Upgrade instead of new system?

[Objekt]

I recently started a thread contemplating a new system. If I do build, I'm going to wait until after the Ivy Bridge stuff hits the market. But I'm also wondering whether I could get by, just upgrading the machine I already have.

Here's what's in my system. I built it in mid-2008 and have not upgraded any of the important stuff, like the video card:

Asus P5E3 WS Pro motherboard
Intel Core 2 Duo E8500 CPU
4 GB DDR3 1333 MHz (PC10666) RAM
XFX GeForce 9800 GTX+ video card (512 MB video RAM)
Various SATA HDDs
Creative Audigy 2 ZS sound card

Games I've been playing recently run quite poorly. I've noticed the worst performance with Skyrim and Grand Theft Auto IV. I can't play Skyrim at anything higher than "Medium" settings, and even then it's marginal, with lots of slowdowns. "Low" settings look so bad, I might as well not play.

GTA IV is, apparently, notorious for being poorly optimized on the PC. It gets so slow sometimes that the audio messes up. Perhaps it's running low on RAM. Nothing I can do about that, but throw more hardware at it.

So it's probably time to get some new stuff.

Would I be throwing my money away by upgrading? Maybe just get a new video card and double the RAM?

 

[Dangman]

What PSU do you have?

You would be throwing away money if you upgraded anything other than the GPU and PSU on that PC. You can take the GPU and PSU to a new system. Maybe the RAM if it's rated at 1.5V and below. While a new GPU would still be limited by that CPU of yours, you should still see a noticeable performance improvement with a new GPU.

 

[Objekt]

Good point, but I don't think power will be a problem. I have a ridiculously overpowered PSU for the current build, rated at 850 W (Thermaltake TR2 RX). I started with a smaller Thermaltake unit, and received the 850 W unit as a warranty replacement.

How would I tell whether my CPU is holding things up? Run the games on one screen, and Performance Monitor on the other, maybe? I do have two monitors, so that might be an option.

 

[E4g1e]

Good point, but I don't think power will be a problem. I have a ridiculously overpowered PSU for the current build, rated at 850 W (Thermaltake TR2 RX). I started with a smaller Thermaltake unit, and received the 850 W unit as a warranty replacement.

Actually, you have one of those Thermaltake PSUs that suck. You see, none of the TR2 or TR2 RX series PSUs made up to this point can handle anywhere near its advertised ratings. In fact, the TR2 RX 850W that you have is fairly low in quality to begin with - and then, it is capable of only about 550W at most under the best of conditions (because it is built on an HEC platform that was originally designed to handle no more than 600W to begin with). Worst of all, it is way overpriced for its realistic wattage capacity: It costs about double what it should have cost to begin with. In fact, the only Thermaltake-branded PSU line that is any good is one of the ToughPower models.

 

[Dangman]

How would I tell whether my CPU is holding things up? Run the games on one screen, and Performance Monitor on the other, maybe? I do have two monitors, so that might be an option.

OC it and if you're seeing a performance increase, definitely a sign of possible CPU limitations. Besides the two games you're talking about, Skyrim and GTA IV, are very CPU and core dependent. You only have a dual-core CPU for games that love quad-cores. Hence why I said that CPU might limit you.

And I concur with E4g1e: That PSU is not good at all. For a new setup or even just an upgrade, I'd highly recommend getting a new PSU.

 

[Objekt]

OC isn't an option, unfortunately. I can't raise clock speed by more than 3-4% before getting crashes - usually, in the form of BIOS resetting itself to defaults whenever I reboot.

The motherboard (or something in the system) just isn't good for overclocking. It doesn't matter whether I manually fiddle with settings in BIOS, or use the OC'ing software supplied by Asus. True both with the original power supply, and with the warranty replacement power supply (the TR2 mentioned above).

Overclocking isn't really necessary anyway. I should be able to tell whether the CPU is holding things up by running Performance Monitor, while playing the game in question. One or both cores being at 100% would be a major clue.

update:
Yep, both Skyrim and GTA IV are holding down my CPU and beating on it mercilessly. GTA IV is especially bad. CPU utilization goes through the roof as soon as I step outside one of the safehouses, i.e., where 99% of the game happens. Ouch. No wonder the framerate goes in the toilet.

It's a similar story for Skyrim.

So, yeah, looks like I do need a quad core. As discussed previously, I'm going to wait on the Ivy Bridge gear before I buy anything. Thanks for the suggestions.