Processor Help

[Mr. Teriyaki]

so i made a thread about TF2 not working for me, and many people say that my processor is outdated. (im a computer noob btw)
don't really know what processor is good or not
any tips and help for me to understand how to determine which processors are old or new, fast or slow, good or bad?
Intel is good, or bad? i know theres like one that is AMD? Intel > AMD? or vise versa :O
thanks!

~anyone have links for me to read to educate myself with CPU talk ? :O

 

[Snipeye]

www.tomshardware.com is a good website to go to to learn about all things PC.

There's a lot to fill you in about on CPUs, but I think a better way to go about this is this:

Give us your current motherboard (model if possible), CPU, and RAM. Then let us know how much you're willing to spend to upgrade.

Future posters: Do not turn this into an AMD/Intel flame war. Help a clan member out and stay focused on trying to give him the best information/advice as possible.

 

[Mr. Teriyaki]

Not sure if this is the mother board
Asus P5LD2 or American Megatrends

i got this form my system properties:
CPU: Intel Pentium(R) D CPU 3.40GHz 3.41GHz
RAM: 3GB

can spend $100- $200

 

[LeviTheDegu]

Suggesting the required is (1.7 GHz Processor)..I don't know if this is a processor issue...

here's what's recommended by VALVE: Pentium 4 processor (3.0GHz, or better), 1GB RAM, DirectX? 9 level Graphics Card, Windows? Vista/XP/2000, Mouse, Keyboard, Internet Connection


edits: What is the issue you're having with TF2?

 

[Snipeye]

I looked at the previous post, Teriyaki, and really, the processor you have SHOULD be fine. But upgrading can't hurt, especially when it comes to gaming. Someone mentioned that defragging isn't a good idea. I don't see why you shouldn't defrag a mechanical hard drive (SSDs, however, you shouldn't defrag).

Did you do all the steps they outlined in the previous thread, most importantly

Close Steam. Delete "ClientRegistry.blob" from the Steam folder and restart Steam.

- Verify your game's cache file integrity (Link: How To)

I've had an issues with my FPS for L4D and what I ended up doing was deleting the game, then reinstalling and patching it again. FPS shot up from 40-50fps to just over 80. Might wanna try doing the same with TF2.

 

[Mr. Teriyaki]

I looked at the previous post, Teriyaki, and really, the processor you have SHOULD be fine. But upgrading can't hurt, especially when it comes to gaming. Someone mentioned that defragging isn't a good idea. I don't see why you shouldn't defrag a mechanical hard drive (SSDs, however, you shouldn't defrag).

Did you do all the steps they outlined in the previous thread, most importantly

Close Steam. Delete "ClientRegistry.blob" from the Steam folder and restart Steam.

- Verify your game's cache file integrity (Link: How To)

I've had an issues with my FPS for L4D and what I ended up doing was deleting the game, then reinstalling and patching it again. FPS shot up from 40-50fps to just over 80. Might wanna try doing the same with TF2.

OooOoOooOoooOooo

i uninstalled TF2 and installed it back and i went on a 16 man server and i got 60-100 FPS
but i gotta try it on BM since i play that map the most! Hope it works

 

[Snipeye]

Awesome news Teriyaki! Let us know how it works out for ya.

 

[Ph?bus]

www.tomshardware.com is a good website to go to to learn about all things PC.

Proof? Toms itself is trash, but the forums probably have a few good people in it.
I'd recommend Anand over Toms.


There isn't a solid answer as to which is better (AMD vs Intel), but it's just which is better at what price point, and depending on your intents with the computer.

I have to go now, so I will edit this post later. lol.

E/ Okay, now back to what I was saying.
So, it all boils down to the price point and what you plan on doing. If you're going to be gaming, and don't want to drop too much more than $100, AMD will be your best bet, since under $160 (for gaming) is their area of expertise. If you're going to be video compiling, and still want to be conservative with your money, AMD will win again with their super cheap six cores. But, if you do want more absolute performance, Intel is the way to go (for the $200+, minus the six-cores).

tl;dr Neither is better than the other, they each have their perks.

 

[a pet rock]

I suggested against defragging his HDD because it's a lot of work and unlikely to help the problem. Not to mention, some people don't like deleting all of their files. Yeah yeah, you can just back up your files, but unless you already own an external HDD that's even more effort. I can't even imagine trying to back up 200GB of files onto CDs/DVDs.

Also, the "Recommended" hardware that Valve has was released three years ago before the ~120 updates. Lots of those updates just added more crap that your CPU has to think about (hats. lots of hats) and on top of that Valve has gotten pretty sloppy with all of their updates. I think every major update has had at least three smaller ones right after it to fix everything they messed up. TF2 is not optimized.

