GPU or RAM

[xxwhitexknightxx]

Hello, I am just curious on what are some thoughts of the community here.

Here is my dilemma, I dont know if I am bottle necking or not. I have $100 bux to spend on a upgrade of my choice. Then in about a month get the other. I am thinking either Ram or GPU. First off I only play WoW and Starcraft 2 on my computer. I do not intend on getting into much more games atm If i play anoy other games it is on my ps3 or Xbox 360. But I am looking for my games to be lag free. So with that being said I am getting about 20-30 fps in wow is a low number. I am wondering which will increase my gaming more i wanna run at a constant 60 Fps would be nice.. I still notice laggy spots. I actually wanna be lag free. Just looking for suggestions and thoughts. I currently dont want to overclock so just looking for a upgrade.

I currently have

Athlon II x4 620 (2.6 gig)
4 gig dd3 a data ram
asus m4a78lt-m le Mobo
80 - plus 650 watt power supply
palit gt 240 1 GB video card

 

[cuecuemore]

I don't know the exact specs on your ram, but I can't imagine that being a better upgrade than putting the money towards a new gpu. That said, you can't get too terribly much for $100; the only thing worth getting in that price range is this:

ASUS CuCore Series EAH5770 CuCore/2DI/1GD5 Radeon HD 5770 1GB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121363

This is an absolute steal on a 5770, a card that will almost double your performance in most cases.

 

[xxwhitexknightxx]

what about something like this. i mean i could prolly go to 150 but that would be pushing it. I mean I could prolly wait but next year with income tax I will be building a whole new system so i dont wanna put too much money into a card I am only gonna have for a few months.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130679

Looks somewhat good?

 

[cuecuemore]

The 5770 outperforms the GTS 450 in most games, so that card has not nearly the value of the one I linked. If you're going to be rebuilding in a couple months, go with the 5770 at the most, you could even use it in your new build in a Crossfire setup.

 

[xxwhitexknightxx]

it just bothers me with the reviews on this card. Every page there is at least a one egg rating. I do not want a card that is constantly failing or getting blue screens. When i play i dont play for a hr or so i play for 4-5 hrs 3 nights a week so i need something that is gonna be able to withstand the constant usage.

 

[ionut19]

Spoiler

Here you go: http://frozentek.tk/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=52:review-sapphire-vapor-x-hd-5770-&catid=34:reviews&Itemid=59

Made by yours truly.

I have this card for a wile now and not once had a problem with it. It stays cool, low noise and overclocks well. Sometimes i play a few ores but never got a blue screen or restarts.

I have mine at 930Mhz vs vapor-x 860Mhz vs normal 5770 850Mhz and RAM at 1250Mhz vs normal 1200Mhz. The highest at 28C ambient was 77C with the fan on auto. Never hit 80 in the middle of the summer when ambient was over 30C.

But that depends on the card, if i have it like this that does not mean yours will be the same.

 

[benski]

More ram will not help you in those games at all, you need a new video card for sure.

Hard to beat this at 100 bucks after rebate:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130591&cm_re=gtx_460_se-_-14-130-591-_-Product

 

[xxwhitexknightxx]

Can u elaborate why more ram wouldn't help me at all? I have been out of the building scene for awhile, so I aint up on all current knowledge.

 

[benski]

Neither of those games uses more than the 4gb you already have, I max out Starcraft 2 at 1080p and my machine never uses more 2.5 or 2.6 gb. Trust me I had 8 gb in my machine and pulled 4 gb out to stick in my HTPC and have run benches in every game I have and nothing changes. The only difference is that its a little slower switching between programs when running multiple apps but it's not at all noticable in games.

 

[xxwhitexknightxx]

Will prolly be going with that card then. Prolly when i build my next system I will just get another one of those cards. And pentium i5. If i am not overclocking do i need more cooling on the cards then just the side panel fan I have? i was looking at getting the thermaltake spinQ just for peace at mind that my cpu is being properly cooled. Do i need to get anything extra for this card? Or when i get 2 do i need anything extra?

also what are u getting for FPS with this card? In wow and SC2

 

[benski]

I have the non SE edition which is slightly faster (at more expensive) and I get 55-60 fps in SC2 in 4v4 maps, sometimes 80+ in smaller 1v1 or 2v2 maps. I don't play WOW, but I think it's less demanding.

 

[benski]

And that card exhausts most of the hot air it produces out of the back, you shouldn't need any additional case cooling for it. What case do you currently have?

 

[xxwhitexknightxx]

I have the thermaltake Armor + MX with the big 230 side panel fan. but on this one cpu is watercooled. So no heat whatsoever is coming off that. Highest i ever seen temp get was 37C

 

[benski]

Looks like a great case, I think you would be fine with any SLI system with that big side fan blowing over the cards.

 

[xxwhitexknightxx]

Yeah I am not into OCing at all. That is what I was thinking.

 

[xxwhitexknightxx]

Best answer selected by xxwhitexknightxx.