Best/Any way to Upgrade?

Syribo

Syribo

[H]ard|Gawd
Joined
Mar 9, 2008
Messages
1,515
So.. it's now been 6 years since the forum helped me put together my very first build. And, well.. it's served me very well but it is just not holding up so well anymore. I do not have the funds to completely build a new system, I almost really can't afford to even upgrade my current one.. but I'm seeing if it would be possible.

The main thing I want to be able to do.. is play games without getting 10FPS. The main game I play is Final Fantasy XIV: ARR. I have to run everything on as low as possible, I run at 1920x1080p resolution now. I honestly believe my RAM is a big part of the problem.. and I wish I could just upgrade to DDR3 RAM, but of course have to upgrade my mobo and processor in order to do that.

Here is my current setup:
Q6600 OC'd to 3.0GHz
MSI P7N Diamond 780i mobo
8GB of OCZ DDR2 -800 RAM
EVGA 650 Ti Boost 2GB GPU
3 x Seagate 7200.11 500GB HDDs
Corsair 750TX PSU
My main screen is a 27" Acer LED that is at 1920x1080p. My secondary monitor is a small older LCD.

Is there ANYTHING I can do, on a budget, that would help? I feel that the 650 Ti Boost should be enough to play FFXIV:ARR on way higher settings than I have it at. I don't think the GPU is the issue, or even my CPU.. I think it's my RAM? I think it may also be that I am still using Vista, as I haven't had the money to upgrade to Win 7 yet.

I was using my EVGA 512MB 8800GTS's in SLI, but one of them finally died a few months ago.. so instead, I got the 650 Ti Boost to replace my old SLI. That's really the only "upgrade" or change I've made to my PC since I built it. I just hope there's something I can do to improve it a bit.

I'm assuming a mobo, CPU and RAM change is what I would need... and I've been trying to find deals and combo deals on some parts that will be better than what I have. Any advice is appreciated.

It's so bad that while I have FFXIV running, I can't even have a stream or a video playing on my other monitor. I tried to use OBS to stream the game... and was getting about 2FPS. It's just so sad.
 
You never said what your budget was, just that you have one.

Also, I agree. It's in all likelihood your RAM or CPU that's bottlenecking you.

Edit: I'd look at getting a Haswell i3 and 2x4GB DDR3 (Kingston, Crucial, G.Skill, Corsair, it doesn't really matter) along with a new motherboard to support them if you're on a tight budget. You could definitely do this for under $300.
 
tenub said:
You never said what your budget was, just that you have one.

Also, I agree. It's in all likelihood your RAM or CPU that's bottlenecking you.

Edit: I'd look at getting a Haswell i3 and 2x4GB DDR3 (Kingston, Crucial, G.Skill, Corsair, it doesn't really matter) along with a new motherboard to support them if you're on a tight budget. You could definitely do this for under $300.
Click to expand...

Ah you're right, I didn't.. literally as low as possible while being able to just at least function better than it does now. If I could do this for under $300, that would be amazing. Would an i3 definitely be an upgrade from my Q6600? I didn't even look into an i3, I was looking at i5's and trying to see if I could budget myself building around one.. but it just didn't seem possible.

I always thought the Q6600 would age pretty well, but I know it's insanely outdated now.. it has served me very well, though. I remember when I built this.. I think people recommended me waiting a little bit to build, because if I recall correctly the new socket boards and such came out not too long after, and that would have allowed me a lot more future-proofing most likely. I kinda wish I had held out after all. It's just really sad to try playing a game like FFXIV, which is so not graphic intensive, and have to play with the quality as low as possible.. no shadows, no shading, nothing.

And trying to play BF4..... very hard sometimes, even with the graphics on their lowest, my framerate is atrocious.
 
Well, if you were already looking at the i5s then you should definitely get the 4670K. The difference in price between the lowest and highest end i5 Haswells is a mere $30, so you might as well go with the best of them. :) Don't expect to play BF4 smoothly on ultra settings with a GTX 650 Ti though.
 
I would like to OC.. though that would require a new HSF I imagine? I have a ZeroTherm Nirvana for my Q6600, but I imagine that it won't be compatible with the newer socket mobo's and CPU's? I do have my processor at 3.0GHz to help a bit.

OH and I definitely don't expect to play BF4 on ultra settings haha. I don't mind playing other games on low or medium, but I really wish I could play FFXIV on high settings. It's so not graphic intensive.. it's sad that my system still gets crappy fps with everything on low.

Even though I need to upgrade... I am sad to say goodbye to this hardware :'( They have served me very well and it was my first real build too. I think 6 years was a good run though!

Oh, what about my HDD's? I never thought about my HDD's being an issue for gaming, always figured it's most likely the RAM. If I had the money for it, I would buy a small SSD for sure. But for now, I want to see what I can do with the least amount of money possible!
 
I doubt its the RAM. Def not the HDD. CPU is the bottleneck.
 
450 said:
I doubt its the RAM. Def not the HDD. CPU is the bottleneck.
Click to expand...

Wow, really!? That is shocking to me! I was only guessing about it being the RAM.

Ah, you know what? I have FFXIV running, and I also tried to open a video on YouTube.. sure enough, CPU usage shoots up to 100% and the lagging begins. The memory is at 78%.

Also, the i3's are dual-core, yes? Would an i3 still be better than a Q6600?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top