Gaming Upgrade

[invis1ble]

Hi guys, first of all I want to apologize if I posted this in the wrong section; wasn't sure where to put it.

My main problem is that I play games such as Aion, MW2, CoD4 etc. I get major fps drops in Aion in towns or busy areas, and MW2 lags slightly when shooting etc. I also get weird fps spikes when recording with xfire or fraps.

My specs are:

940 @ 3.0GHz
3GB 800mhz ram
Nvidia 8800 GTS
ASrock K10N78
700w PSU
7 32 bit

I thought maybe the cause of this was due to my memory or my GPU, I looked at this for a potential memory upgrade: http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/4GB-%282x2GB%29-Corsair-TwinX-DDR2-XMS2-PC2-8500-%281066%29-240-Pin-Non-ECC-Unbuffered-CAS-5-6-6-18-EPP

I looked at a 4870 or a 4890 for a GPU upgrade, I also looked at a 5750 which to my surpise was cheaper than a 4890, only thing I could think of was the drivers

I'd be grateful if you guys could help me out, I have a budget of around £200.

Cheers

 

[1whudson]

Try looking at the older, but well proven, Nvidia Gforce GTX 260. It should be right in your range for the 1 gig [896mb] board. Hope this helps............

 

[blackhawk1928]

What resolution are you playing at?...becuase my 8800GTS can max out anything except for Crysis on 1680x1050 DX10 on stock settings and can max out most games i play on 1080p. BTW i am using the old 640MB version, if you have the newer G92 512mb version it should be even more powerful. Before I had a weak Pentium D processor, my card was bottlenecked but with a 920 now i can chew through everything.

 

[invis1ble]

Thanks for the replies guys, I am using the BFG 512mb 8800, I play at 1920x1080, but it still does the same at lower resolutions. I have looked into the GTX260 but have heard that the 4890 would be a better buy.

 

[blackhawk1928]

Invisible, i think something is bottlenecking your card, becuase that card is very powerful and should be ripping through most games. You might have a software issue.

 

[invis1ble]

Invisible, i think something is bottlenecking your card, becuase that card is very powerful and should be ripping through most games. You might have a software issue.

Maybe, I can play CSS and CoD4 at full FPS no worries, it's just Aion and MW2 that are a bit dodgy. Do you think it could be related to my RAM?

 

[blackhawk1928]

Well you said you lowered resolution and still no increase in fps right?...well i think something else is bottlenecking you or a software issue.
Your video cards driver is this: Nvidia Geforce 8800GTS 512MB 195.62 Official Patch
^Click on it to go to page and download.

Truth be told I really dont know what can be your bottleneck, it could be anything or it could be a small minor problem that is unoticiable. However reason why i am so surprised is this:
http://www.pcgameshardware.com/aid,699312/Modern-Warfare-2-Graphics-card-benchmarks-of-the-latest-Call-of-Duty/Practice/

If you look at the link, on 1920x1200 w/ max details and 16AF and 4x AA, the 8800GTS 512mb was getting a solid 40+fps average. Since you play on a lower resolution which is 1920x1080 and lower the AA a little which wont make to much of a difference, your fps should be over 60 i bet which should be smooth as butter....thats if it isn't bottlenecked.

 

[invis1ble]

Well you said you lowered resolution and still no increase in fps right?...well i think something else is bottlenecking you or a software issue.
Your video cards driver is this: Nvidia Geforce 8800GTS 512MB 195.62 Official Patch
^Click on it to go to page and download.

Truth be told I really dont know what can be your bottleneck, it could be anything or it could be a small minor problem that is unoticiable. However reason why i am so surprised is this:
http://www.pcgameshardware.com/aid,699312/Modern-Warfare-2-Graphics-card-benchmarks-of-the-latest-Call-of-Duty/Practice/

If you look at the link, on 1920x1200 w/ max details and 16AF and 4x AA, the 8800GTS 512mb was getting a solid 40+fps average. Since you play on a lower resolution which is 1920x1080 and lower the AA a little which wont make to much of a difference, your fps should be over 60 i bet which should be smooth as butter....thats if it isn't bottlenecked.

Yeah I've got those drivers installed, I might just buy some new RAM and see if it cures it..

 

[blackhawk1928]

I disagree, unless he has the 320mb version of the 8800GTS it should be giving him really good framerates even on his full resolution.

 

[invis1ble]

You disagree with what? I stated if he gets good fps on cod4, he should get equally good fps on MW2.

According to his system specs, the video card IS the weakest link.

So buying good spec RAM won't do me any justice?

If not then I'll probably get a 4890, I don't particularly want to buy both RAM and a new GPU but if it is required then I will.

 

[blackhawk1928]

Zipzoomflyhigh, sorry i misunderstood, i just mean that his GPU might be his weakest link but I think its not his problem with fps, its something else.

 

[bystander]

So buying good spec RAM won't do me any justice?

If not then I'll probably get a 4890, I don't particularly want to buy both RAM and a new GPU but if it is required then I will.

People talk a lot about good ram, but every benchmark comparing ram in gaming and most real world applications show it barely makes a difference. The amount of ram makes a difference if you are short, but high spec ram is usually better spent else where.

 

[invis1ble]

meh, I'm just going to get both, cheers for the tips guys.

 

[invis1ble]

Just thought I'd post, bought that RAM I posted and all is fine now