New graphics card/bottle necking

[GRIZZLY]

I have

Intel Core 2 Duo Q6600 ~2.4GHz
3326MB RAM
Radeon HD 2400

Im probably getting a new computer in February or so... Mainly for Ro2 (if it's still alive) and Arma3 and Skyrim.

Right now I'm playing Fallout 3 with a ton of mods, and surprisingly it runs smoothly. However, combat in modded Fallout 3 (FWE) is actually pretty damn hard so I needed to max out the distance which NPCs appear. My performance suffers unless I tune down the object fade... and well it looks stupid when there are raiders standing in the middle of the air until I get close enough to realize there is a bridge under them

Can I nab a mid-range graphics card to hold me over until I get a brand new system? Can I grab a high-range graphics card and just transfer it to my new rig when I get it? Are some of the better graphics cards going to be incompatible with my old CPU? Is my extremely low RAM a concern for getting a better card?

Sorry I'm such a n00b.... I've never really gotten into the technical aspect of computers, cars, guitars, etc. I just like them to perform well

If I can transfer the card to my new rig with no problem in a few months - Then I'd be willing to spend a few bucks on a GTX 570 or whatever is nice but not too pricey.... If this is just something I'm gonna throw out in the next 6 months I'd prefer to get an older card solely for the purpose of Fallout 3 until I get my new computer.

THANKS!

 

[PUTZ]

You would gain some performance, but your bottleneck would still be the processor. Don't bother...save your money and spend it on an even better system...

Surely some time next year there will be a new set of GPUs.

 

[=GG= Mr Moe]

I have

Intel Core 2 Duo Q6600 ~2.4GHz
3326MB RAM
Radeon HD 2400...

THANKS!

That Q6600 is a quad core and can easily be overclocked to 3.0 if your cooling is good enough

 

[PUTZ]

It's still an old (note the emphasis) quad core. It's not as good, clock-for-clock as an i5 or i7.

 

[GRIZZLY]

You would gain some performance, but your bottleneck would still be the processor. Don't bother...save your money and spend it on an even better system...

Surely some time next year there will be a new set of GPUs.

Thanks for the honesty... I actually figured that my processor was my most solid piece of hardware

I might still look into a cheap card just so I can play Fallout 3 with a little better performance until I get my new rig next year. I guess I should look into over clocking as well... Though I've never done it before in my life :/

 

[=GG= Mr Moe]

It's still an old (note the emphasis) quad core. It's not as good, clock-for-clock as an i5 or i7.

That is true, but with the new GTX560Ti I recently purchased, I am able to run ROHOS on all Ultra settings (no Vsync or AA) and stay in the green with my fps. I'd much rather have a newer cpu myself, but so far I can't really complain about what I have.

 

[Hirmuinen]

It's still an old (note the emphasis) quad core. It's not as good, clock-for-clock as an i5 or i7.

I don't know. People with that same CPU seems to be able to play BF3 really smooth.

If you are going to buy new computer in feb why not buy a good card now and see what it does? I mean Fallout 3 is easy cake with that processor and good card. Same with RO2.

Can I nab a mid-range graphics card to hold me over until I get a brand new system? Can I grab a high-range graphics card and just transfer it to my new rig when I get it? Are some of the better graphics cards going to be incompatible with my old CPU? Is my extremely low RAM a concern for getting a better card?

Yes and getting a good card might even be enough to run everything you want it to.

 

[braindead]

Hey Grizzly

If you do buy a new card now, don't sweat it as it will no doubt be PCIe and still be compatible with your new pc when you get it.

Even, if the pc you have now, is only PCIe 16 and you buy a 2.0 card, don;t worry as it will still work, it just won't be working at it's full capabilities until you get a board with 2.0 compatibility.

May be worth looking at what type of PSU you have as well, as this will definitely reduce your system capabilities.

edit.

even if you overclock your chip to 2.8ghz per core, you will still notice the difference and not affect heat too much.


edit2.

