what to upgrade?

**Steapa Snotor** · June 23, 2011, 03:50 PM

Hello everyone

Thought i would ask here because i have alot of confidence in the members

.

Right i currently have a asus P5QL PRO with a E2220 2.40GHz and a Radeon HD4670 512mb.
3 Gb ram (this is where it goes wrong i know) it is on 2-1Gb sticks and 2-512mb sticks.
Running on windows 7 64bit.
I'm looking at upgrading the cpu, ram and the graphics at a low cost, but i cant afford it all at once.
I'v seen a E5700 duel core 3.00GHz for £45,this would allow me to purchase the 4Gb ram kit also at around £50. but would it be better to get the Core 2 Quad Q8300 2.5GHz at £105 and wait a few weeks and get the ram.
For the graphics, I'm looking at a hd 5670 1Gb.

I'm quite happy with the way napoleon and empire run as things are now but would like to see bigger battles run smoothly, with reliable online play.
cpu's are not my strong point.

Any opinions would be grateful.

**MrHenry** · June 23, 2011, 04:06 PM

Originally Posted by manmayo

Hello everyone

Thought i would ask here because i have alot of confidence in the members

.

Right i currently have a asus P5QL PRO with a E2220 2.40GHz and a Radeon HD4670 512mb.
3 Gb ram (this is where it goes wrong i know) it is on 2-1Gb sticks and 2-512mb sticks.
Running on windows 7 64bit.
I'm looking at upgrading the cpu, ram and the graphics at a low cost, but i cant afford it all at once.
I'v seen a E5700 duel core 3.00GHz for £45,this would allow me to purchase the 4Gb ram kit also at around £50. but would it be better to get the Core 2 Quad Q8300 2.5GHz at £105 and wait a few weeks and get the ram.
For the graphics, I'm looking at a hd 5670 1Gb.

I'm quite happy with the way napoleon and empire run as things are now but would like to see bigger battles run smoothly, with reliable online play.
cpu's are not my strong point.

Any opinions would be grateful.

the TW series is a heavy CPU user and they require a pretty powerful graphics card too! I'd personally go with AMD for gaming only, because of their same level of performance with Intel at a lower cost, but that would require a new motherboard. I'd definitely buy a new CPU preferably 3.0+Ghz, atleast 4GB of DDR3 1333Mhz RAM and a new graphics card 1GB of DDR3 or 512mb of DDR5 video memory. A new PSU is a must too if you buy a new CPU and other hardware, something along the lines of 500+W, you can get everything relatively cheap, but buy them all at once if you got the money.

**Steapa Snotor** · June 23, 2011, 04:35 PM

Thanks for replying.

Changing my mobo isn't an option right now, not until next year anyway, i just want a noticeable difference until then. (also my psu is 750w).
I can play on med to high settings now but lags with huge battles, so considering my cpu what upgrade would be best.
Any LGA 775 socket cpu at £100 is my limit, I'm not after ultra high settings or crazy screen res.

I built this pc myself as a hobby just to see if i could and it's never failed me, managing to get parts when i could and iv enjoyed myself immensely, many ups and downs along the way.

**PoleCatsAlt** · June 24, 2011, 12:22 AM

Ok, so let me get this straight. You have two 1GB sticks and two 512MB sticks?

Try the following - go out and buy four 1GB sticks (all the same brand) and install them. Use a trusted brand like Corsair or OCX. In my experience different speed and brand RAM have caused more problems then naught. You might find that you'll experience a much greater level of performance that way. If cash is a problem then hold off on buying a new CPU or MOBO - yours is good enough for the tasks you want. Good luck!

**Steapa Snotor** · June 24, 2011, 05:37 AM

Originally Posted by PoleCatsAlt

Ok, so let me get this straight. You have two 1GB sticks and two 512MB sticks?

Try the following - go out and buy four 1GB sticks (all the same brand) and install them. Use a trusted brand like Corsair or OCX. In my experience different speed and brand RAM have caused more problems then naught. You might find that you'll experience a much greater level of performance that way. If cash is a problem then hold off on buying a new CPU or MOBO - yours is good enough for the tasks you want. Good luck!

Yes i think your right.
The speed on one of the sticks is different from the rest, I've not had a problem with the ram, but i'm also not seeing the greatest response either. Am i correct in saying it's not working at duel channel and would it be better to get 2-2Gb sticks or 4-1Gb sticks

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One more question about the cpu.
I've seen a Intel Core 2 Duo E7500 2.93GHz for £89.90 and the Intel Core 2 Quad Q8300 2.5GHz at £105.
I've always wanted to try a quad core but most games don't use them to the full. Does anyone here know how they might compare playing total war, i also play a little gta4 once in a while and fallout.

**PoleCatsAlt** · June 24, 2011, 07:18 AM

Originally Posted by manmayo

Yes i think your right.
The speed on one of the sticks is different from the rest, I've not had a problem with the ram, but i'm also not seeing the greatest response either. Am i correct in saying it's not working at duel channel and would it be better to get 2-2Gb sticks or 4-1Gb sticks

.

Whether you get two sticks of 1066 or four sticks at the same latency is irrelevant. Ultimately it will have the same effect. All your RAMs should be dual channel and should work for you unless I'm overlooking something on your MoBo. Good luck!