Will upgrading my CPU improve graphics?

[Tom351]

Hi everyone.

I don't know if I am in the right section or if I should have had this in the graphics forums.

Right now I have:

Intel Core 2 Duo 6600 2.4Ghz
4GB DDR2 RAM
Nvidia GTX 260

Will Upgrading my CPU to an Intel Core 2 Quad Q8400 2.66Ghz improve my graphics performance?

I can play the game Crysis on ultra high graphics, 16x AA, 1680 X 1050 but it does lag quite a bit if an explosion goes off or if shooting someone so I usually put the resolution down to 1280 X 900 (or something like that). Even at the resolution it does lag a bit.

I'm pretty sure my RAM and video card are fine.

Any ideas?

 

[nativeson8803]

It will absolutely work to improve your gaming performance, but I would recommend you get that cpu and overclock it to 3 or just passed 3ghz, which seems to be the sweet spot and brings real gains.

Your card is decent, but nowhere near maxing crysis in the situations you describe.

In summation, you should at the very least overclock the cpu you have as high as it can go (you will definitely see gains if you can hit 3ghz with your current dual) or upgrade to the quad and overclock it too.

 

[Emperus]

Hi everyone.

I don't know if I am in the right section or if I should have had this in the graphics forums.

Right now I have:

Intel Core 2 Duo 6600 2.4Ghz
4GB DDR2 RAM
Nvidia GTX 260

Will Upgrading my CPU to an Intel Core 2 Quad Q8400 2.66Ghz improve my graphics performance?

I can play the game Crysis on ultra high graphics, 16x AA, 1680 X 1050 but it does lag quite a bit if an explosion goes off or if shooting someone so I usually put the resolution down to 1280 X 900 (or something like that). Even at the resolution it does lag a bit.

I'm pretty sure my RAM and video card are fine.

Any ideas?

Ultra high settings.! 16X AA.!! Are you sure about these.? I dint knew the GTX 260 has this much potential.. Meanwhile, upgrading to a quad will not fetch you any benefits.. Like said above, you need to run a higher clock speed on that CPU.. Your processor should easily be able to reach 3.0 GHz which will be a good point.. Then again, you'd need to upgrade to a better video card (atleast a GTX 470 to notice any significant benefits) to crank up on the eye candy..

 

[Tom351]

Ultra high settings.! 16X AA.!! Are you sure about these.? I dint knew the GTX 260 has this much potential..

Yes those are the settings I have it on. I checked the frames per second and when I am running around it is at about 20 FPS but when I'm in a battle it drops to about 5-10 FPS.

So if overclocking my CPU improves graphics am I able to overclock my graphics card as well?

 

[ssshjp]

Changing from Q6600 to Q8400 contributes little here.

You can try to overclock your processor or upgrade to QX9650.

BTW, are you using GTX260 or GTX260+? Ultra High settings of Crysis may reach the limitation of the video card.

 

[Tom351]

BTW, are you using GTX260 or GTX260+? Ultra High settings of Crysis may reach the limitation of the video card.

I have never heard of GTX 260+. My graphics card has 216 Stream Processor/896MB/448bit/GDDR3. The card is from "Palit"

 

[jsc]

You have the GTX260+. The original 260 had 192 stream processors.

http://hothardware.com/Reviews/NVIDIA-GeForce-GTX-260-Core-216-EVGA-Zotac/

 

[Tom351]

You have the GTX260+. The original 260 had 192 stream processors.

http://hothardware.com/Reviews/NVIDIA-GeForce-GTX-260-Core-216-EVGA-Zotac/

OK thanks.


nativeson8803,

I downloaded Everest to monitor my CPU temperature and I found out that when I'm not doing any thing, it sits around 43-47 C and when I'm playing Crysis, it sits around 58-62 C.

On the internet I found out that my CPU's max temperature is 60.1 C so I will have to get a better cooling system if I wanted to overclock right?

 

[Emperus]

I checked the frames per second and when I am running around it is at about 20 FPS but when I'm in a battle it drops to about 5-10 FPS.

