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Can I upgrade?

S

S14Zenki305

n00b
Joined
Aug 11, 2011
Messages
15
Quick question. Guild Wars 2 just came out and my rig is preforming slowly because of the Dual Core processor. I currently have a AMD Atlon II X2 250 3.0ghz. My Video card is a GTX 460 786mb version that is overclocked a bit. I have been told that my processor is bottle necking my video card so i want to upgrade.

From the support page, it says i cant upgrade past a Phenom 3 for my motherboard.

http://support.gateway.com/emachines/desktop/2010/emachines/et/ET1352/ET1352sp2.shtml

I really want a Phenon 4 which will significantly improve performance which is AM3 as well. Any help will be appreciated.
 
S14Zenki305 said:
Quick question. Guild Wars 2 just came out and my rig is preforming slowly because of the Dual Core processor. I currently have a AMD Atlon II X2 250 3.0ghz. My Video card is a GTX 460 786mb version that is overclocked a bit. I have been told that my processor is bottle necking my video card so i want to upgrade.

From the support page, it says i cant upgrade past a Phenom 3 for my motherboard.

http://support.gateway.com/emachines/desktop/2010/emachines/et/ET1352/ET1352sp2.shtml

I really want a Phenon 4 which will significantly improve performance which is AM3 as well. Any help will be appreciated.
Click to expand...

Here is the problem:

The motherboard on that system has a CPU TDP limit of only 95W. Unfortunately, the AMD Phenom II X4 CPUs in existence at the time the system was manufactured all had 125W or 140W TDPs.
 
Short of writing your own custom BIOs, you really can't upgrade past the Phenom II X3. It's a Gateway and OEM mobo so more than likely Gateway never released updated BIOs for it to support newer CPUs. Yes that chipset has been used in regular consumer mobos that can support newer Phenom hex-cores but again, you have an OEM mobo which means no BIOs updates or firmware was ever released for that to happen.

So in other words, you're stuck with the Phenom II X3 at the most. If you can get one for really cheap (around $40), it's be a pretty worthwhile upgrade.
 
What about a AMD Athlon II X3? I'm basically going to use this PC just for guild Wars atm. Would it be sufficient. 4 cores is usually overkill for most games anyways.
 
S14Zenki305 said:
What about a AMD Athlon II X3? I'm basically going to use this PC just for guild Wars atm. Would it be sufficient. 4 cores is usually overkill for most games anyways.
Click to expand...
AFAIK, there haven't been any reviews of GW2 showing that it actually scales past two cores. As such, if the game doesn't scale past two cores, then the Athlon II X3 is still kind of a waste since an extra core is the only major difference between the Athlon II X2 and X3. The Phenom II X3 have a larger cache which does provide a 5% performance right off the bat. Combine with a higher clock speed, thats what makes the Phenom II X3 a more worthwhile choice overall even if the game doesn't scale past two cores.

If GW2 does scale past two cores, the Athlon II X3 would be an ok choice if you can get it for really cheap ($20 to $30). But seriously try to find the Phenom II X3 710 or 720 Black Edition used for $40 to $50 at most.

Forgot to ask: What resolution are you playing GW2 on?
 
S14Zenki305 said:
1920x1080 on my LCD TV
Click to expand...

Yeah, your video card is also a bottlneck as well (even with a $200 brand new Intel CPU) since it only has 768MB of VRAM. You really need at least 1GB of VRAM. Not to mention that the GTX 460 is kinda close to the low side of medium to high-end gaming these days. For now, keep turning down the settings till you get smoother performance. Just save your money until you can build a new PC or if you can find that Phenom II X3 710 or 720 for $40 to $50 at most.
 
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