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Need upgrade for the new cod.

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yusoweird

Weaksauce
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Jan 5, 2004
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Hey, I haven't been keeping up with hardware lately. I am trying to get back into FPS games and was wondering if my setup will be enough to have good frame rate. If not, what NEEDs to be upgraded. I will be playing cod modern warfare 2. Thanks.

AMD X2 3800
4GB RAM
Geforce 7600GT
 
If the new Call of Duty runs like the last one, all you'll really need to upgrade is your GPU. A 4770/5750 should be perfect, considering you're using an old K8 processor. It should be playable up to 1920X1080 with med-high settings and no to low AA. Of course, this is assuming your CPU is overclocked to 2.6 or higher. If not, a new budget AM3 build might be something to look at.
 
What resolution do you game at?
IIRC, CoD performs slightly better on NVIDIA cards?
 
enginurd said:
What resolution do you game at?
IIRC, CoD performs slightly better on NVIDIA cards?
Click to expand...

I don't remember seeing any major difference in reviews regarding Nvidia vs. ATI in CoD. My old GTX 260 and 4890 showed the 4890 being about 10% faster, which is the average difference between the cards.
 
What PSU do you have? It would be stupid to upgrade your GPU if the PSU isn't capable.
 
I am planning to get the 9800GTX as my upgrade. My power supply is fine. I am more concern with not bottlenecking my system with a faster video card. Will a 9800GTX match my system without being too much or too little??? Can someone comment on that?

I might consider building a new system as well, but I want to upgrade in the meantime. I just don't want to buy a video card that is too good for my system.

Thanks for all the help!
 
On my P4 3.4HT machine with a 8500gt cod4 ran a max setting with some AA. getting 25-40 frame.

Since the AMD is a dual core it shouldn't take to much performance form the card if none at all.
 
SicKlown42012 said:
If the new Call of Duty runs like the last one, all you'll really need to upgrade is your GPU. A 4770/5750 should be perfect, considering you're using an old K8 processor. It should be playable up to 1920X1080 with med-high settings and no to low AA. Of course, this is assuming your CPU is overclocked to 2.6 or higher. If not, a new budget AM3 build might be something to look at.
Click to expand...

How does the 9800GTX compare to 4770/5750? They all seems to be around my price range, I haven't found any comparison between 9800GTX and 5750.
 
yusoweird said:
I am planning to get the 9800GTX as my upgrade. My power supply is fine. I am more concern with not bottlenecking my system with a faster video card. Will a 9800GTX match my system without being too much or too little??? Can someone comment on that?
Click to expand...

The 9800GTX is a bit much for your CPU with most currrent games. However, as SicKlown42012 mentioned, if MW2 is similar to COD4, it should be fine. But for every other game, that CPU is too much of a limitation.

With that said, at $120 from Newegg, the 9800GTX is a piss poor choice considering that the faster HD 4850 512MB or HD 4850 1GB can be had in that price range. The HD 4850 would still be bottlenecked by that CPU in most games but still, why pay for a lower performing card when you can get a faster video card for the same price?

However, that's assuming that your PSU is fine for a video card upgrade. No offense, but in my experience whenever someone says their PSU is fine, they generally have some crappy PSU incapable of supporting their planned upgrade. So again, what PSU do you have? I'm trying to help you avoid any potential power usage.

Just look for a comparison with the GTS 250 as the GTS 250 is basically a slightly newer and improved version of the 9800GTX.
 
My power supply: Thermaltake Pure Power W0073RU 520W ATX 12V 2.0 SLI Ready Modular Active PFC Power Supply
Processor: AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800+ Windsor 2.0GHz Socket AM2 65W Dual-Core Processor Model ADO3800CUBOX

I only run a single hard drive, dvdrom, 4x 1gb ram, and couple fans. So it seems like it is fine for an upgrade.


This is a 3 year old system. I might consider building a brand new one. :(

It is actually the 9800GTX+ that I was looking at, but probably doesnt matter :D Thanks for the help by the way.
 
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yusoweird said:
My power supply: Thermaltake Pure Power W0073RU 520W ATX 12V 2.0 SLI Ready Modular Active PFC Power Supply
Click to expand...
Yup, I'm right again:
That's a 4-5 year old low quality PSU design that was rated at peak and at 25C load. In addition, no info whatsoever is given about the total amperage on the +12V rail. So we don't know how much of that 520W is actually for modern PC parts.

Simply put, you're looking at a PSU upgrade as well.

yusoweird said:
It is actually the 9800GTX+ that I was looking at, but probably doesnt matter :D
Click to expand...

Yeah, doesn't matter much.
 
Sounds like I just need a new system! :D I am pretty out dated on hardware. :(

But the supply is rated for: +3.3V@30A, +5V@30A, +12V1@15A, +12V2@15A, -12V@0.3A, +5VSB@2A
 
yusoweird said:
But the supply is rated for: +3.3V@30A, +5V@30A, +12V1@15A, +12V2@15A, -12V@0.3A, +5VSB@2A
Click to expand...

