RAM, GFX, or neither?

L

LSR

New Member
Hey guys,

My current computer has these specs:

Intel Quad Q6600 @ 2.4GHz
nVidia GTS250 512MB
3GB DDR2 RAM @ 399MHz
ASUS Commando

I play games on a 1680x1050 monitor, but I also have a 1280x1024 plugged in alongside it.

Some games are running quite slow on max settings, which is a little frustrating. So my question - is my RAM terrible? It's old as, and I reckon that by today's standards that's pretty slow

Is it even worth upgrading my RAM? Will it actually help improve gaming performance, or is my graphics card the bottleneck?

And finally, is it worth actually upgrading my graphics card yet - would I get much bang for my buck? I'm not sure how much of this I'd keep really.. I think the GTS250 is pushing my PSU, so I'd definitely upgrade that if I were to buy a new card. Then I just ask myself the question if it's easier to just build a new one..

Cheers.
 
For the moment, you should be OK, but as games get more and more complex, you will need to upgrade. For best results, you would have to get a new Mobo that supports DDR3,DDR3 can be as fast as 2000Mhz+ (notice the plus). I would get a mobo with socket LGA 1156/1336 so you can put an i5/i7 in there :P What's your budget for the [replacement] GPU? :)
 
Taking my case off.. Got a 650W PSU with 3 +18A 12V rails. Actually, that's better than I thought. Any good?

RAM is in 4 modules - 2x512, 2x1024. Corsair, says XMS2 on the sticks.
 
LSR said:
Taking my case off.. Got a 650W PSU with 3 +18A 12V rails. Actually, that's better than I thought. Any good?

RAM is in 4 modules - 2x512, 2x1024. Corsair, says XMS2 on the sticks.
Click to expand...

The "650W" is the peak wattage. Unless it's a decent quality PSU, usually the actual output will be far less than that.
 
It's a 'Z-Power', which I don't think I've heard of, so I'm assuming is fairly own-brandy. I can't say I've had any problems with it, don't think I've BSOD-ed once with it, but I always was sceptical about upgrading with it. Are there any tests I can run to see how good it is?
 
I don't really have a budget as such.. I was more looking as a general question relating to whether upgrading would significantly improve my performance, if my GPU is any good and my RAM is holding it back, etc.

If both are terrible and my CPU is outdated, I might set out a budget and look to replace the lot. Would it really be worth upgrading the PSU and putting a new GPU in this mobo?
 
Yes. Your GTS should be fine for the next year or so, but don't expect it to play crysis - 2011 edition. :P
It may be worth investing in a DX11 card :)
Currently your RAM is holding your whole system back :L
You CPU is outdated, but it just about keeps pace with an i3, it's OK right now but as I said there's no point upgrading a socket 755 CPU.
 
Ok, RAM holding it back.

What would you suggest I upgraded to?

I don't have a 'budget' as such, as I haven't really looked into the cost of components recently, but I tend to like the mid-range options which offer a good compromise between performance and price.
 
 
1. Replace that power supply

2. An i3 or i5 are not really that much of an upgrade from a Q6600, in fact, an i3 will be slower in multithreaded apps. Overclocking that Q6600 would be a good way to get some more performance, even the worst overclocking Q6600's can generally get at least 3Ghz out of them. The asus commando board wasnt a very cheap board when released, and could produce decent enough clocks.

3. The 5670 is slower than a GTS250....the GTS250 is roughly equal in performance to a 5770.
 
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