Time for a cpu upgrade?

[protokiller]

My dad is obsessed with TF2. But he is not happy with his framerates during tough areas.

His Cpu is a Conroe Celeron @ 1.6GHz and his graphics card is a Radeon X1300.

At first I thought it was the gpu but I threw in my 2600xt and it ran just as bad at any resolution low or high even though I can run tf2 fine using the same card on my Pentium D.

So basically what cpu do you recommend for tf2? Preferably under $100

 

[kamel5547]

I would say its the CPU based on the min/req specs and the fact the celron is a little gimped. You can get an E2200 for less than $100..... assuming your MoBo supports it I would go with that or a E2220 at that price range. Of course I'm assuming you meet the RAM requirements...



Minimum: 1.7 GHz Processor, 512MB RAM, DirectX® 8 level Graphics Card, Windows® Vista/XP/2000, Mouse, Keyboard, Internet Connection

Recommended: Pentium 4 processor (3.0GHz, or better), 1GB RAM, DirectX® 9 level Graphics Card, Windows® Vista/XP/2000, Mouse, Keyboard, Internet Connection

 

[ashleylist]

Me I would wait until the end of the year when Intel bring out it's new CPU.

You should be able to get a good duo core (E8400) or quad core (Q9xxx) while upgrading your whole system as we can expect a reasonable price drop. Upgrading to a slower cpu is throwing good money after bad.

Yes it’s a higher cost but well worth it. Save $100 a month each? And by Christmas $600 - $1200+ interest.

 

[flyin15sec]

I'd go with an E2220 also, for under $100 upgrade. You might want to check on the amount of RAM too, if it's 1gig, go ahead and add another 1gig.

 

[Wisecracker]

e2200 (if it will work): $75 with promo code EMCAHBACB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116063&nm_mc=EMC-IGNEFL071008&cm_mmc=EMC-IGNEFL071008-_-CPUs-_-L2D-_-19116063

8800gs: $73 (after rebate and $15 off with code EMCAHBABB)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130332&nm_mc=EMC-IGNEFL071008&cm_mmc=EMC-IGNEFL071008-_-VideoCards-_-L0A-_-14130332

promo codes are valid till 07/14/2008

 

[njalterio]

I hope you took care to install the correct drivers and such when you put in your 2600 XT. .

I would definitely go with wisecracker's suggestion. You may want to consider getting a good aftermarket cooler and overclocking for even better performance.

 

[Onus]

What are the rest of his system specs? Does he want a best-results-with- minimum-effort upgrade, or would he consider a major overhaul or even a new build?
We'll need to be certain his PSU can support whatever graphics card he gets. Since multiple pieces might be involved here, what is his budget?

 

[protokiller]

His budget is as low as possible to get the job done. The only game he plays period is Team Fortress 2 so I don't want to overspend here.

Won't a 8600GTS be fine?

 

[cjl]

Well, it's Valve, so it loves a fast CPU (doesn't care much about multithreading though). As for the 8600, it'll get the job done, but it might lag in areas. A 9600GSO would be better, and it can be had for pretty close to the same price. An HD3850 is another nice choice.

 

[protokiller]

What exactly would the 9600GSO compare to in the ATI camp?

And yeah it's a shame valve can't get the full multithreaded rendering to work properly, people who have turned it on in the console sometimes get +15fps although very buggy and crashes often.

 

[Mondoman]

pk - since it's a *conroe* (i.e. Core2) Celeron design CPU that he already has, just increasing the core clock by a few hundred MHz by going to an e2xxx CPU will do very little, unless the game can use both cores in the new CPU. Now, if he gets something like an e2180 and then overclocks it to 3GHz, that's another matter. It's hard to know exactly what's compatible unless we know the details of your father's system, especially what model number MB and power supply. Also, how much RAM is installed?

 

[protokiller]

This is actually for an OEM system that I've known from other forums to take E2XXX cpus. And you wouldn't think it would make a big difference but look at my Pentium D, it's only 3GHz but manages to play the game 100% better.

I recall the Celeron 420 benchmarking as high as a 2.8GHz Pentium 4.

Also 1.5GB ram is installed using Windows XP and I already know the little oem powersupply wont be enough.

 

[Mondoman]

Benchmarks are not realistic. The key question is can you overclock the E2xxx by cranking the FSB up to 1066MHz or 1333MHz in the BIOS? Also, I'd go to 2GB or 3GB total RAM (either 2x1GB or 2x1GB + 2x512MB), so you can run all the RAM in dual-channel mode, which isn't happening now with 1.5GB.
If you run CPU-Z on the system, you'll be able to figure out exactly what chipset the MB uses, and verify the other settings such as FSB, memory bus speed, etc.

 

[protokiller]

This was a VERY cheap OEM Emachine pc that only cost $200, max ram is only 2GB and all he wants is his TF2 to not run slowly.

Being as it's oem he can't overclock but if you really want to know it uses the Intel 945G chipset.

 

[Mondoman]

OK, so swap your Pentium D into his system, and replace the 512MB DIMM with a 1GB DIMM to double the memory bus throughput by going to dual-channel mode. Then, upgrade your own system with an e2180 or such and OC it to 3GHz.

 

[protokiller]

argh I have an OEM system also so no overclocking =(

But yea I guess it would be a good idea to max out his ram early on. I'm sure I can get a higher E2XXX cpu for myself. Whats the cheapest Core 2 duo anyway?

 

[Mondoman]

Then get yourself an e4700: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115045

 

[protokiller]

Then get yourself an e4700: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115045

Ok thanks I'll buy that and give my dad my Pentium D (it served me well)

It feels a little safter since Compaq actually supports the E4XXX cpus.

How much longer are these going to be sold for? (for example I cant find E6300s at newegg anymore)

 

[Mondoman]

Not sure, but 800MHz FSB CPUs are Intel's current low-end CPUs. Their high-end CPUs currently run on 1333MHz FSB.

 

[joefriday]

I personally think the Celeron 1.6GHz can hang with the x1300 easily. Since you think it's the problem, do yourself a favor and pinmod that celeron to 1066 FSB. Enjoy your new 2.13GHz Celeron.

 

[protokiller]

Well I ordered me an E2220 and gave my old Pentium D 3GHz to my dad and it made all the difference in the world.

That X1300 was in fact being held back by the Celeron (at least on source games) and now it runs at high 1024X768 silky smooth where the Celeron struggled to run on all low settings 800X600.

 

[Mondoman]

Glad it worked out!