P5K

[nogooood]

Hello all,

I am currently looking into upgrading my computer for gaming purposes. The game I play is called AION and is a MMO. I have no problem playing the game in every aspect except for over crowded areas. We call them Fort Raids in the game. I get normally around 25-40 FPS and ping around 125-180 in normal game mode, I get 1-3 FPS in crowded areas. I was thinking to upgrade my CPU but not sure if I should. I have tried to OC but not sure I did that right. I have also fooled around with using a proxy server and TCP ack Frequency. Please let me know if you have any suggestions. My specs are below:

ASUS P5K MOBO with Core 2 Duo E7500(2.93GHz,1066FSB,L2:3MB,rev.R0)
Gforce 9800 GTX I believe, I'll have to check it when I get home.
6GB RAM not sure what type(again I'll check at home)
COX Cable Internet at the 2nd Highest speed.

Also, I run my PC with my SAMSUNG 32" LCD TV. I know the card has to work harder for a larger display but not sure if this would cause the lagging issue I have when there are alot of people around. I am not really sure what to upgrade whether I shoud start with the CPU or graphics card.

Thank you for your help!

 

[enzo matrix]

The computer would work harder for larger resolutions, not necessarily just larger monitors.

I seem to recall a thread about AION before. I'll try and find it and see if it said anything about... well anything useful.

Edit: Nah I can't find anything. You could try here and see if you can find anything useful though:
http://www.tomshardware.com/search.php?s=aion

In most cases, with most games, a GPU upgrade would be more beneficial than a CPU upgrade. I guess you could check by checking your CPU usage in game. Tab out if you can and look at the task manager.
Sorry I can't help out any more.

 

[jimmysmitty]

Well the TV is running 1920x1080 res so the GPU is probably fine.

As for your mobo, I have the P5K-E and it supports EVERY Core 2 Duo and Core 2 Quad out there so you would have no problem upgrading the CPU.

If you go for the CPU, the Q9550 is great but if you go for the GPU, look at a HD4870 since its priced very well and I played Aion on that plus a Q6600 @ 3GHz and it ran perfect maxed out at that res on my 40" Samsung HDTV.

 

[saaiello]

I would say a GPU upgrade would be your best bet the E7500 should have no problems with playing that game grab a better GPU and overclock the cpu upto atleast 3.6ghz you will see a big improvement.

Minimum System Specifications:

Microsoft Windows XP SP2
*2.8GHz CPU or equivalent
1GB RAM
NVIDIA 5900 Ultra with 128MB RAM / ATI x700 with 128MB RAM or higher
**15GB Hard Disk space
DVD-ROM drive
Direct X 9.0c (6/2008 update)
Sound Device
Broadband Internet Connection

Recommended System Specifications::

Microsoft Windows XP SP2 / Vista
*Dual Core CPU 2.0GHz or equivalent
2GB RAM
NVIDIA 6800 with 256MB RAM / ATI x800 with 256MB or higher
**15GB Hard Disk space
DVD-ROM drive
Direct X 9.0c (6/2008 update)
Sound Device
Broadband Internet Connection


It doesnt require alot of power to play that game I would say its the video card holding you back at that res I have a E8200 and a 9800 GT runs a little slower then the GTX and it has problems at higher res above 1680 x 1050. I doubt a quad core will make any difference in that game at all.

 

[nogooood]

First off let me say thank you to all who replied.

Ok for my specs, I was at work so I was a little off on a few of them.

First off my Processor is a Intel Pentium D 2.8 Ghz. Dual not the one I wrote previous.

My RAM IS DDR2 667, which the max I can overclock if I am not mistaken is to 667HZ. I fooled around with this last night and tried to overclock again. I think that the slow down might be with my Memory sticks as they can only go up to 667 and the CPU can run up to 800(not sure though)

So please respond with any help you may be able to offer. Thank you!
So a Better GPU then would be a good fix? Which is the best one I could get for a price under $200?

 

[jimmysmitty]

Well now that your CPU is a Pentium D, then no the CPU needs an update. The one you listed is good or a Core 2 Quad.

Your memory is fine. It will be fine for up to 1066MHz FSB CPUs like the Core 2 Quads and probably 1333MHz FSB chips.

If you do go with a GPU though, the HD4870 is my fave suggestion.

 

[saaiello]

Well now that your CPU is a Pentium D, then no the CPU needs an update. The one you listed is good or a Core 2 Quad.

Your memory is fine. It will be fine for up to 1066MHz FSB CPUs like the Core 2 Quads and probably 1333MHz FSB chips.

If you do go with a GPU though, the HD4870 is my fave suggestion.