How do you only have that mch ram? 3326 is a strange figure to have. Do you have some allocated to an onboard gfx card or something?
LOL ignore this, I take it you are running 32bit operating system.
I would definitely look into upgrading to 64bit, to get the full 4gb of Ram back, that will also improve performance.

 

[GRIZZLY]

I can get 2GBs of RAM for like $30 and I can get a GTX 560 ti and move it to my new comp.... Is that a good move? I'd only be out 30 bucks if I kept the GTX so I don't see why not

 

[braindead]

What type of Ram do you have in your current machine? the latest standard is DDR3, so if thats what you have, then your 4gb will be able to transfer as well.

 

[PermenentMarker]

I have

Intel Core 2 Duo Q6600 ~2.4GHz
3326MB RAM
Radeon HD 2400

Im probably getting a new computer in February or so... Mainly for Ro2 (if it's still alive) and Arma3 and Skyrim.

Right now I'm playing Fallout 3 with a ton of mods, and surprisingly it runs smoothly. However, combat in modded Fallout 3 (FWE) is actually pretty damn hard so I needed to max out the distance which NPCs appear. My performance suffers unless I tune down the object fade... and well it looks stupid when there are raiders standing in the middle of the air until I get close enough to realize there is a bridge under them

Can I nab a mid-range graphics card to hold me over until I get a brand new system? Can I grab a high-range graphics card and just transfer it to my new rig when I get it? Are some of the better graphics cards going to be incompatible with my old CPU? Is my extremely low RAM a concern for getting a better card?

Sorry I'm such a n00b.... I've never really gotten into the technical aspect of computers, cars, guitars, etc. I just like them to perform well

If I can transfer the card to my new rig with no problem in a few months - Then I'd be willing to spend a few bucks on a GTX 570 or whatever is nice but not too pricey.... If this is just something I'm gonna throw out in the next 6 months I'd prefer to get an older card solely for the purpose of Fallout 3 until I get my new computer.

THANKS!

Granted it's an old quad core, it's not that bad of a chip.

You can upgrade videocard and will see a HUGE difference over the HD2400... which is old low end.

with a 50 to 100$ card such as

Nvidia 8800GT, GTS, GTX; 9800, GTS250,
Radeon 4670, 5670 and better

You will almost max out fallout3 and run skyrim pretty well.

For ati, just make sure the second number is 6 or above.
4350, 5450 is simply slow... faster then the 2400 but still pretty slow.


When you upgrade the rest, you can move the videocard.

Also, I hear that your cpu can overclock quite well, you just need a good air cooler if the air ventilation of your case if good. (wont work if the hot air just stays in the case)


As for RO2, even if you overclock, it will work but not as well as with a new cpu.

RO2 is demanding on cpu. Quad Core recommended, and it pushes 1 thread to the max so it also needs solid performance per clock at 3ghz.


Show answer... Replace that old Radeon 2400... will make a huge difference in most games.

What type of Ram do you have in your current machine? the latest standard is DDR3, so if thats what you have, then your 4gb will be able to transfer as well.

He's got either DDR2-667 or DDR2-800 which is the recommended for LGA775

I can get 2GBs of RAM for like $30 and I can get a GTX 560 ti and move it to my new comp.... Is that a good move? I'd only be out 30 bucks if I kept the GTX so I don't see why not

You can get the videocard and move it to the new computer.
Not the ram. New chipsets need DDR3-1600 or faster.
The 3gigs of ram on your current system is plenty for most games at the moment. Just don't run it when you have 50 different windows open.

 

[aesdana]

with a 50 to 100$ card such as

Nvidia 8800GT, GTS, GTX; 9800, GTS250,
Radeon 4670, 5670 and better

You will almost max out fallout3 and run skyrim pretty well.

