should I upgrade from an e6400?

[SERprise]

I have an e6400 cpu, 4GB of XMS2(2x2GB), and 8600GTS 256. I am debating on if I should upgrade the CPU, I know my video card sucks but I will be buying the 9600 as soon as it is released which compares rather nicely to the 8800gs. All I really do on my PC is game, I use my laptop for everything else. My problem is while playing I occasionally get a ghosting effect. I installed rivatuner to keep my fan spinning full speed on my video card thinking that was the problem but it really didn't change anything. Is it not my video card, and actually my CPU? I play on low settings so I didn't figure the video card was the issue but I want to make sure first. My PC is on an Asus 650i mb with the latest bios. 1 more thing I should mention is I run a 22" WS Acer monitor (AL2223W) which is why I run low settings in CoD4 but maybe the higher res causes the issue since I always buy the "latest" lower end vid cards? I like to get bang for buck, but something just isn't right with my PC. Is it only the video card that needs upgraded or would the CPU possibly be a bottleneck? I don't do any encoding or anything on my PC, only gaming so would the CPU I have be fine and absolutely no noticeable difference with what I do? If it won't make a difference, maybe I'll just splurge and get a 9800gt when it's released if it is my resolution/monitor size that is the issue. Thanks for your input. (btw, I run XP x64 so I do get to utilize all 4gb of ram ) I do not overclock, I'm a pansy and it scares me cause I know I'd end up ruining something.


-Cory

 

[Gogey]

Pretty sure ghosting is caused by the monitor's response time, but don't quote me on that :X

 

[Cleric7x9]

im not sure if the 650i chipset supports the wolfdales, you should check. if it does, i went from an e6420 to an e8400 and i could not be happier. if the 650i does not support wolfdale, going from an e6400 to an e 6x50 most likely will not give you enough of a performance gain to be worth it, esp because the e8xxx is so much more cost effective.

 

[twitchtwice]

If your getting ghosting on your monitor and thats the only thing your trying to fix. buy a new monitor and you'll be fine.

 

[SERprise]

If your getting ghosting on your monitor and thats the only thing your trying to fix. buy a new monitor and you'll be fine.

well, I'm not hip on the terms.. it just gets kinda choppy once in a while, usually after gaming for a while. Something isn't making the cut in my system, sure it may be fixable with some new HS/Fans or whatever but I'd prefer to just upgrade if I have to spend $ so I also get a boost in performance. I just said ghosting cause I assumed that is what a non "full out choppy" was called lol.. If it were my monitor it'd always do it right? not just sometimes? I keep my case very clean with a Seasonic 650w PS in a Sonata II case which is why I tend to think something isn't up to par. Are you for certain my monitor is the issue?? If so that really stinks cause I love this monitor. Here is the monitor I have:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824009102&Tpk=AL2223WD

isn't it a good one?

I really apologize for my lack of knowledge when it comes to this stuff, I do build my own PC's but that's basically just a puzzle, when it comes to finding the bottleneck of my system I'm not that great. I just don't know if the CPU could be causing my system to not perform like I thought it should. I had an athlon64 3000+ system with a 6800GS on an NF4 board with 2x1gb and it just had a better feel to it. I really want to make this thing work right.

I also think it "could" be my MB is just crappy, is there a way to find out? I recently had my computer take a crap on me during a power surge and it took me weeks to figure out how to get it to boot past the loading windows screen. The surge somehow caused my IDE ports to have issues. It wouldn't even let me reformat. during my troubleshooting I replaced the ram(that's why I have 4 gigs now) because I thought maybe my old 2 gigs possibly took a crap and while replacing it I unplugged the cd drive just to give me more room and my pc booted so I shut it down, plugged it back in and it wouldn't boot. I tried 2 other cd drives I had laying around and the same result so I just bought a sata cd drive so I didn't have to worry about it but even before the surge my pc would get kinda laggy after gaming for a while so I don't know what the problem is. btw, when the surge happened I did have it plugged into a Belkin battery backup with a surge protector and some AVR feature, whatever that is.. I don't know how my MB got messed up, maybe it was just a coincidence and it was bad timing making me think that surge ruined it? If it could be a defective MB, it's still under warranty but if the MB was messed up it'd either work or not work right? I really don't want to disassemble my PC and then have to wait for the replacement, which is why I just bought a sata cd drive.. sure it was $30 wasted but it was so much more convenient I really appreciate your responses. I just don't want to waste more $ like I did with my ram, I did get an upgrade so now I have 4 gigs, but still.. it was $ I didn't need to spend so that's why I decided to just post here and get ideas from you guys since you know more than me.