667mhz ram is perfect for CPUs with 1333mhz FSBs the base clock will be 333mhz so as long as ram runs 1:1 ratio it will be fine. 1066mhz FSB will only run your RAM at 533mhz.

 

[nogooood]

Well now that I have researched things a little more I am going to upgrade the CPU. I was looking to spend less than $200. I think that the Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 is a good one for the money but could be mistaken. Could someone please let me know the fastest and best processor I can get for under $200 and the memory to go with it up to 4GB or 6GB. I do not want to spend more than $300.

 

[enzo matrix]

Well now that I have researched things a little more I am going to upgrade the CPU. I was looking to spend less than $200. I think that the Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 is a good one for the money but could be mistaken. Could someone please let me know the fastest and best processor I can get for under $200 and the memory to go with it up to 4GB or 6GB. I do not want to spend more than $300.

I would hardly consider an E8400 an upgrade. 4mb more cache and 0.2GHz faster processor. Sure it has a bus speed of 1333 as opposed to 1066, but really what difference is that going to make? Nothing. You will notice no difference by upgrading your processor to anything less than a quad core.
And... you already have 6GB of ram. The new processor won't need new ram. If you are talking about just getting faster ram, that's simply another thing that will make virtually no difference.
Where did you do this research?

 

[saaiello]

+1^ You are best to stick with what you got and do a real upgrade they E8400 will have barely a noticable difference in games. Its Quad core or nothing really no point in waisting your money on another dual core. If any you should get a AMD Phenom II 955 for $150 and get a $50 motherboard that uses your DDR2 ram you have now that would be an upgrade worth doing not a E8400.

 

[enzo matrix]

^^agreed

 

[jimmysmitty]

Actually guys, its a Pentium D. Shile its not a bad CPU, the E8400 will be far superior to it.

And the problem with a $50 mobo is the lack of features and normally support for anything in the future.

 

[enzo matrix]

Actually guys, its a Pentium D. Shile its not a bad CPU, the E8400 will be far superior to it.

And the problem with a $50 mobo is the lack of features and normally support for anything in the future.

Sorry, I read that as pentium dual core, which is based on the core 2 architecture.
Pentium D based on the netburst, I agree with you then. You will notice a performance increase.

Let's make sure it's the CPU though. Monitor your CPU usage during gaming using perfmon.exe. Check and see if it every hit at or very close to 100% at times.

 

[saaiello]

O thats right I forgot they realized it was a Pentium D 4 posts. I would say get an E8200 you can get an OEM version on ebay for about $90. I have one and it overclocks real easy and doesn't generate alot of heat either. It can hit 3ghz without much effort a simple change of the FSB to 375 and bam same performance of an E8500 but it can go much higher I have got mine to 4 ghz and I know it could go higher if I had better RAM.

Sorry, I read that as pentium dual core, which is based on the core 2 architecture.
Pentium D based on the netburst, I agree with you then. You will notice a performance increase.

Let's make sure it's the CPU though. Monitor your CPU usage during gaming using perfmon.exe. Check and see if it every hit at or very close to 100% at times.

I have a 9800GTX which used to be on my Pentium D 920 rig before this one and it bottlenecked the crap out of it.

 

[nogooood]

Ok all, thnks once again for the help. Well I just bought an E8500 for $180 and I am going toi install it now. I will definately let you all know how it goes. I did not get a new GPU for now. I read somewhere that the motherboard supports DDR3 so I bought 2 sticks just to try it, we will see how it goes.

 

[saaiello]

O wow $180 you shoulda got an E8200 for half that and just overclocked it o well.

Good Luck

 

[nogooood]

Hey well I am looking for the best and I am not to good on OC.

 

[nogooood]

E8500 Oh YEah, runs great. My FPS boosted way up on max setting. Thank you all so much. Other things are could my P5K MOBO support DDR3? If not what is the best ddr2 to get?

 

[jimmysmitty]

E8500 Oh YEah, runs great. My FPS boosted way up on max setting. Thank you all so much. Other things are could my P5K MOBO support DDR3? If not what is the best ddr2 to get?

The P5K is a P35 chipset mobo so it only supports DDR2. As for the best, its dependant. I like Corsair XMS2 and is what I run. I have 4GB of DDR2 1066 that has timings of 5-5-5-18 and it running stable on 4-4-4-12.

One thing about the P5K mobo though, make sure that whatever RAM you get that you set the voltage to its required in the BIOS. Mine needs 2.1v and it set it to 1.7v which made it unstable and would cause the PC to crash, not even a BSoD. Just shutdown and restart.