/PSU to be able to run any current game at mid to high settings.

Which is why I'm about to drop $1500 on a new one this summer.

But, since your budget is only about $100, I think it would be extremely beneficial if you dropped $30 on another gig of RAM and the other $70 on graphics. I would recommend something like a 2600XT, you should see a major boost in FPS.

GFX
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161174
$100 - $20 MIR
RAM
-Find whatever is cheapest and allows you to still run dual channel. If you have a single 1gb stick in your board, get another 1gb stick. If you have 2x512mb, get another 2x512mb kit.

I believe this should give you a giant leap in performance compared to what you see now. Good luck.

 

[enli]

Thanks doomturkey for great suggestion. Yes my system is 2 years old.

I will try adding new 1GB DDR1 stick in pc and see if it helps..I will be posting again in 4-5 days as have exams to attend to

EDIT: I would like more suggestions on this problem before i decide anything.

Thanks a lot

 

[Flakes]

I think its more you GPU when it comes down to assassins creed. although these guys are right you need a new computer, dont feel to bad so do i.

i currently am planning a nehalem build, cause it will take me that long to save up the money before i can upgrade.

 

[Cozmotavroz]

I used to have a similar system. athlon 64 3200+ processor with 1GB RAM & 6800GT. I have decided to go for an upgrade as I was also unhappy with the performance when it came to play modern games. I got myself a dual core processor (Opteron 170 - you can still get X2 939 processors @ ebay), upgraded to 2GB RAM and finally bought a Geforce 8800GTX - . I invested approximately 500 US$. It was a huge performance boost! (increase 3d mark 05 from 4500 to 14500!) - that was the much better solution for me than investing 2,5k $ for a new system...

 

[randomizer]

I have an AMD 64 3700+ 939. it's overclockable upto 2.8ghz on my old Biostar NF4ST, only 1.375v needed, sits at stock now.


Bad news....i live in australia

I needed 1.7V to do that, 1.75V to hit 2.9GHz. I got a bad chip, I blame Hector! Living in Australia isn't a bad thing, except our prices

@enli: Anoth gig of RAM won't improve framerates at all. You are playing a 2007 game on a 2004/2005 video card, that just doesn't work any more. Your CPU is going to bottleneck anything you buy (that is decent of course) to replace your 6600GT. You don't need an expensive upgrade, but you do need an upgrade. A 9600GT/9600GSO and an E2160 would probably give you 5-6x your current framerate at a typical resolution of 1280x1024.

 

[enli]

Ok guys.. what would be a good graphics card under $100 ?

 

[doomturkey]

I suggested another gig of RAM because it really is a huge boost in doing everyday tasks, I recently added another gig and it was the best $30 I ever spent on a PC upgrade.
And a 9600GT would definitely be better than the 2600XT I suggested, only thing is its about $30-40 more expensive, so if you want to drop some extra cash, it could be worth it.

I'm a student too, so I feel your pain. Between books, car payments, food, and booze, I have never been so poor.

EDIT: The CPU would probably bottleneck a 9600GT and you would get about the same perf as with a 2600XT b/c of this. If you do what randomizer suggested, you will have to drop money on the E2160, mobo, graphics, and RAM (needs DDR2). If you really don't want to spend more than $100, then get the 2600XT I suggested, it is the best buy you can get on a card for about $100.

 

[randomizer]

@enli: None, they are all crap. Spen another $19 and get this for a significant performance improvement: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130332

EDIT: Yea being a student sucks. $120 textbooks

 

[randomizer]

Get these:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116036

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130332

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128337

And pretty much any nice looking RAM from here:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=2010170147+1052108080+1052308477+1052416064&name=DDR2+800+(PC2+6400)

Of course, it depends on your budget. If you don't want to OC, you can shave another $5 off the RAM and get lower speed stuff.

 

[amdfangirl]

@enli: None, they are all crap. Spen another $19 and get this for a significant performance improvement: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130332

EDIT: Yea being a student sucks. $120 textbooks

Good old Australia... term fees... $400+ per term... textbooks do seem pretty good now...

 

[doomturkey]

@enli: None, they are all crap. Spen another $19 and get this for a significant performance improvement: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130332

EDIT: Yea being a student sucks. $120 textbooks

Definitely a good card, I won't argue with that. My only concern on that would be the 384mb of RAM compared to 512mb on the 2600XT. I think either card would be bottlenecked by his CPU anyways.