All of that information is useless if the total amperage or wattage is not listed for the +12V rail. You don't add the +12V rails BTW. Doesn't work that way.
 
Hmm if I am understanding this correctly, each output share the 520w. The rating listed above are max power that can be taking from the source by each output. But of course, its never good to be near the max rating. So if you combine both 12V@15A (assume the device allow 2 sources), I am looking at 12V*14A*2 = 336W. Hopefully the remaining system doesnt need about 160W.
 
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yusoweird said:
Hmm if I am understanding this correctly, each output share the 520w. The rating listed above are max power that can be taking from the source.
Click to expand...
Ehh close. Let's take a look at the Corsair 400CX's PSU label:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Image...ertified Compatible with Core i7 Power Supply

It's rated at 400W. Note how each of the rails have a specific amount of wattage available to it. While the 400W rating can be of any combination of the wattage on those rails, each of those rails are still limited by the max wattage allocated to that rail.

So you can have 20W from the +3.3V/+5V rail, 360W on the +12V rail, 9W from the -12V rail, and +5VSB 11W for a total of 400W of power or 130W from the +3.3V/+5V rail and 270W from the +12V rail for a total of 400W. However you cannot draw more than 400W from the +12V rail since it's limited specifically to 360W. Get it?

PSU FAQ here:
http://www.jonnyguru.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1036

So if you combine both 12V@15A (assume the device allow 2 sources), I am looking at 12V*14A*2 = 336W. Hopefully the remaining system doesnt need about 160W.
Click to expand...
Again, you don't ever combine the two +12V sources to get the total =12V rail. While theoretically that PSU would have about 30A total on the +12V rail if you were to add them, it still is and will never be an accurate way to get the combined +12V rail.
 
I know what you are saying... but that really depends on the design of the power supply. Not every power supply will allocate a specific amount of power to certain set of rails. It can be all shared. It is why I said, it should never be operated at the max output rating. 12V@14A instead of 15A.
 
yusoweird said:
I know what you are saying... but that really depends on the design of the power supply. Not every power supply will allocate a specific amount of power to certain set of rails. It can be all shared.
Click to expand...

Every quality PSU has a specified allocation of wattage on a certain set of rails. Show me a PSU where a +3.3V/+5V can take the entire rated wattage for itself or some other set of rails for itself.
 
I think a 9800GT would fit your bill perfect. This Zotac one is $92.99.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814500113

It draws all its power from the motherboard so your power supply will be fine. It will be a little bottlenecked by your cpu, but it won't be too noticable. A simple overclock of your cpu will help lessen it. There's no need for a new system yet, that card will hold you over for awhile while you save up for an i7/5 rig.
 
It doesnt take the entire rated wattage, but it can take the maxiumum rated amperage depending on the load of the remaining devices. And it also depends on the power supply design. From the Corsair 400CX's that you listed, base on the specification, they specifically separate the rails to 4 sources. That may not be the case for all power supply. It is possible to only have 1 source. I am not saying I am certain that it is that way. Anyways I think we are going off topic. :T Either way, I know I will need a better power supply somehow.
 
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yusoweird said:
Ok, I just found that the combined +3V/+5V is 200W. Which leaves the +12 rails about 300W and 20W for the remaining. So I am on the edge. :T
Click to expand...

Even if that methodology is correct, note what I said earlier: It's rated at peak and at 25C. Therefore, in a real world situation, that would be anywhere from 100W to 200W on the +12V rail.

But yeah, still need a good PSU no matter what. The $50 Corsair 400CX should be enough for a HD4850 or GTS 250.
 
Thanks everyone!!! I think I made up my mind on what to do already from all these info. I am going to just get a 9800GT that has an 6pin supply plug (to make use of my 2 +12V rails).

Otherwise, I will get a new setup all together.

:D
 
yusoweird said:
PCIe also supplies 12V... So it will take power from PCIe + 6pin connector. At least I hope thats how they designed the video card, otherwise they should be fired!
Click to expand...

Ok. The PCI-E slot gets power from the PSU on the +12V rail. The 6 Pin PCI-E connector also draws from the +12V rail. The PCI-E slot doesn't magically generate power on its own. Also, there's an extremely good chance that PSU is not capable of powering your system + the 8800GT for long.

If you really want to keep that POS PSU, at least get a video card that uses about the same amount of power as the 7600GT like the $65 HD 4670. Still an upgrade from the 7600GT but slower than the 8800GT.
 
Danny Bui said:
Ok. The PCI-E slot gets power from the PSU on the +12V rail. The 6 Pin PCI-E connector also draws from the +12V rail. The PCI-E slot doesn't magically generate power on its own. Also, there's an extremely good chance that PSU is not capable of powering your system + the 8800GT for long.

If you really want to keep that POS PSU, at least get a video card that uses about the same amount of power as the 7600GT like the $65 HD 4670. Still an upgrade from the 7600GT but slower than the 8800GT.
Click to expand...

