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Old 2013-03-22, 09:41   Link #1
Hayamaneko
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Hardware upgrade question

These are my current specs for my PC

Intel Core 2 Quad Q9650 @ 3.00GHz
8.00 GB Dual-Channel DDR2 @ 332MHz
ASRock G31M-S. (CPUSocket)
767MB GeForce GTX 460 (EVGA)

My question is if upgrading the GPU would improve overall performance to warrant doing or would I be better off saving money to upgrade everything else (CPU/RAM). Due to the limitations of my motherboard I cannot install any of the i3/i5/i7 processors or DDR3 RAM sticks, so I am wondering whether those limitations make upgrading the GPU rather pointless. To be clear I am looking for overall performance improvement on most regular PC task, such as internet browsing in video watching. I also play PC games and emulate old console games. The console games (specifically PS2) do not run smoothly so I am wondering if upgrading would improve those game running more smoothly
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Old 2013-03-22, 12:54   Link #2
-KarumA-
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how much power does your PSU have?
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Old 2013-03-22, 16:07   Link #3
Hayamaneko
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Quote:
Originally Posted by -KarumA- View Post
how much power does your PSU have?
It's a CORSAIR Enthusiast Series TX750 V2 750W ATX12V .
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Old 2013-03-22, 18:08   Link #4
Ledgem
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Hayamaneko View Post
My question is if upgrading the GPU would improve overall performance to warrant doing or would I be better off saving money to upgrade everything else (CPU/RAM). Due to the limitations of my motherboard I cannot install any of the i3/i5/i7 processors or DDR3 RAM sticks, so I am wondering whether those limitations make upgrading the GPU rather pointless. To be clear I am looking for overall performance improvement on most regular PC task, such as internet browsing in video watching. I also play PC games and emulate old console games. The console games (specifically PS2) do not run smoothly so I am wondering if upgrading would improve those game running more smoothly
No, upgrading the GPU won't help much with anything. I haven't been following PCSX development over the last year or so, but it has traditionally been heavily CPU-based and offloaded little to the graphics card. If things have changed recently then disregard that advice.

To determine what would result in the biggest performance boost you need to look at what's currently holding you back. Is your CPU usage frequently going up to 100%? If so then you've found your bottleneck and a newer CPU will improve your performance. Is your RAM usage frequently maxing out such that you have a large page file? If so then you've found your bottleneck and upgrading your RAM to a higher capacity will improve your performance. Are things just seemingly taking a long time to load even though CPU usage is fairly low and RAM usage is minimal to moderate? If so then the bottleneck may be your hard drive, and upgrading to a SSD will result in a more responsive system.
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Old 2013-03-22, 18:50   Link #5
sa547
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Last year, I was considering about buying someone's gaming PC that was good to begin with, and then realized that because DDR3 was cheaper and more spacious than DDR2, I decided to buy and build from scratch.

Given the recent system requirements for today's games, and then compared against Neko's existing system, those games are very resource-hungry that it warrants the need need to buy a completely new gaming PC for optimal performance, although personally I hate the idea of going through upgrade hell, preferring to use any way I can to play a game below spec.

To ensure little or no bottleneck, the processor must be matched with the video card and memory.
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Old 2013-03-22, 20:17   Link #6
Hayamaneko
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I guess my real main question is whether there is a big performance difference between the iCore CPU vs Intel Core 2 and DDR2 vs. DDR3. And if there is a big difference, is there some way of making my current motherboard compatible with the newer technology?

Also, how do I make PSCX emulation not run like anus? Some games have audio slowdown that make it really unpleasant to play (Gitaroo Man for example)
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Old 2013-03-22, 22:41   Link #7
Ledgem
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Hayamaneko View Post
I guess my real main question is whether there is a big performance difference between the iCore CPU vs Intel Core 2 and DDR2 vs. DDR3. And if there is a big difference, is there some way of making my current motherboard compatible with the newer technology?
There's a rather large performance difference between the Core 2 line and the current i5/i7 processors.
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Old 2013-03-23, 02:28   Link #8
Haiprbim
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Originally Posted by Ledgem View Post
There's a rather large performance difference between the Core 2 line and the current i5/i7 processors.
Yeah, and even that "rather" would be too light to say.
Getting an either i5 or i7 Quad Core processor would be a good choice at any time.
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Old 2013-03-23, 04:20   Link #9
NorthernFallout
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I heavily recommend the i5 (or i7 if you got the budget).

