My computer has been running well for about 2 years but I recently decided to upgrade my graphics card from a geforce 7900GS to a raedon 4850 1GB. I can now run most stuff at full settings but some games seem to struggle a bit. I think the bottleneck has moved from my graphics card to either my ram or cpu, but I'm not sure which. Here are the specs: CPU: Core 2 Duo E6300 (1.86ghz) RAM: 2 x 1GB Corsair DDR2 667MHz Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-965P-DS3 Main HDD: WD3200JS Caviar 320GB 7200RPM SATAII 8MB OS: Windows 7 64 bit If I upgrade the RAM, should I get 2 x 1GB or 1 x 2GB? (1 x 2GB is slightly cheaper). I assume it has to be the same speed - would I be better off replacing what I have with 2 x 2GB of faster ram? And if I upgrade the CPU, is it worth going to quad core yet? Outside of games I'm pretty happy with the PC's performance, although I have noticed the occasional slowdown.
get 2 2gb sticks of ram, 800mhz or faster if the board supports it and the price is good. trying to run with 4 1gb may cause issues with the motherboard. And overclock the cpu as much as you can without overheating it. .
What games are you having problems with? - I can play Team Fortress 2 and Left 4 Dead on the highest settings at 1920x1200 and you currently have better or the same specs for the most part. I have a c2d 6750 which runs at 2.66ghz - I would think that with a good cooler you could overclock your processor easily to that...
I used to have the same CPU as you, I overclocked mine to 3.2Ghz without touching any voltages using decent air cooling (Tuniq Tower), as above really, I would recommend a decent HSF if you don't already have one and 2x2GB sticks of the highest your motherboard supports.
I can play TF2 and L4D on max settings fine. I tried the Lost Planet: Extreme Condition demo and was experiencing a lot of lag, even at low settings and I am also getting lag in Mass Effect. Interestingly, these are both console ports... I'll try overclocking my 6300 tonight. I have a Freezer 7 pro cooler. It's currently running at 45C idle 55C load which seems a bit hot. I think I need to reapply the thermal paste but I left my arctic silver 5 at uni (I'm home now for a couple of weeks). According to http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/forum/page-221745_11_0.html, the E6300 can go up to at least 70C, so I should be fine!
overclock the CPU and get more RAM, as chrisb2e9 suggested, buy 2x2GB for a total of 6GB, that should bring your PC up to today's standard
55*C at load is not hot. 70*C at load is hot. No worries Keep going Make sure it's stable at the end though! No use running at 4GHz if you try and game and it can't hack it!
But if I keep my current 2 x 1GB doesn't that mean the new sticks have to be the same speed? Would I see more benefit from an extra 4GB at the same speed or and extra 2GB at a higher speed?
Let's look at your "free" options first. The E6300 processor is running with 266FSB x 7 multiplier giving you your 1.86GHz. Your DDR2-667 memory can run up to 333FSB without overclocking the memory, and raising the FSB to that 333MHz will overclock the E6300 to 2.3GHz which it should do easily on the stock cooler and probably without changing any voltages. If you decide to try it, first set the memory to run at a 1:1 ratio in BIOS (may say 'x2' in Gigabyte but the end result will be 532) and set the graphics bus to 100Hz just so you don't overclock anything but the CPU. If boot goes OK after the FSB boost, test with Prime95 and check temperatures as in the Guide. You'll see from the above your memory speed is the real limiter; either get some DDR2-800 so you can overclock more with the higher bus speed CPUs or I think there's a case for getting an E5200.
The BIOS will set all the RAM at the same speed, yes. I'm not 100% sure whether it sets it all at the same timings too though. You could find a similar pair of 2x1GB sticks, for a total of 4GB all running at the same speed. Or you could replace it all with faster 2x2GB However, 2x2GB will only be faster if you buy faster RAM
ok, I've set everything as you said (lowest memory multiplier is x2) and tried it at 300 FSB. Now it won't POST so I'm resetting the bios...
Up the voltage one notch, and try 280 or 300. You never know, one notch may make all the difference Off-topic: You're in Somerset! That's where I live!
Hmm. I've steadily raised the voltage all the way up to 1.34V from 1.26 (just below the quoted max of 1.35) and it still won't POST at 280 FSB. Could something else be causing a problem? Where abouts? I'm in Yeovil.
I suppose it could be a problem with the motherboard. It won't POST if I turn on the automatic overclocking thing in the BIOS called C.I.A.2. even at stock speed. Also, the on board sound stopped working a couple of months ago. When I save + exit the bios, if a value is set that it doesn't like, e.g. fsb=280 then it usually won't even restart on it's own. If the value is ok (276) then it clicks off straight away and restarts. Is this normal, or do most motherboards switch off on their own no matter what values you put in?
I think i could see 4 ram slots on that board with a max of 8gig so if you are going to buy ram buy 2gig sticks - A pair would be better (4gig - 2x2gig) this'll bust you a little.
try lowering the multiplier to make sure it's not the front side bus that's holding you back. Also try lowering the ram multiplier to rule that out too.