How are you possibly enjoying gaming at 20 fps.! Turning down the eye candy will surely fetch you more frames per second.. I don't feel there's a lot of difference (visually) between 4X AA and 16X AA.. But it surely does improve performance..

So if overclocking my CPU improves graphics am I able to overclock my graphics card as well?

Overclocking the CPU will surely help a great deal.. Overclocking the video card however, while it fetchs benefits depending on the amount of overclock you can extract, is not so easy.. You need to have a good (definitely not stock) cooler on your card to handle the extra heat.. You do need a good PSU also.. Which card do you have btw.? I'll first recommend you to give it a go by overclocking your CPU first..

 

[Tom351]

How are you possibly enjoying gaming at 20 fps.! Turning down the eye candy will surely fetch you more frames per second.. I don't feel there's a lot of difference (visually) between 4X AA and 16X AA.. But it surely does improve performance..



Overclocking the CPU will surely help a great deal.. Overclocking the video card however, while it fetchs benefits depending on the amount of overclock you can extract, is not so easy.. You need to have a good (definitely not stock) cooler on your card to handle the extra heat.. You do need a good PSU also.. Which card do you have btw.? I'll first recommend you to give it a go by overclocking your CPU first..

Graphics card? Nvidia GTX 260+

I have a 650W power supply.

What CPU cooler would you recommend?

 

[Emperus]

If you can afford it, the Noctua NH-D14 is the best CPU cooler available.. If size/availability is restriction, opt for the Corsair H70.. If budget is the restriction then opt for the CoolerMaster Hyper 212+.. It may not be the best but, for the price it asks, it does a job worth a lot more..

 

[Tom351]

If you can afford it, the Noctua NH-D14 is the best CPU cooler available.. If size/availability is restriction, opt for the Corsair H70.. If budget is the restriction then opt for the CoolerMaster Hyper 212+.. It may not be the best but, for the price it asks, it does a job worth a lot more..

You said the Noctua is the best one. How about the "Noctua NH-U9B-SE2"?

I checked out pictures of the Noctura NH-D14 and it looks massive! Almost the width of my graphics card. Are you sure it will be able to fit in a MSI P965 motherboard?

 

[Emperus]

You said the Noctua is the best one. How about the "Noctua NH-U9B-SE2"?

I checked out pictures of the Noctura NH-D14 and it looks massive! Almost the width of my graphics card. Are you sure it will be able to fit in a MSI P965 motherboard?

I don't have much knowledge about the Noctua NH-U9B-SE2.. Check with google regarding info and reviews.. As for the D14, yeah its massive.. Your motherboard will not have any problems adjusting to its weight and/or size though.. Problems may arise if you've tall heat spreaders on your RAM modules.. Also, its quite tall so you need to be sure that it fits in your case.. Otherwise you can opt for the Corsair H70.. Being a waterblock, it is little pricey but has good performance.. Its not better compared to the D14 but its not that far behind it also.. Infact, the performance levels are quite comparable..

 

[nativeson8803]

OK thanks.


nativeson8803,

I downloaded Everest to monitor my CPU temperature and I found out that when I'm not doing any thing, it sits around 43-47 C and when I'm playing Crysis, it sits around 58-62 C.

On the internet I found out that my CPU's max temperature is 60.1 C so I will have to get a better cooling system if I wanted to overclock right?

While your idle temps seem *slightly* high they are not anything to worry about and could be due to the ambient temperature of the room where the computer is. Your load temps are fine too. You may need the cooler if you push that cpu because you will likely have to increase the voltage.

I think the coolermaster cooler they have suggested will work great but I can personally recommend the "Freezer Pro 7" for near the same price (20-30 USD).

 

[55Range]

Hi everyone.

I don't know if I am in the right section or if I should have had this in the graphics forums.

Right now I have:

Intel Core 2 Duo 6600 2.4Ghz
4GB DDR2 RAM
Nvidia GTX 260

Will Upgrading my CPU to an Intel Core 2 Quad Q8400 2.66Ghz improve my graphics performance?

