Upgrading Comp, Need Advice

[Shinoda]

Hi Guys,

I’m looking for some guidance from all your super techy guys out there. I built this machine quite a few years ago for gaming and as you can image, its gotten a little slow. I primaraly play Rift now and it has difficulty running on their ultra video settings. I pretty much have to set the settings to minimum to do any kind of raiding. I’m thinking it’s time to upgrade and I’m curious if you think I can upgrade a few components or if I have to replace the entire machine in order to play Rift on ultra smoothly? I don’t have the model number on the HDD but it’s nothing stellar... probably a 7200 rpm 64gb HDD. It's running Windows 7 64-bit in an Antec P180 case. Here’s what I’ve got so if anyone can offer recommendations I’d be really appreciative. Thank you!!

ASUS CROSSHAIR AM2 NVIDIA nForce 590 SLI MCP ATX AMD Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131593

AMD Athlon 64 X2 6400+ Windsor 3.2GHz Socket AM2 125W Dual-Core Processor ADX6400CZWOF
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819103191

CORSAIR XMS2 DHX 8GB (4 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Quad Kit Desktop Memory Model Q2X8G6400C4DHX
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820145217

EVGA 768-P2-N835-A3 GeForce 8800GTX 768MB 384-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814130307

CORSAIR HX Series CMPSU-620HX 620W ATX12V v2.2 and EPS12V 2.91 SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Modular Active...
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817139002

 

[wolfeking]

you should defineatly upgrade the video card. I would suggest something like a GTS250 or HD5750 or such.

 

[Shinoda]

Think upgrading the video card and maybe picking up an SSD would make much of a difference in gaming? Or would it not make much of a difference n be a waste of money?

 

[linkin]

SSD will only affect the time your system takes to boot the OS and load programs, as well as levels in games. It won't increase your FPS but it will stop the stuttering when you load a new level. Still, I only use my SSD for OS and web browser, the F3 1TB is more than fast enough for games.

 

[daisymtc]

Video card

 

[Shinoda]

Two questions than...

1. Is it possible that by just replacing my video card to a better one that I'll increase my gaming performance while running higher video settings?

2. My MB says it takes a PCI Express x16 card... does that mean I can use a PCI Express 2.0 x16 or a PCI Express 2.1 x16?

 

[wolfeking]

you should be able to use a 2.0 x 16 card in it. any pci express slot 1.1 or beyond is backward compatble.

 

[StrangleHold]

The only thing would be the video card. Just get one good enough to move on to your next system with your power supply. The rest is pretty much out dated.