CPU or Graphics card

[enirox]

Hello,
I've got a crappy old core 2 duo CPU, gigabyte GT 440, 2 gb of ( don't laugh ) ddr 2 ram. I was wondering, what should I invest 200~ USD into? should I get like quad phenom or .. once again.. a new graphics card? I don't know what could increase the games performance now, since I've seen video of people playing for example call of duty black ops on 1920x1080 max with gt 440, while I can barely run it @ 30 FPS on low resolution... is it all because of the CPU?

 

[dogman_1234]

I would wait and collect more money for a better build.

oh BTW, Welcome to THG.

 

[photonboy]

You can see how much your CPU is being utilized by running the Task Manager during a game (CTRL-ALT-DEL).

For example:
You run a game for five minutes, close it out and the Task Manager reads 60% on Core0 and 40% on Core1.

You can purchase a graphics card which scores about 2x the FPS in a benchmark as your current graphics card.

Spend money?
I don't think it's worth spending money on that system if you want to play modern games. If you know what you're doing you can build a pretty good gaming PC for as little as $800.

 

[Zenthar]

It would help to have full system specs. Moreover, depending on your gaming resolution, games and expectations, you might be closer than you think.

First of, a GT 440 hasn't been a gaming GPU EVER so that doesn't help to start with; a single ~100$ HD 5770 would probably be at least twice as fast as what you have.

Secondly, if you want more RAM, adding 2x1GB would cost you ~30$.


So yes a new build would be wonderful and preferable, but if your CPU doesn't bottleneck to much, a 130$ upgrade could greatly improve your current experience.

 

[ghnader hsmithot]

Hi Enirox!
First could you list your entire specs?
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With 200 i would invest in a new gpu.
Why?
Because if i do i still can use the 200usd gpu on my new computer/rig.

Moreso than not you would likely have a bottleneck with the 200usd gpu.

 

[enirox]

Heh, thanks for all the responses guys. The thing is, looks like I failed on the GPU once again, bought the non-gaming card -.-' And I got it like.. a few months ago, so it would suck if I would have to buy a new one. Anyways, is there some site or something that would show how bad my CPU would decrease performance with a good GPU? Because like I said, I saw people with the same GPU as mine play games on high resolutions with 60 FPS, while I get max 30 fps. My resolution is 1920x1080

 

[Zenthar]

Normally, I would just google "<name of the game> benchmark" and see what comes up.

As for people claiming 60FPS, it will depend on games and resolution, but you can be sure they are not playing recent games at your resolution with that GPU.

BTW, what is your CPU's model and/or speed; I can play many games decently with my C2D E8400 3Ghz (OCed to 3.6Ghz).

 

[Emperus]

My gaming PC comprises of a C2D E6750 oveclocked to 3.4 GHz and a single HD 4870 1GB card. Still plays all games at varied settings (depending on the game).

 

[pell380]

if you want to play games on 1080p then buy gtx 560ti cost you u around 200$ and buy in asus made and overclock your cpu buy a cooler master 212+ cooler like 30$ and overclock your cpu to 1 ghz more then you will be able to play games on 1080p