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Making an HTPC more playable

S

Space_Coyote

Gawd
Joined
Feb 2, 2007
Messages
932
A few years back I turned my old gaming rig into a makeshift HTPC, using some spare parts. It's been fine at the job, and even allows some light gaming for my son. He's playing World of Tanks with me now though, and the choppiness makes it pretty hard to play at times.

Obviously the GPU isn't up to the job, so what's a nice cheap upgrade I can scour the FS/T forums for? The RAM is a little low as well, and I think another 2 gigs would help. I did manage to get the E4300 up to 3.1 GHz back when I was gaming on it, using G-skill RAM and an aftermarket cooler. I really don't want to spend too much though, so maybe I could get by picking another 2x1GB of el-cheapo and settling for a lower clock?


Abit IP35-E board
E4300 stock
Radeon 4650
2 GB generic DDR2 RAM

Edit: Forgot to mention he's on the 42" TV @ 1920x1080
 
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There is a 350W generic in there now, but I have a spare Hiper 580W Type-R that I was planning on installing.
 
Well, check your RAM usage in game... ALT-TAB out and go to Process Manager, it'll tell you how much RAM you're actually using.

If you have the 580W, it'll handle anything you throw at it. I would scour FS/FT for a nice video card around $100. It should net you a 6870 or even a 6950 if you're lucky enough. Or look for a 560Ti or 570.

Here's a comparison list of video cards:
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-graphics-card-review,3107-7.html

The E4300 is a bit old but at 3.1 GHz you should still be able to game well enough with a 6870. I really wouldn't go above the 6870 tier unless you find an upgrade for the CPU. If you can find one, a Q6600 for around $50-60 might be a worthwhile investment for newer games. Drop it in, upgrade the BIOS, and pop in a 570 or 6950.

Actually, come to think of it, make sure you're not hitting a CPU bottleneck already. If you can lower the video settings/resolution at all, does it make it more playable? If not, you're actually being limited by the CPU and not the GPU. You can also use Process Manager or RealTemp to see if your CPU usage is hitting 100%.
 
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