Gaming improvement?

A

Atheist

Limp Gawd
Joined
Nov 27, 2005
Messages
272
I am thinking about upgrading my main system as my games (FarCry 2 and Fallout 3 mostly) are starting to stutter a bit at 1680x1050. I have an 8800GT and would carry that through to my next build. I have an A64 (s939) X2 4200+, 2GB DDR400, and an Asus A8N-SLI Premium that would all get replaced.

Would there be much of an improvement in gaming by upgrading to a Phenom II or i7? None of [H]'s reviews cover socket 939 CPUs or 8800GTs anymore, so I have no idea how a processor upgrade would affect my gaming experience. Anyone do this recently?
 
You are heavily CPU limited.
Moving from a A64x2@2.7GHz, a 3GHz C2D will give 20 to 30% performance increase from a stock clocked 8800GT (even more if you clock the card).
You may get a bit more with i7 but a 2.7GHz C2D is enough to get the best from an 8800GT in most (not all) games.
However if you intend on upgrading your gfx card, a GTX260 (for example) is maxed by a C2D around 3.7GHz or i7 around 3.2GHz.

A C2D@3.5GHz+, 1680 res, 8800GT will be good enough for nearly all games with high quality settings, even X3 Terran Conflict (heavily CPU limited as it is single core so high CPU clocks not more cores matter).
A high clocked C2D or C2Q is also a good match for a GTX260.
Any faster CPU will work great too and there are some decent i7 bargains to be had.
 
I'd also suggesting upgrading that 8800GT if you're planning on gaming at 1920x1200.
 
I was thinking of an AM3 Phneom II X4, at the moment this bundle. I'm running an Antec NeoHE 500W.

I figured I could use my tax refund to pay for the majority of my upgrade, so around $500 for the foundation (might throw in a new HDD too).
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top