System Upgrade or SSD?

[yogimo13]

Hi Everyone!

I started playing Guild Wars 2 and found out that I can't play the game decently with everything maxed out - I'm only getting an FPS of 9-15.

Here is my current setup:

Intel Core 2 Duo E6550 @ 2.3ghz
CM Hyper 212 Plus
MSI P6N SLI (Model 7346) nForce 650i
Corsair DDR2 667 2x1GB PC2 - 5300
Kingston DDR2 667 2x1GB PC2 - 5300
Palit Sonic OC GTX 460 1GB
FSP Aurum (AU-500) 500watts 80PLUS Gold

Please note that I'm only playing at 1440x900 resolution that's why I was able to max out everything with other games (SC2, D2, SWTOR, Crysis 2, Skyrim) using the GTX 460 with a measly 2.3ghz dual core.

The obvious bottleneck (I think) on my setup is the CPU at 2.3ghz. I've tried overclocking the E6550 before but I can't seem to increase the RAM (forgot what exactly), that's why my FSB can only go up to 333mhz X 7 (OR I must be doing something wrong).

I've thought of 2 ways to remedy this with my budget of $300 for upgrades:
(Local prices converted to USD)

Buy 2x2GB DDR2 800 RAM and overclock my CPU. Buy an Intel 330 SSD - I'm assuming this would make my GW2 or Windows load time experience worthwhile.
The RAM would cost around $118 and the SSD $75. Total of $193.

OR

Buy these upgrades:

Intel i3 2120 3.3ghz $118
Gigabyte GA-B75M-D3V $72

Either of the two:
G. Skill Ares 2x4GB dd3 1600 CL9 (F3 1600CL9D 8GAB) $55
G.Skill RipJaws X 2x4gb ddr3 1600 CL9 (F3 12800CL9D 8GBXL) $55
Total of $300.

Would appreciate it very much if you guys could share your opinions on this!

Thank you!

 

[FinneousPJ]

SSD won't fix your frame rates.

 

[idroid]

Hmmm... get the second upgrade (Ram+CPU+Motherboard) and SSD WILL NOT increase your framerate and....do you have a bit more money?? so you can get a 3570k+ram+motherboard (~400$-420$) and then you can add a second GTX460 whenever you can/want/need, you will need a better PSU tough...

 

[cumi2k4]

Well, personally i'd choose better gaming performance over faster game loading time... then again, you already maxed out the details, hence can't get better than that.
How about third option:
get something quad core (Q6600 or above) secondhand, get new 800fsb ram, then the ssd or trade-in your gpu for better ones?

 

[idroid]

Well, personally i'd choose better gaming performance over faster game loading time... then again, you already maxed out the details, hence can't get better than that.
How about third option:
get something quad core (Q6600 or above) secondhand, get new 800fsb ram, then the ssd or trade-in your gpu for better ones?

+1 to this awesome idea

you should get this: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Intel-Core-2-Quad-Q8300-2-5-GHz-Quad-Core-AT80580PJ0604MN-Processor-/221116927450?pt=CPUs&hash=item337b988dda#ht_500wt_1156 this ram kit: http://www.ebay.com/itm/OCZ-Platinum-PC2-6400-4GB-DDR2-Memory-Kit-4x1GB-RAM-800MHz-/180961785567?pt=US_Memory_RAM_&hash=item2a2229b6df#ht_500wt_1282 and you could even get a bit more cash to replace that PSU you have and add a second GTX460!!

 

[yogimo13]

Thank you for all the replies. I know that SSD won't increase the FPS but since going the DDR2 route would solve the CPU bottleneck issue, i figured to throw in an SSD from the savings.

Anyway, been encountering "insufficient memory" error while alt+tabbing from GW2 to Firefox. I don't think a 4GB ram would cut it for me anymore.. especially given the low prices of DDR3 nowadays. Reaching 8GB on DDR2 would cost a lot. So I'm leaning towards a CPU+MB+RAM upgrade instead.

Questions on this though:

Would there be a significant difference from my Core 2 Duo 2.33ghz and an i3 2120 @ 3.3 ghz?
Are quad core a must nowadays? Would i see significant increase in performance when playing games?

Also given the post of idroid, do i really need a second GTX 460 given that im only using a 1440x900 monitor?

 

[FinneousPJ]

Would there be a significant difference from my Core 2 Duo 2.33ghz and an i3 2120 @ 3.3 ghz?

I guess that depends on what you think significant. But IMO, yes.

Are quad core a must nowadays? Would i see significant increase in performance when playing games?

Not a must yet. Perhaps in a couple of years.

Also given the post of idroid, do i really need a second GTX 460 given that im only using a 1440x900 monitor?

Probably not.

 

[yogimo13]

Thank you all for the replies. Will be proceeding to upgrade my MB, RAM and CPU once i complete my budget. CPU to i5 most probably. Since I'm already upgrading, I might as well get a quad core now. Question now is would I ever need to go higher than 3.1ghz? This would be mostly used for gaming. There is around $30 price difference between i5 3450 and i5 3570K.

 

[FinneousPJ]

No.