And I thought we had gone through all the verifying, .blob deleting, reinstalling options in the previous thread?

 

[Snipeye]

Defragging isn't a lot of work. Just Disk Defrag, and click run, and let it do its thing. Go do your homework, work out. It does it on its own. And you don't have to back up anything. I don't know where you're getting the idea a person must back up everything before doing a disk defrag. A system restore maybe, but not a disk defrag.

And yeah, everyone posted up how to clean everything up and all, but if everyone actually read all the posts closely enough, you would have noticed that he never did say he did all of them. Which is why I re-suggested the methods, as there were several suggestions for him, and he only completed a few of them.

Tomshardware being trash is debatable, but if you're a complete noob to all things PC, it does have some information that can be beneficial for a person to look over. My fault for not mentioning anandtech.com as another useful website, as I did in another topic.

And if everyone read his very last post, it looks like reinstalling the game DID help improve his gaming experience, which we will all just wait for him to post an update about.

 

[a pet rock]

I don't know where you're getting the idea a person must back up everything before doing a disk defrag. A system restore maybe, but not a disk defrag.

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Dammit.

 

[Mr. Teriyaki]

hmm it seems that i have only 9 FPS on BM when ppl are crowded together, in other times i get about 15-16

 

[a pet rock]

Tried lowering the settings or using extreme configs? I'm currently using a config to lower my settings below minimum just to get the game playable. Of course, it's also turbine 32-slot....

 

[Ph?bus]

I edited my post. Go read.

 

[Mr. Teriyaki]

Suggesting the required is (1.7 GHz Processor)..I don't know if this is a processor issue...

here's what's recommended by VALVE: Pentium 4 processor (3.0GHz, or better), 1GB RAM, DirectX? 9 level Graphics Card, Windows? Vista/XP/2000, Mouse, Keyboard, Internet Connection


edits: What is the issue you're having with TF2?

My FPS is at 8 whenver i join a server, (about 24 man server)
dunno how to fix, i was told that my processor is no use anymore.
My FPS is at 60-100 when the server has 4 ppl :O

 

[WarliKe]

Hmm.. I am guessing here, maybe you have too many back panel programs running at the same time, try closing programs that you don't use but windows starts them auto. When was the first time this problem appeared? Whats your cpu operating temp?; most of the time a hot processor gives slow frame rates, check air flow.

Hope this help you

 

[Mr. Teriyaki]

hmm it seems that i have great FPS of 30 when i join a server but after a minute or so i get 10

 

[cool breeze]

Google Belarc Advisor, download and post the information it gives you. Not knowing the entirety of your hardware profile makes determining your bottleneck(s) an issue. For instance, if you are playing on a laptop, now would be a good time to drop that bomb on us, etc..

 

[Mr. Teriyaki]

Google Belarc Advisor, download and post the information it gives you. Not knowing the entirety of your hardware profile makes determining your bottleneck(s) an issue. For instance, if you are playing on a laptop, now would be a good time to drop that bomb on us, etc..

Part1 , Part 2 , and Part 3

im using a desktop not a laptop

 

[cool breeze]

I was pretty sure you were using a desktop . I just meant that information like that is a game-changer and the kind of thing people will need to know when assisting you in tech situations.

I reviewed your Belarc profile (thanks for taking my advice, this is now easier) and it would seem you missed out on getting the "good" revision of your motherboard. You have a 1.xx, the Rev 2.xx+ mobos can support C2D (Core 2 Duo) processors, which are superior to the chip you have now. This will make upgrading less of a steep change unfortunately.

There are available processor upgrades for you. They may, or may not, however, increase the performance of your PC enough to rectify some of the issues you are having with TF2. You could beef your graphics up, but right now, running on a Pentium D is probably one of your biggest speed bumps (besides not having much in the way of FSB clocks and maximum RAM frequencies). While your processor may be choking your performance, you are going to have to make a decision about your motherboard:

- Upgrade it until everything that is plugged into cannot be better withOUT a new motherboard

- Buy a new motherboard (or "platform") to start with and move forward.

The latter will likely be the most cost effective in terms of the long-run, but it will most likely cost the most up front because it requires more purchases than your first option.

If you choose to go with the first, there are a handful of processors you can plug in there that aren't quite the speed and performance of a C2D from Intel, but are the tier of performance (I'm guessing) directly beneath that particular product line. For your specific motherboard not being a Revision 2, but a Revision 1, I've seen suggested the two following processors: Pentium D 960 (just above your 945 in performance) and the Pentium 4 670. Whether or not they are your best CPU upgrade options, I am not certain. I gathered this all from quick glances, and I'm more of an AMD guy anyway.