 

[pauldh]

Unfortunately If that is a 128MB 6600GT, your system fails to meet the minimum CPU, RAM, and Video card requirements.

The game has monstrous system requirements. Dual core CPU, 2GB RAM, 256MB video card for a minimum. See here:
http://www.beyond3d.com/content/news/570

 

[randomizer]

Definitely a good card, I won't argue with that. My only concern on that would be the 384mb of RAM compared to 512mb on the 2600XT. I think either card would be bottlenecked by his CPU anyways.

That doesn't really matter, because the cut-down G92 on the 8800GS has so much more horsepower than the GPU on the 2600XT (whatever it is, someone tell me please I'm lazy) that the reduced VRAM isn't going to matter. Neither card is powerful enough to run at resolutions or AA levels where 512MB RAM is a must anyway. Ask marvellous, he'll praise this card until the apocalypse. :lol:

 

[enli]

Hmm guys i dont think this is a problem but i m from India. I guess the prices of the cards shouldnt vary much compared to what is available on newegg right ?

Anyways i called my vendor today and i got few prices :
8500GT 512MB PCIE 4500RS (approx 112 USD)
8600 1GB PCIE 7000RS (approx 175 USD)

Which should i buy ?
Say if i increase budget upto 175USD ..which should be the best buy ?

All the comments are much appreciated..And this is the best hardware forum i have ever visited .Bookmarked already

Regards
EnLi

Edit: 8500GT price might be wrong.

 

[mi1ez]

Hmm ..i didnt get exactly what you said mi1ez.

What should i do then ?

Sorry, I meant it might be you processor but I'm not convinced.

If it is your processor holding you back and you upgrade I don't think you'll get much more performance before the GPU is problem.

Currently though, I'm hedging my bets on a better graphics card being more beneficial.

 

[mi1ez]

For your budget I'd try to see about getting an HD 3850 over a 8500/8600

 

[clay12340]

In all honesty I think trying to resurrect that rig to a playable in Assassin's Creed is going to cost you more than upgrading your system. Without the processor you're probably not going to see much benefit out of the new graphics card. Without more RAM you're going to be hitting the HDD too often and lose smoothness in the game.

By the time you add a gig of ram, a video card at say $120, and a dual core processor, at ebay prices, you're looking at $250-$300. It would make that machine a passable gaming rig for a while, but spending that same money on newer components might be a better return on your investment.

On the upside you've got a PCI-e capable board, so you can try the graphics card first. If it doesn't offer the performance increase you were looking for, then it will still be usable if you need to upgrade your other components.

I'm far from an expert on the current AMD offerings, but at the prices a lot of their options don't look too bad.

$66 on Newegg will get you a reasonable dual core where you'll pay twice that for a 939 equivalent on ebay. The other $60 will buy you a reasonable AMD budget motherboard. 2 gigs of DDR2 800 can be found any day of the week for < $40 and you occasionally come across a better deal if you're willing to wait on a rebate.

 

[firetatoo]

2005 PC says " ouch"

 

[randomizer]

Hmm guys i dont think this is a problem but i m from India. I guess the prices of the cards shouldnt vary much compared to what is available on newegg right ?

Anyways i called my vendor today and i got few prices :
8500GT 512MB PCIE 4500RS (approx 112 USD)
8600 1GB PCIE 7000RS (approx 175 USD)

Which should i buy ?
Say if i increase budget upto 175USD ..which should be the best buy ?

All the comments are much appreciated..And this is the best hardware forum i have ever visited .Bookmarked already

Regards
EnLi

Wow, I should stop complaining about Australian prices, $112 for an 8500GT You can find them for $46 on Newegg and $54 here in Australia. If the HD3850 is in your budget, I would get that as mi1ez mentioned. It is about double the speed of the 8600GTS and far superior to the 8500GT (your 6600GT would be about as fast as the 8500GT so you'd be getting nowhere).

 

[amdfangirl]

^ $120 for a 'high end' X700 or $260 'hard-core' X1650, ($500 for a 8800GT( there is absolutely no competition in an entire area) beat that for a local computer store!