Upgrade or replace?

[motoxguy]

Hey all,
First post for me, hopefully I can get some input.

I current have a 3-4 year old Alienware system. 3.2ghz P4, 4gb DDR ram. The last upgrade I did to it was added a 9800xt (256mb) video card and a better power supply. I run my 3d games at high res 1680x and I definitely experience low frame rates at medium to high settings. I really want to get back to smooth, high frame rates at high detail settings. What would you recommend I do to get back up to speed? Can I upgrade some hardware or is it time to replace the system?

 

[geofelt]

It is not clear if your frame rates are limited by the vga card, or the CPU. It's probably a bit of both, depending on the game. I suspect it's mostly the gpu.

As a strategy, upgrade the video card to a high end single card like the GTX280 or 4870X2. This assumes that your upgraded PSU has two pci-e connectors, which indicates enough power to drive them.

If the improvement is not enough, then it is time to replace the cpu part of the system, keeping the new GTX280/4870X2

 

[teh_boxzor]

i'd say replace i would think your mobo is out of date and cant support the newer tech out there. keep the case though

 

[knotknut]

Post your systems components please.