That's why the power supply I have has 2 separate +12V outputs. One of them going powers the motherboard, the other goes to the rest... Even with the single rail +12V@13A-14A. Thats about 150W. I dont know that the video card alone should consume that much power. If I am reading some site correctly, cards like 4850 / 9800gt consumes about 100W-ish?
 
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yusoweird said:
That's why the power supply I have has 2 separate +12V outputs. One of them going powers the motherboard, the other goes to the rest...
Click to expand...

They still draw from the same pool of +12V wattage.....

Ok here's where my confusion lies: Why are you going to use the 8800GT with a PSU that's more than likely not capable of powering it for long.
 
Danny Bui said:
They still draw from the same pool of +12V wattage.....

Ok here's where my confusion lies: Why are you going to use the 8800GT with a PSU that's more than likely not capable of powering it for long.
Click to expand...

I am just being cheap! hahaha but dude, the +12V is capable of 300W!
 
yusoweird said:
This is a 3 year old system. I might consider building a brand new one. :(

It is actually the 9800GTX+ that I was looking at, but probably doesnt matter :D Thanks for the help by the way.
Click to expand...

You'll be upgrading your system to be the only person playing MW2?


also, the GTS250 is a 9800GTX, which is about as fast as HD4850, which is as fast as HD4770. all of which are about the same price, tho 4770 is probably the cheapest.

also also, MW2 is CoD4 with some little updates. if CoD4 ran ok on your system, MW2 should run pretty much the same
 
yusoweird said:
but dude, the +12V is capable of 300W!
Click to expand...

You have no solid proof of that. Adding the +12V rails like that nor subtracting the 200W from the +3.3V and +5V are accurate ways to get the available +12V amperage/wattage. Even if that 300W rating is true, like I said earlier: It's rated at peak and at 25C. That means that:
1) That 300W can only be achieved for a few seconds to a minute. The actual continuous load, i.e the load that it can provide for long periods of time could be around 250W.
2) When that PSU hits 40 to 50C, the average temperature for a operational PSU, the PSU will put out less than 300W on the +12V rail. That wattage can range from anywhere to 100W to 200W.

Note that the 8800GT uses 105W by itself. Your CPU uses 65W of power. That's 170W of power right there. Then add the motherboard, fans, hard drive, CD drive, etc.
 
Somnambulator said:
You'll be upgrading your system to be the only person playing MW2?


also, the GTS250 is a 9800GTX, which is about as fast as HD4850, which is as fast as HD4770. all of which are about the same price, tho 4770 is probably the cheapest.

also also, MW2 is CoD4 with some little updates. if CoD4 ran ok on your system, MW2 should run pretty much the same
Click to expand...

Yes, I will only play MW2 with this upgrade. I am thinking about underclocking a 9800GT since it is the cheapest card as a backup if my PSU is not on par, and since it seems like it is already out performing my system...
 
yusoweird said:
I am thinking about underclocking a 9800GT since it is the cheapest card as a backup if my PSU is not on par, and since it seems like it is already out performing my system...
Click to expand...

Underclocking doesn't save or use that much power. Probably 5W at most.
 
yeah changes in GFX clocks and voltage are pretty marginal toward overall power consumption
and even if it does let you hop that 5w fence (probably unlikely)
capacitor aging will hit you in your face

just be sure to cringe as you power on with your new gfx card :p
 
Danny Bui said:
You have no solid proof of that. Adding the +12V rails like that nor subtracting the 200W from the +3.3V and +5V are accurate ways to get the available +12V amperage/wattage. Even if that 300W rating is true, like I said earlier: It's rated at peak and at 25C. That means that:
1) That 300W can only be achieved for a few seconds to a minute. The actual continuous load, i.e the load that it can provide for long periods of time could be around 250W.
2) When that PSU hits 40 to 50C, the average temperature for a operational PSU, the PSU will put out less than 300W on the +12V rail. That wattage can range from anywhere to 100W to 200W.

Note that the 8800GT uses 105W by itself. Your CPU uses 65W of power. That's 170W of power right there. Then add the motherboard, fans, hard drive, CD drive, etc.
Click to expand...

I dont think the processor takes power from 12V, most like 3.3 or 5 volt. Correct me if I am wrong since I haven't done the research... Oh peak load on my supply is 550W. And where did you see that it is only at 25C?? Even with if only 70% of 300W is available, thats 210W... I honestly dont think the tolerance is that bad...

additionally, if you take a look at the spec on their site. http://www.thermaltakeusa.com/Product.aspx?S=1170&ID=1523#Tab0 They actually specified load at 100% of 520W on their graph... I am no where near that... I would say 70%-ish at max...

Update:
Ok, I guess it does take from 12V... lol... I will still give it a try though. If I see smoke, I will have an excuse to buy a new rig.... I guess things have changed since I last was up to date with computer techs... take a look at my signature and u will know... ROFL
 
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