Birthday computer upgrade.

T

The Real McCoy

Poster
Joined
Apr 28, 2008
Messages
208
Alright, so my birthday is Friday and my family asked me what I wanted and I said money for computer upgrades. Im not at my main computer atm but i can give a short list of specs. I'm basically wondering what I should upgrade. I was thinking maybe processor or mobo and processor (depending on how much money i receive) But just now I saw the Killer NIC Network Card and was wondering if that would be better. Basically, what would you upgrade?

:::::Updated Specs:::::::
Processor:
3.00 gigahertz Intel Pentium D
16 kilobyte primary memory cache
2048 kilobyte secondary memory cache
Mother Board
Intel (Watsonville 2) 975X Motherboard
Board: Intel Corporation OEMD975XWT2G1 AAD33246-105
Serial Number: BQW254800669
Bus Clock: 200 megahertz
GFX Card:
Geforce 8800 GT 512 MB
RAM:
2GB DDR2 RAM, 2 slots open

the main reason i want to upgrade is to get rid of some frame lag i have on tf2 when the game is crowded or there are lots of pyros or explosions around.
Any suggestions would be great :) Thanks!
 
Last edited:
If your processor is a Pentium D then I would say go for a processor upgrade, but if it's a Core 2 then don't.
 
I'm pretty sure its a Pentium D.

If i upgrade my processor how do i make sure it will be compatible with my mobo. I have not done much tinkering before, basically just switching out GFX cards has been all i have done. Also, what would be a good upgrade and how much money are we looking at?
 
Well cost depends on whether your motherboard supports a Core 2 Duo, which may or may not be the case. You can either figure out the model number of your board and look up what processors it supports or you can post a screenshot of the mainboard tab of CPU-Z and I can let you know.

For TF2 a processor upgrade is probably going to give you the largest performance gain since with your graphics card and 2 GB of memory a Pentium D is going to be the biggest bottleneck. A Pentium D is basically two Pentium 4 processors "glued together" with slightly larger cache. Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe TF2 is single threaded so even though you have a dual core processor really it's only using one of the cores which is like using a single core 3 GHz Pentium 4.
 
Last edited:
at 3GHz you should be fine though. If you've got about $300 I would say invest in a nVidia GTX 200 series. Fantastic cards. Make sure you have a big enough PSU though.
 
hey real mccoy d/l belarc advisor. its AWESOME @ tellin ya what ur motherboard is & from there, you can research the motherboard to find out what all cpu's it can support. but to be honest, if its a pent d, im sure the mobo will support c2d (which is great because there more performance in c2d than pent d). currently newegg has a few deals goin on 4 c2d cpu's (even tho its not as good of a selection as they used 2 have). they have an E7400 @ 2.8Ghz for $120 w/ free shipping. if i were u, id go for that, cause i spent $50 more on my current E6750, which is only 2.66 ghz, so by all means take advantage of it. ALSO, dependin on what version ur os is, you may want to consider gettin maybe 1-2 stix more of memory (esp since its uber cheap). just a simple consideration there.
 
Foxhound said:
at 3GHz you should be fine though. If you've got about $300 I would say invest in a nVidia GTX 200 series. Fantastic cards. Make sure you have a big enough PSU though.
Click to expand...

I disagree. His main concern is with lag in TF2 during intense battles. An 8800 GT is more than enough to handle anything TF2 throws at it so the bottleneck must lie somewhere else. I think the problem lies with TF2 being single threaded thus treating his pentium D like a 3.0 Ghz Pentium 4 Prescott. Which will choke during intense battles.

pillar said:
to be honest, if its a pent d, im sure the mobo will support c2d (which is great because there more performance in c2d than pent d).
Click to expand...

That's not entirely true. There are plenty of boards that support Pentium D and not Core 2 Duo. For example any board with an intel chipset series 945GC or lower might support pentium D but will not support Core 2 Duo.
 
Last edited:
I just got my 8800 GT so i'm going to keep that for awhile. I think that the processor is my bottleneck. I currently run XP 32 bit so i could only get 2GB more that the computer would actualy use, which i might do. I'm running Belarc Advisor right now,so ill post that in a few
 
Are you certain that tf2 cannot utilize multiple cores?
edit: updated my specs up top!
 
Last edited:
The Real McCoy said:
Are you certain that tf2 cannot utilize multiple cores?
Click to expand...

No I am not 100% certain, but it is very likely. The feeling seems to be that if it does use multiple cores it is in a extremely limited fashion.

I do know for sure that an 8800GT with 2 GB of RAM should have no trouble with TF2 so your processor seems to be the weak link causing lag during battles. Which would makes sense since there is more to calculate.
 
It seems you can enter mat_queue_mode 2 into the console and it will activate dual core support, but the game becomes highly unstable. I haven't actually tried it, this is just what I have read.
 
Based on my motherboard, what would be a good processor upgrade?
edit: yeah, I just saw that too, however it doesnt work for Pent. D, just core 2
 
Your motherboard has a 975X chipset so it should support 65nm Intel Quad Core or Intel Core 2 Duo processors, but may need a BIOS update for some. It definitely will not support 45nm processors (Wolfdale Core) without a BIOS update and many many manufacturers did not release a BIOS that supports them so watch out for that. Who makes your computer? Gateway?

I would look for a Q6600. Newegg had a disappointing selection of 65nm Core 2 Duo and Quad Core Processors that would work with your board.

It's expensive though, but it appears to be hard to find 65nm processors these days.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115017
 
Last edited:
Gateway made my computer. What does 65nm vs. 45nm mean? Is it worth it getting a quad core if tf2 only uses one? Or would it be better to get a core 2 duo thats a bit faster. Also, the motherboard is 3 years old, do you think it's time to upgrade that as well? Newegg has some good combo deals i think.
 
45nm and 65nm have to do with the manufacturing process intel used to make the processors. Basically what you need to know about it right now is that it means some Core 2 Duo processors are not supported by your board because they are manufactured differently from the ones that are. It doesn't mean they are bad just older (I run a 65nm processor).

It would be better to get a faster dual core for TF2, but I'm having trouble finding one that is supported by your board since they are not made any more.

It's a tricky time for upgrading motherboards because socket 775 is being phased out for intel's newer processors which means unless you get a board that supports intel's latest processors (very expensive) any board you buy is already obsolete and has limited upgrade potential, but you could get a better dual core processor than is available to your older board. It's your call depending on the funds available.
 
yeah, i think i'll just have to wait and see how much i get fund wise before i can decide. You've helped me a ton! Ill check back here once i know how much money i have ot spend. Thanks!

If i can find a good AMD processor and motherboard that would be cool :)

edit: So if i got a new mobo and a dual core AMD processor at 2.8GHZ would it be any beter than my pent D 3.00Ghz?
 
Last edited:
You're welcome. If you need more help and I don't respond in the thread send me a PM and that should get my attention. I don't always check the forums every day but a PM sends me an e-mail notification.

You can also PM me over at Techpowerup.com. I log in there at least once a day and can get back to you fairly quickly.

http://forums.techpowerup.com/member.php?u=7415
 
Last edited:
Yes a new motherboard and an AMD processor would be better than your 3.0 GHz Pentium D. I would suggest getting one of their Phenom Quad cores though. I think they have one for $99 at newegg. The dual cores are kind of dated
 
Another question. If i get a new motherboard and processor then will i need to get a new copy of windows? I am currently running windows xp and don't want to have to switch to vista.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest posts

Back
Top