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Whats the bottleneck in my system

Forum Graphic & Displays : Graphics Cards - Whats the bottleneck in my system

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this is my config.

coolermaster 500Watt PSU
intel pentium-D 2.8GHz
EVGA NVidia GeForce 9800GT
2 x 1GB DDR2-533 RAM Sticks
current OS: vista (might go back to XP.. just too lazy to go thru with it)

I know there is a bottleneck which is leading to some really bad frame rates in some games.
I just want to know which components need changing or which ones are bottlenecking the system (at this point i'm thinking that everything except the graphic card needs to change... i guess i also need a new motherboard)
Most of my frame rate issues are with games using the Unreal-3 Engine.

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more memory if you stay VISTA.
new CPU (or try OC this one)
PSU and GPU seems ok.

------------------------------ __________________________Le Québécois_________________________
WCed Q9550 EO + P5Q @ 3.825ghz / HTPC - E5200 + P5Q @ 3.3ghz
BFG GTX285 OC2 + PC P&C 750w . / HIS HD4850 with Sharp 42" 1080p
Reply to boulard83

LOw budget would be a E5200 and P45 mobo ( can be found for about 150$ for both)

buy 2x2go ddr2 800 memory, cheap and GOOOOD ( 50$ ).

And some air cooling, FOr the OC, E5200 is a nice OCer.

This is my Low budget new build for you ! If you can spend more ... lets have some more fun !

I'd have to agree with boulard83 and say the biggest bottleneck right now for you is your RAM. You only have 2GB, and it's only 533Mhz. If you're having FPS problems in newer games, then your best bet is a cheap new build like boulard83 suggested. Your video card might be able to hold out for a little while longer, but your CPU is probably at it's limits now.

However, the 2GB of RAM you have now would fair you much better on XP than it would on Vista.

Reply to arson94

CPU would be the worst thing in there, ram should be fine and speed is irrelevant for most cases in an intel system.

However, what you want to do is load up a game then minimize out of it and check with task manager ram usage to make sure it is not that, if you are not hitting full usage then ram ain't an issue.

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Reply to strangestranger

CPU is the big bottleneck, followed closely by the RAM, but only because it's Vista. If you had Windows XP, the RAM would be acceptable.

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Reply to Zenthar

Again, unless he is reaching the limit and it is causing excessive hard drive access his ram is fine, there is no reason to suspect his ram is a problem unless shown to be, people run vista fine with 2gigs all the time.

I agree with Stranger i run vista on 2GB fine i was hitting 27FPS avg on FarCry2 with very high detail on 1680x1050... i recommend a new mobo then try OC your processor... worry about ram last and only because its running on the 533mhz...

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Reply to OmegaStalker

Zenthar wrote :

CPU is the big bottleneck, followed closely by the RAM, but only because it's Vista. If you had Windows XP, the RAM would be acceptable.

Reply to babybudha

CRYSIS - FARCRY and any other high end game pump over 2g ram ... if you have any RAM analyser running, youll see that if you play Farcry with 2g, its FULLLLLL using XP, even more with vista.

Since i have 4g on XP64, ive never seen my ram FULL.

hmm i guess i do need a new cpu.. pentium's got lower bus speed than the core i realize that... plus my ram tech is a bit old too.. 533s are disappearing.
and about 4 gigs of ram.... my motherboard only supports a 2 gb maximum.
my mobo's one of those stock ones you get with a HP desktop.
hmmm.. total overhaul needed.
but the first thing i'm going to do is shift back to xp.
then maybe save up and get a new mobo and a q6600
anyways... thanks for the input

Reply to vampirebuster666

Depending on what you get your hands one, the 533MHz could still be useful. For example, it is all that is needed for a Q6600 running at stock FSB (1066MHz).

------------------------------ The capacity to learn is a gift; The ability to learn is a skill; The willingness to learn is a choice. - Rebec of Ginaz

Reply to Zenthar

Quote :

Since i have 4g on XP64, ive never seen my ram FULL.

True that. I usually only use 80% even when I have the 1GB RAM Disk and encoding with 6GB.

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Reply to Shadow703793

sorry im not giving any help but i need it to i have 1.8 ghz cpu 2 X 1gb ram kingston and a xfx gforce 9800 gt im guessing my low fps im=n games is because of my cpu any sugestions on what to get to help out ? / i get an averege frame of 22 in crysis on high setting 8Xaa ress 1024by768

Reply to madox

i must have a giant bottleneck ?

Message quoted 1 times

Reply to madox

madox wrote :

i must have a giant bottleneck ?

yes.. the cpu is definitely bottlenecking your whole computer. your graphic card wont be able to perform at its maximum capacity cuz your processor is too slow. these days you at least need a core 2 duo@2.4GHz. get a new processor ... and beware you need a mobo that supports the processor that you will buy. for core 2 architecture its a motherboard with a 755 socket that you need.

Reply to vampirebuster666

so the memory is okay it just the cpu and mobo?
/ thanks for you help quick reply ^^

Reply to madox

yes you will need to make sure your RAM is DDR2 as well.

on another note please don't thread hijack.

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Reply to Flakes

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