It

 

[Hirmuinen]

It

 

[PermenentMarker]

8800GT's were excellent cards... so much so that they were re-badged and resold for 2 generations later.

8800GT(s)(x)
9800GT(s)(x)
250GTS

All the same architecture... they will vary however in die size (I think) and what changes their performance will be speed of gpu and ram and the total amount of shader cores.


Today, they still hold their own but they ARE getting old.

I think a Radeon 4670 with 1 gig of ram will perform almost as fast while using very little power.

 

[PUTZ]

Thanks for the honesty... I actually figured that my processor was my most solid piece of hardware

I might still look into a cheap card just so I can play Fallout 3 with a little better performance until I get my new rig next year. I guess I should look into over clocking as well... Though I've never done it before in my life :/

It is your most solid. My point is simply, if you can get by with your current setup, it would be wise to save your money, that's all.

(I've used a Q6600 and a 5850 at tripwire, and it can handle RO2 on medium, and BF3 on High...that's almost purely due to DX11...so keep that in mind).

 

[Colt .45 killer]

check your cooling, you can probably get your q6600 to 3.0 ghz.


Also, look for a 6850, those can be had on sale for about 109-120. These are DAMN good cards, probably the best dollar/perf cards ATM. Two of them in crossfire gives performance better than a 580.

 

[GRIZZLY]

check your cooling, you can probably get your q6600 to 3.0 ghz.


Also, look for a 6850, those can be had on sale for about 109-120. These are DAMN good cards, probably the best dollar/perf cards ATM. Two of them in crossfire gives performance better than a 580.

Is a 6770 a good idea? I can get one of those cheap from a nearby store and if it craps out I know they'll replace it. Is running two cards in crossfire (or I've heard SLI before?) a difficult thing to do? or is it more just a matter of spending twice as much cash?

You guys are extremely helpful by the way. I've been PC gaming for over 15 years so you'd think I'd know something about this... I guess I've just been running most games on low graphics for the last decade

 

[PUTZ]

SLI/Crossfire can be a mixed bag. Some games make great use of it, some make no use of it at all. It also an be tricky to cool properly (so make a good choice of case with a mind to keeping the cards cool). My experience with SLI has been mixed. I've gone back to a single card setup due to sound and heat concerns. Haven't really missed it...

 

[GRIZZLY]

Note taken. I was happy with the graphics on the Super Nintendo so I'm really looking to get flawless FPS more than ultra-high-res-textures or whatever. I'll probably just stick to a single card and just get high quality parts for my PC next year instead of worrying about SLI and overclocking. Thanks for the help computer people.

 

[Rhenna]

Is a 6770 a good idea? I can get one of those cheap from a nearby store and if it craps out I know they'll replace it. Is running two cards in crossfire (or I've heard SLI before?) a difficult thing to do? or is it more just a matter of spending twice as much cash?

You guys are extremely helpful by the way. I've been PC gaming for over 15 years so you'd think I'd know something about this... I guess I've just been running most games on low graphics for the last decade

Can you define what you mean by "cheap"?

If you're currently running a HD2400, believe me, a 6770 would seem like Paradise to you. And, this isn't a card that requires an uber power supply to function properly. Just be sure it has DRR5 memory; I've seen at least one example on the web which had DDR3. (Although even that would blow the doors off your HD2400.) If you wander into GTX 560ti or GTX 570 territory, you may well be looking at a power supply upgrade to go along with that new graphic card.

I have a bazillion PCs, one of which is equipped with a 512Mb Radeon HD3850. This is very old-skool card at this point, but it has no trouble running either Fallout3 or Fallout: New Vegas at the games "ultra" settings. (All image-quality and draw distance settings maxed.) So, I'm certain a 6770 would easily handle these titles.

Personally, I don't think your CPU is in need of any tweaking if Fallout3 is your game of choice. I also think you probably have sufficient RAM for this game, if you aren't running other programs while playing. Don't be too quick to part with more of your money than necessary.