I must be awful at building computers

[rmdoubleu]

For the past three years I have not been able to build a desktop that will run recently released games (TF2) at higher than medium settings. It could possibly be I don't spend nearly as much time as I had, though after this last build I know I have to be missing something. Please help.


My latest build


Computer:
Computer Type ACPI x64-based PC
Operating System Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium
OS Service Pack Service Pack 2
DirectX DirectX 11.0


Motherboard:
CPU Type HexaCore AMD Phenom II X6 Black Edition 1090T, 3215 MHz (16 x 201)
Motherboard Name Gigabyte GA-MA785GMT-UD2H (2 PCI, 1 PCI-E x1, 1 PCI-E x16, 4 DDR3 DIMM, Audio, Video, Gigabit LAN, IEEE-1394)
Motherboard Chipset AMD 785G, AMD K10
System Memory 4092 MB (DDR3-1333 DDR3 SDRAM)
DIMM1: Corsair Value Select VS2GB1333D3 2 GB DDR3-1333 DDR3 SDRAM (9-9-9-24 @ 666 MHz) (8-8-8-22 @ 592 MHz) (7-7-7-19 @ 518 MHz) (6-6-6-16 @ 444 MHz)
DIMM2: Corsair Value Select VS2GB1333D3 2 GB DDR3-1333 DDR3 SDRAM (9-9-9-24 @ 666 MHz) (8-8-8-22 @ 592 MHz) (7-7-7-19 @ 518 MHz) (6-6-6-16 @ 444 MHz)
BIOS Type Award Modular (05/25/10)
Communication Port Communications Port (COM1)
Communication Port Printer Port (LPT1)

Display:
Video Adapter AMD Radeon HD 6450 (512 MB)
3D Accelerator AMD Radeon HD 6450 (Caicos)
Monitor Gateway FPD2275W [22" LCD] (MXL73D0L03810)

Multimedia:
Audio Adapter ATI Radeon HDMI @ AMD Caicos/Seymour - High Definition Audio Controller
Audio Adapter Realtek ALC885/889A/890 @ ATI SB750 - High Definition Audio Controller

 

[Mousemonkey]

This topic has been moved from the section Graphics & Displays to section Systems by Mousemonkey

 

[jsc]

Mediocre (for gaming) graphics card.

 

[Wolfshadw]

Video Adapter AMD Radeon HD 6450 (512 MB)

Personally, I think jsc is being polite in saying, "mediocre". If you want to run recently release games at above medium settings, you need an above average graphics card. A very basic ratings chart would be to look at the second digit of a card's model number with "2" being the worst and "9" being the best. In your case, the HD 6"4"50 doesn't rate so well. If you want to game above medium settings, you should be looking at cards where the second digit is a "6" or higher.

-Wolf sends

 

[Motopsychojdn]

The graphics card has been covered so I'll point out the x6 is not a gaming chip, the 955BE would've been a better choice,
you dont mention if vista is 32 or 64bit, I'd move to Win7 64bit

I understand your frustration at building pc's that dont perform as expected,
this is why your time would be well spent researching components before buying,
google is awesome for it,
for example, '' x6 1090be vs x4 955be'' brings up a load of benchmark results reviews and owners opinions,
which you can examine to help decide the best course for you,

I wish you'd asked this question before building the rig, thats what http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/forum/261222-13-build-advice is for, we can help you tweak a build to the needs/budget before you splash out
Moto