I recently upgraded from a similar CPU like you have now, the Q6600 2.4ghz to an i5 3.2ghz. My GFX is an ATI 5770 and, let me tell you, the FPS gain in game such as Tribes, EVE and PSCX emulators is insane. Not to mention the rendering times in Vegas and the like. I did have to switch out my mobo, but it was totally worth it.
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Old 2013-03-23, 18:27   Link #10
Drkz
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i7 is the equivalent of a i5 on steroids. And people still overclock it.... If you decide to get either its recommended to buy a heatsink and ditch the stock fan. But you probably should mention what games you'd like to play. Just PC in general is pretty vague.
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Old 2013-03-24, 01:04   Link #11
Solace
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Hayamaneko View Post
I guess my real main question is whether there is a big performance difference between the iCore CPU vs Intel Core 2 and DDR2 vs. DDR3. And if there is a big difference, is there some way of making my current motherboard compatible with the newer technology?

Also, how do I make PSCX emulation not run like anus? Some games have audio slowdown that make it really unpleasant to play (Gitaroo Man for example)
When it comes to emulation, CPU power > GPU power. Not that the GPU isn't important, it is, but emulation requires that a lot of functions need to be done in software first before it is passed through the GPU for enhancements (like anti-aliasing).

With your system specs, the GTX 460 isn't your biggest bottleneck (even though it is an aging card, it's still very strong), it's your board, processor, and ram. An i series GPU (i5 or i7 preferably) and DDR3 will offer a nice boost. I went with an i5 due to price versus performance, but the i7 is better in terms of multitasking and brute speed. The price will be much higher than an i5 however.

Simply upgrading the board to newer components will give you a noticeable speed increase. Once you've done that, wait for the higher end cards to drop a bit and pick one up when it becomes mid-range, and you'll be set in terms of PC gaming for quite a while.
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Old 2013-03-24, 06:05   Link #12
-KarumA-
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Picking an i5 or i7 all depends on what OP does on his computer, what games he plays, does he use it for anything else?
It would be a waste of cash to buy something that is top range but you never even use the full capacity, even still if your max capacity fits a lower range cpu.
Also depends on budget, I bought an AMD cpu cause it was a lot cheaper and it functions just fine for what I use my pc for.
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Old 2013-03-25, 22:25   Link #13
Wandering_Youth
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Join Date: Mar 2003
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Hayamaneko View Post
These are my current specs for my PC

Intel Core 2 Quad Q9650 @ 3.00GHz
8.00 GB Dual-Channel DDR2 @ 332MHz
ASRock G31M-S. (CPUSocket)
767MB GeForce GTX 460 (EVGA)

My question is if upgrading the GPU would improve overall performance to warrant doing or would I be better off saving money to upgrade everything else (CPU/RAM). Due to the limitations of my motherboard I cannot install any of the i3/i5/i7 processors or DDR3 RAM sticks, so I am wondering whether those limitations make upgrading the GPU rather pointless. To be clear I am looking for overall performance improvement on most regular PC task, such as internet browsing in video watching. I also play PC games and emulate old console games. The console games (specifically PS2) do not run smoothly so I am wondering if upgrading would improve those game running more smoothly
Can you be a little more specific of what you normal do with your computer on a daily basis and what area you would like to see improved if you get a new system?
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Old 2013-03-31, 10:47   Link #14
King Lycan
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Join Date: Sep 2007
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Hayamaneko View Post
These are my current specs for my PC

Intel Core 2 Quad Q9650 @ 3.00GHz
8.00 GB Dual-Channel DDR2 @ 332MHz
ASRock G31M-S. (CPUSocket)
767MB GeForce GTX 460 (EVGA)

My question is if upgrading the GPU would improve overall performance to warrant doing or would I be better off saving money to upgrade everything else (CPU/RAM). Due to the limitations of my motherboard I cannot install any of the i3/i5/i7 processors or DDR3 RAM sticks, so I am wondering whether those limitations make upgrading the GPU rather pointless. To be clear I am looking for overall performance improvement on most regular PC task, such as internet browsing in video watching. I also play PC games and emulate old console games. The console games (specifically PS2) do not run smoothly so I am wondering if upgrading would improve those game running more smoothly
What do you use to emulate your PS2 games ? My old rig had a Q6700 and 5770 and it ran games on PCSX2 with no problems.
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