-Cory


ps, I have 2x2GB sticks in my PC, and my old 2x1gb sticks just sitting with my junk parts, that's a good thing right? I assume 4gb is way more than I need and I can run it in dual channel this way. I do run a 64 bit OS so I could use all 6GB but the dual channel will help me more right?

 

[SERprise]

so is the CPU not the problem? is it the video card? I linked my monitor in the previous post, that isn't the problem right? It's a good monitor? I run CoD4 at 1680x1050@60hz on the lowest settings, no AA/AF or anything enabled. An 8600gts 256 should be able to handle that with ease right? The CPU as well I thought, I mean I know there are better CPU's but all I do is play games and those are gfx card/RAM based right? I mean I think I have good stuff, if something isn't bottlenecking me, if you had to take a guess, did I get a part that isn't functioning as advertised? I just don't want to spend more $ replacing something I don't have to which is why I posted here.

 

[newguy5]

well, I'm not hip on the terms.. it just gets kinda choppy once in a while, usually after gaming for a while. Something isn't making the cut in my system, sure it may be fixable with some new HS/Fans or whatever but I'd prefer to just upgrade if I have to spend $ so I also get a boost in performance. I just said ghosting cause I assumed that is what a non "full out choppy" was called lol..

i had a similar problem when i installed my components and got my new rig up and running. first of all, i think a certain degree of stutters are normal and you are just really focusing on them in your head a lot. secondly, if they are significant they probably aren't normal. mine were significant, and what i did was buy a new hard drive and that solved the problem. find the hard drive forum and there is a thread that gives you a program to download and check your hard drive. mine consistently read 10 mb/s to 55, which is really uneven and could easily explain video hiccups.

but i think a lot more of it is in your head than you think. i would doubt your processor has much to do with it unless it's defective. run a stress test for a few hours and see if there are any problems, or open your task manager and watch your cpu usuage as you play a game. if the cpu spikes, that says something.

also, these c2ds are known for their OC ability. the idea is to be able to OC it without having to buy a new chip every 6 months, heh. so you may as well take advantage of the chip and OC it, IMO.

 

[Dazzeerr]

It's a bit confusing, monitors usually cause "Ghosting" but that monitor has a 5ms response time so you shouldn't be noticing it that much.

The processor/graphics card are up to par because i run CoD4 on a 8500GT/E4400, your on all low settings tho? :\ I manage all high and AA x2 with mine, tiny lag spikes here and there but nothing major.

Anyway i guess it could be a faulty motherboard but i'm not too sure. Try reinstalling graphics drivers too, could possibly be causing it. Oh and see if changing the hz from 60 to 72/75 helps too.

Thats all i can really think of.

 

[SERprise]

I'm 99.9% sure it isn't my hard drives

___________________________________________

I guess I'll read up on how to OC my video card/cpu and see if it gets better, if it doesn't.. I guess it's just in my head since I had high expectations upgrading from my athlon64 3000+ 6800gs system I don't think it's in my head but maybe, I'll find out and pray I don't ruin my stuff OC'ing it.. I've always been too scared to OC but it seems pretty much everybody does so I guess it can't be too dangerous if I just follow instructions, I'm sure I can find a number of how-to's here on the forum. My cooler on the CPU is really cheap, it's some low profile Thermaltake one that cost me $5 at Frys. I got my CPU cause it was on sale but it is OEM and I was on a budget, hope it cools well enough. What do you use to monitor temps? I got quite a few results on google but I don't want to end up installing some sort of spyware or something

 

[SERprise]

The processor/graphics card are up to par because i run CoD4 on a 8500GT/E4400, your on all low settings tho? :\ I manage all high and AA x2 with mine, tiny lag spikes here and there but nothing major.

that's what I mean.. my brother in law has an athlon 5000+ with 2 gigs of ram and the same exact video card and his runs smooth as silk I reformatted twice already and right now I literally have nothing installed, not even adobe reader and it is still the same with all of the latest drivers for all of my components. I know people praise intel but this is my first intel PC and I'm not happy. It may not be the CPU that is the problem, I know that.. but it sucks spending $ on newer technology that doesn't run as good as my old PC. I know I don't have the latest and greatest of anything but compared to what I upgraded from it should all outperform my old pc. My speakers, sound card, hard drives, monitor, power supply and case are recycled from my old setup and I spent almost $400 on ram/MB/cpu/video card to only get disappointed so I really want to find out what I can do. What can I use to monitor CPU usage while in-game? There is something like Fraps where it shows fps that I can install?