Should I Upgrade?

[1nfluenza]

I'm noticing screen tearing,cuts and freezing in the new MMO I play and was wondering what should I upgrade?Everything I seem to read tells me upgrade to quad core because my current CPU is bottle necking my graphics card.Working with 230$ so if there's any advice please don't be shy.Thank you



Current set up:
IPIBL-LB (Benicia) motherboard
intel E8400
HD 5830 GPU

 

[awolfe63]

What game? What graphics settings?

 

[Isaiah4110]

Would I be correct in guessing then that you have a prebuilt HP/Compaq PC?

Looks like you have the LGA 775 CPU socket... I don't know that you will even be able to find a compatible processor that will be an upgrade for your current motherboard, so you are looking at upgrading both MB and CPU then.

The best combination of low cost with the ability to upgrade in the future in the price range would be grabbing an Intel Core i3 in the 2100 series. You can grab the 2120 right now for $112 (US) after a $15 off promo code. Then you have $100 left over to grab a compatible MB. I'll post up a micro-ATX recommendation a little later.

What type of RAM do you have right now? (DDR2 or DDR3?)

 

[1nfluenza]

Well the game I'm referring to is Aion.But I also play MW2/SUN/Dragon Nest that also have the same issue's and yes I have the latest drivers.

 

[1nfluenza]

Would I be correct in guessing then that you have a prebuilt HP/Compaq PC?

Looks like you have the LGA 775 CPU socket... I don't know that you will even be able to find a compatible processor that will be an upgrade for your current motherboard, so you are looking at upgrading both MB and CPU then.

The best combination of low cost with the ability to upgrade in the future in the price range would be grabbing an Intel Core i3 in the 2100 series. You can grab the 2120 right now for $112 (US) after a $15 off promo code. Then you have $100 left over to grab a compatible MB. I'll post up a micro-ATX recommendation a little later.

What type of RAM do you have right now? (DDR2 or DDR3?)

Yes your correct I had a HP took it apart and upgraded a few things.4 gigs of DDR2 and to think about it my friend works at amazon so I might as well buy the Core i5-2400 with a 10% discount.Umm what kind of mother board will I need?It says its a LGA1155 socket nothing to fancy because I can work around my budget

 

[1nfluenza]

http://www.amazon.com/Intel-i5-2400-Socket-LGA1155-Processor/dp/B004EBUXIA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1331341004&sr=8-1
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813135288
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231180


Isaiah yes or no?I'm looking for cheap and something that will last.

 

[Isaiah4110]

http://www.amazon.com/Intel-i5-2400-Socket-LGA1155-Processor/dp/B004EBUXIA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1331341004&sr=8-1
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813135288
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231180


Isaiah yes or no?I'm looking for cheap and something that will last.

Sorry for the delayed reply. Those parts should all be compatible. You would be getting a pretty killer deal if you get them for $230.

I don't know if you live near a Micro Center, but they have the Core i5 for $150 right now. I haven't shopped at one yet (closest is 2 hours away) but that is a nice price for the i5 2400.

I have had a couple PCs with ECS brand motherboards and would advise staying away from them. They tend to not last in my experience. My personal preference is ASUS or MSI motherboards, but I have heard good things about ASRock from people on this forum and GIGABYTE from others. I think I have heard that Biostar is an ok brand as well.

The H61 chipset is an older chipset, but it will work if you are looking for something cheaper. The H67 adds SATA 6.0 ports, and most H67 motherboards also have USB 3.0. Do you need two PS/2 ports for your keyboard and mouse?

The ASRock H61M-GS looks like it should work for you. It is inexpensive and looks like it should be able to handle almost everything in your current system. Comparing to your existing motherboard, you will lose the floppy drive connecter and one standard PCI slot. If you have a floppy drive or something in that slot (modem?) then you will lose the ability to use those parts.

If you are on a 64-bit operating system and can afford to spend $10 extra then I would recommend getting an 8 GB (2x4) memory kit like this or this instead of a 4 GB (2x2) kit. If your OS is 32-bit then the RAM you picked out should do fine.

Lastly, keep in mind that getting a new motherboard and processor means you will have to reinstall your operating system. I don't know if you have the restore disks, or even if they would work with a MB/CPU upgrade as HP may have set them to only run on certain hardware. In a worst case scenario you will need a method to back up all your data (external HDD or flash drive that can hold all your data) and a new copy of Windows. Windows 7 itself will run you a minimum $100 on Newegg, so your $230 budget will likely be shot if that is the case.

Edit: Additionally, you could go with a dual core Intel Core i3 2100 series processor as a cheaper option. It sells for as little as $100 at Micro Center and $125 on Newegg, and it performs very well in a gaming computer (check out this article). Just another way you could save some money.