Best upgrade (Advice Request)

[Seajay]

Sorry if you get these questions all the time but I'm hoping soomeone might be able to offer me some sound advice on the best part of my PC to upgrade before Empire is released.

I am edging towards processor, if thats the correct thing to upgrade then any advice would be appreciated

Heres the specs;

Intel Core 2 DUO E6300 "LGA775 Allendale" 1.86GHz (1066FSB)
Intel DP965LT 965 (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard
Leadtek GeForce 7900 GT 256MB GDDR3 TV-Out/Dual DVI (PCI-Express)
Akasa Ultra Quiet 400W Paxpower Active PFC ATX2.0 PSU
G.Skill 2GB DDR2 LA PC2-5400 (2x1GB) CAS4 Dual Channel Kit



Being at uni now I can't afford a major rebuild however I can probably starve myself for a few months, pool together birthday monies and PERHAPS give up my 10th drink every Saturday night to buy a £150 upgrade



oh, before I forget, any advice on general clean-up habits prior to Empire would be cool, I'm planning a defrag but any other advice? in fact a 'Things to do before Empire comes out' thread would be ace



Cheers

[AlfonsoVIII]

Well, I am going to say processor upgrade definitely. I just replaced my 7900 GT OC 512MB with a 9800 GTX+ Black Edition and did not really see any improvements in M2TW, the Agincourt battle. So look for my post about the demo as I will be testing using both cards as well as underclocking my AMD 6000+ to see where the performance issues are at.

[zachattack]

Processor and RAM seem like they both could use some major updates.

[Wheelchair]

Processor and RAM seem like they both could use some major updates.

RAM is fine, GPU and CPU lacking.

[Caml3]

I agree, 2GB RAM is plenty so long as you're using XP. Processor should be your first priority, the recommended CPU for Empire is 2.4GHz. Also, be aware that if you upgrade GFX and CPU you should definitely upgrade your power supply to somewhere north of 500W.
When looking for processors, speed is more important than a crapload of cores as far as gaming is concerned. A Core 2 Duo with at least 2.6GHz would be a good move up, and don't restrict yourself with the budget.

Concerning stuff pre-Empire cleanup, you should be defragging and deleting unnecessary stuff anyway. I would just watch Master & Commander 4 or 5 times while you defrag/delete.

[M.E.]

If you could add 50£ or so, then you could boost your CPU power and get significantly better graphics. I mean, if you want to see quite some difference. VGA seems to be your priority.
Btw, your mobo doesn't not support CPU with system bus higher than 1066MHz. But, there are still a few CPUs to choose from. For example, "old guys" like Q6600, Q6700, E6600, E6700, will provide quite some boost, but they will cut your VGA budget. More recent and slightly cheaper E7300 and E7400 could be a better option for you.

[Wheelchair]

An E5200 is a good CPU for the price, bought it for my dad a few days back.

[Seajay]

Thanks for all the advice guys,

in terms of processor how does this look;

Intel Pentium Dual-Core E5300 "LGA775 Core 2" 2.60GHz (800FSB) - Retail
Dual Core Technology, 2.50GHz clock speed, 2MB L2 Cache, Intel Speedstep Technology, EM64T 64-Bit Technology, Execute Disable Bit. 3yr Warranty

£64 so a fair amount cheaper than I was fearing


In terms of the Quad cores out there, with a game like Empire will I really be seeing twice the processing power with a 2.8Ghz Quad core compared to a Dual core? a 2.6 Quad core is around £190

[M.E.]

E5300 will not provide you the CPU power boost you are looking for. Q6600 is indeed too expensive for you. You should look at E7x00 series (E7300 or E7400), I think. But, it will still cut your VGA budget. So, you could get a good VGA first, than gather some cash and buy a decent CPU in a couple of months.

[AlfonsoVIII]

E5300 will not provide you the CPU power boost you are looking for. Q6600 is indeed too expensive for you. You should look at E7x00 series (E7300 or E7400), I think. But, it will still cut your VGA budget. So, you could get a good VGA first, than gather some cash and buy a decent CPU in a couple of months.

I would wait until the demo is out, the video card is not the most important component for ETW, the processor is.

[Gorrrrrn]

£150 will either get you a better CPU or GPU but not both.

E8500 or 9800GTX+ will clean you out but are probably worth the investment.

(have a look at current april 2009 computer shopper mag in UK) for breakdown on CPUs.)

[Seajay]

Well magister Equitium said

"Btw, your mobo doesn't not support CPU with system bus higher than 1066MHz"

(Would someone mind explaining ^^^)

DOes this mean I am stuck with Processors with (1066 FSB) or lower?


Thanks

[Seajay]

Ok I've done a bit of reading and am looking at getting myself one of these:

Intel Core 2 Quad Pro Q6600 "Energy Efficient SLACR 95W Edition" 2.40GHz (1066FSB) - Retail - £165

or the
Intel Core 2 Duo E7500 LGA775 'Wolfdale' 2.93GHz (1066FSB) - Retail - £125
or
Intel Core 2 Duo E7400 LGA775 'Wolfdale' 2.80GHz (1066FSB) - Retail - £105



I had a quick glance around and saw the question a bit but not a solid answer, will Empire take advantage of Dual / Quad core processors?

Also is 2.93 Mhz really 20% BETTER (as it costs 20% more) than a 2.80Mhz Processor.


Thanks for all the great advice guys

[Wheelchair]

Also is 2.93 Mhz really 20% BETTER (as it costs 20% more) than a 2.80Mhz Processor.


Thanks for all the great advice guys

Definately NOT, If the Cache and everything is the same then it should be something like 5%+ performance.

You could EASILY Overclock it yourself and save a bunch of money.

[Seajay]

ok thanks,

I have been looking at overclocking however my motherboard does not have the ability unlcoked, i cant seem to edit the bus speed in BIOS

I've tried updating to the latest BIOS from intel but still nada :'(

I'll go with the 2.80 Dual Core then

[Seajay]

just to update anyone who cares ^.^

ordered myself a

Intel Core 2 Quad Pro Q6600 "Energy Efficient SLACR 95W Edition" 2.40GHz (1066FSB) - Retail

and 2 sticks total 4Gb
Corsair 4GB DDR2 XMS2 Dominator PC2-8500C5 TwinX (2x2GB) Supplied with Airflow Fan (TWIN2X4096-8500C5DF)


Gfx card next upgrade but I'll wait until May for that. Cant wait to get my hands on Empire (as i am sure you are all feeling too)

Roll on Wednesday!

[Godless Pickle]

Well, I am going to say processor upgrade definitely. I just replaced my 7900 GT OC 512MB with a 9800 GTX+ Black Edition and did not really see any improvements in M2TW, the Agincourt battle. So look for my post about the demo as I will be testing using both cards as well as underclocking my AMD 6000+ to see where the performance issues are at.

So the 9800GTX+ is not worth buying for an upgrade? Say, for Empires?

[AlfonsoVIII]

So the 9800GTX+ is not worth buying for an upgrade? Say, for Empires?

I will be testing that the day Empire comes out. My 3dMark06 score doubled with the upgrade, but I was not happy with the boost. Assassins Creed played maxed out on the 7900 gt oc. PM me or look for my post after the retail game comes out and I will tell you if my gpu upgrade was worth it.