I can play the game Crysis on ultra high graphics, 16x AA, 1680 X 1050 but it does lag quite a bit if an explosion goes off or if shooting someone so I usually put the resolution down to 1280 X 900 (or something like that). Even at the resolution it does lag a bit.

I'm pretty sure my RAM and video card are fine.

Any ideas?

Well, i went, from a core 2 duo to Q8400, big difference, especially games that use more than 2 cores

 

[Tom351]

hmm... So one person says the Noctua NH-D14 is very good and another says the Freezer 7 Pro is very good. I can't find any comparisons on the internet. Which one is the best?

 

[Tom351]

I don't have much knowledge about the Noctua NH-U9B-SE2.. Check with google regarding info and reviews.. As for the D14, yeah its massive.. Your motherboard will not have any problems adjusting to its weight and/or size though.. Problems may arise if you've tall heat spreaders on your RAM modules.. Also, its quite tall so you need to be sure that it fits in your case.. Otherwise you can opt for the Corsair H70.. Being a waterblock, it is little pricey but has good performance.. Its not better compared to the D14 but its not that far behind it also.. Infact, the performance levels are quite comparable..

I seriously don't think the D14 will fit in my computer. I uploaded an image of inside my computer to ImageShack:
http://img267.imageshack.us/img267/3169/cpunk.jpg

As you can see I think my PSU is in the way.

...All that dust in there... Will that cause problems?

 

[asus x48]

Changing from Q6600 to Q8400 contributes little here.

You can try to overclock your processor or upgrade to QX9650.

BTW, are you using GTX260 or GTX260+? Ultra High settings of Crysis may reach the limitation of the video card.

You right ssshjp going to a q9650/qx9650 would be the way to go than a q8400 be casuse of 9650"s clocked at 3.0 stock.

 

[Emperus]

I seriously don't think the D14 will fit in my computer. I uploaded an image of inside my computer to ImageShack:
http://img267.imageshack.us/img267/3169/cpunk.jpg

As you can see I think my PSU is in the way.

...All that dust in there... Will that cause problems?

Yeah i too think that there is little space to fit the giant D14.. Anyway, take a look at the following page -

http://www.tweaktown.com/reviews/3568/corsair_air_series_a70_high_performance_cpu_cooler/index6.html

Take a look at the result graphs.. It might help you deciding for an appropriate cooler..

 

[Tom351]

The Corsair A70 looks good. Although it's very big as well.

Am I able to move my motherboard down so there is enough room?

 

[Emperus]

I was not suggesting the A70 with that link.. The graphs list many CPU coolers along with their measured performance figures to help you decide.. Now i don't think you can move your motherboard anymore down.. You can get either of the Corsair H50 or H70 which will fit without any problems.. Another option would be to get a new case with a bottom mounted PSU arrangement and a slightly cheap (only in terms of pricing) CPU cooler like the Corsair A50..

 

[Tom351]

The Corsair H50 and H70 are a little costly. I'm thinking of getting The Noctua NH-U12P SE2. I checked the dimensions and it looks like it will fit ok.

 

[Tom351]

One other thing...

My case has a air hole and tube on the side and pointed directly on top of the CPU fan. I think the case was built to have a CPU cooler with a fan on top (not the Noctua D14 style). Would that mean I will have better cooling if a buy a cooler simular to the stock one?

BTW. The tube can come off if it has to.

 

[Plumble]

Crysis does not use much CPU. Getting a better CPU will help, but the graphics card is a limiting factor as well. I use a Q9550 and a 9800GX2 (SLI on one card). I get around 30 fps using high settings at that resolution.

It depends on which game whether you use more CPU or GPU.

Try running Crysis at Direct X 9 and you should see some improvement. DX10 uses a lot more power for a few effects. Right-Click on the Crysis icon under the start menu and select DX9.

 

[Emperus]

The Corsair H50 and H70 are a little costly. I'm thinking of getting The Noctua NH-U12P SE2. I checked the dimensions and it looks like it will fit ok.

http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/791

Its very close to the D14 in performance.. A very good CPU cooler to own.. Good choice..