Recommended upgrades for my computer

[salabarria]

Hi guys, i am just wondering what you guys think i should upgrade on my computer in order to play some upcoming games like battlefield3, elder scrolls, and also some current games like total war shogun 2 and all those games

Right now i have a dell xps

Specs:
Intel E8500 @ 3.16
4gb @ 800mhz
BFG gtx 260
600hb hard drive

i also have a 24 in. 1080p screen

 

[Outlander_04]

Always depends on how much money you have .......

but IMO the smartest upgrade to your system is to upgrade the graphics card
A GTX 560ti starts at around $220 on Newegg [after rebates ]

 

[megadelayed]

if your going to get a 560ti you'll get a the e8500 bottlenecking, you'll need to oc the e8500

 

[salabarria]

what should i overclock the processor to?

 

[Outlander_04]

if your going to get a 560ti you'll get a the e8500 bottlenecking, you'll need to oc the e8500

Actually at that resolution and high detail he probably wont .
Keep in mind that anything over 60 fps will never appear on the screen of a 60 Hz LCD screen anyway . The monitor only refreshes at 60 fps , so any more fps than that is pointless

Salabarria check the BIOS on the Dell . It might not let you over clock . But if it does , and you can fit a cooler like a Scythe Mugen 3 then you expect very decent OC's . 4GHz and more

 

[megadelayed]

Actually at that resolution and high detail he probably wont .
Keep in mind that anything over 60 fps will never appear on the screen of a 60 Hz LCD screen anyway . The monitor only refreshes at 60 fps , so any more fps than that is pointless

Salabarria check the BIOS on the Dell . It might not let you over clock . But if it does , and you can fit a cooler like a Scythe Mugen 3 then you expect very decent OC's . 4GHz and more

im just worring about the bottleneck as the e8500 might have a big impact as it bottlenecks anything over gtx275 and the 560ti is a lot faster so im thinking the fp might be really low
and sorry, i forgot that it is a dell, i dont think you can overclock then as the bios is usually locked in branded computers apart from the really high end ones like alienware

 

[salabarria]

i could overclock on the xps ive done it before

 

[Outlander_04]

im just worring about the bottleneck as the e8500 might have a big impact as it bottlenecks anything over gtx275 and the 560ti is a lot faster so im thinking the fp might be really low
and sorry, i forgot that it is a dell, i dont think you can overclock then as the bios is usually locked in branded computers apart from the really high end ones like alienware

I dont think that is correct .

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/55?vs=288

The i5 2500K is superior in some cpu dependent games , at 1680 x 1050
but as the resolution rises then the margins will close .
They will close even further if the e8500 is clocked at 4 Ghz

Clearly the 2500k is an awesome multimedia cpu , but for gaming it just doesnt show enough advantage to make it worth replacing a C2D


Get the 560 ti , or a Radeon 6950
The e8500 can handle it

 

[008Rohit]

@ Outlander

Totally agree.
3.5Ghz will be good with a stock cooler.

 

[Outlander_04]

The dell xps will have one of their coolers in it . Just watch your temperatures

 

[megadelayed]

The dell xps will have one of their coolers in it . Just watch your temperatures

the op needs to check if his bios is lpcked or not first tho

 

[Outlander_04]

the op needs to check if his bios is lpcked or not first tho

I was convinced after reading

"salabarria 08-31-2011 at 05:11:51 AM

i could overclock on the xps ive done it before"

that the BIOS is not locked

 

[salabarria]

just bought the gtx 560 ti and wow its a great improvement.......thanks guys for all the input this card kicks ass

 

[megadelayed]

I was convinced after reading

"salabarria 08-31-2011 at 05:11:51 AM

i could overclock on the xps ive done it before"

that the BIOS is not locked

did salabarria have a extrem edition in his xps tho?

 

[salabarria]

I have one more question, do you think upgrading my memory from 4gb @ 800 mhz to 8gb mhz would make a big difference in games like Shogun 2 total war, crysis, Witcher 2, and newer games?

 

[Outlander_04]

I have one more question, do you think upgrading my memory from 4gb @ 800 mhz to 8gb mhz would make a big difference in games like Shogun 2 total war, crysis, Witcher 2, and newer games?

No difference at all.

Run your game in a window and open task manager by pressing Ctrl+Shift+Esc.
Have a look at the running processes , and see how much memory the game is actually using .