Time for an upgrade?

[b0redom]

Hi All,
I've currently got the system in my profile - for those too lazy to look, it's:

• X2 4400+
• 8800GTX
• 2GB RAm

I've just installed World In Conflict, and am not able to play it smoothly at 1920x1200. So my question is would I benefit from a GPU upgrade? The latest Custom PC seems to suggest that there's not a massive difference between the 8800GTX and 280GTX? Would a CPU upgrade (to C2D) make a massive difference?

I don't want an upgrade which will just give me a synthetic benchmark improvement, it has to be noticable, as I'm probably going to build a new system when Nehalem arrives....

[kalniel]

Yes you could buy a new card solely to enable you to play latest games smoothly at 1920x1200.

You just have to ask yourself how much you're willing to pay for that requirement.

As the resolution goes up the workload becomes heavier on the GPU, so as long as you can get smooth play at any resolution at all with your CPU, your CPU is not the bottleneck.

[b0redom]

Has anyone upgraded from an 8800GTX to a 280GTX? Does it make a noticable difference - and not just in synthetic benchmarks...

[staffsMike]

I don't think C2D would make much difference. What sort of frame rates are you getting with that setup? I'd lower the Res personally but have you explored other things that might be causing problems.. sound for example.

[b0redom]

Using onboard sound, so that's not a problem. I'll run the performance test again this evening and post back with frame rates.

Cheers...

[Noxvayl]

There is a noticeable difference between the GTX280 and 8800GTX but the difference is nowhere near worth the price you'll pay. If you want really noticeable difference wait for this bad boy> HD4870 X2

Keep in mind those tests were done with the 2 month old 8.5 catalyst beta drivers as well as the card itself was an engineering sample so is going to be improved on, specially with power consumption. As it is it kicks the best nVidia has to offer to touch.

Your better off waiting for the Nehalem CPU's... the difference between your current one and the C2D's is only around 5FPS in games and hardly even noticeable in normal windows. I'd wait a bit and purchase the above mentioned graphics card and then get the Nehalem CPU, motherboard and newer DDR3 memory early next year

[b0redom]

Hmm... when's that due for release? It'll be interesting to see if I can fit it in my Shuttle. Looks like a monster!

[Noxvayl]

I expect its release to be in September but you never know with AMD... they can all of a sudden release it tomorrow without anyone knowing.

How did you get the 8800GTX into your shuttle? Would the GTX280 fit in there as that's bigger than the 8800GTX? If I was to hazard a guess it would be that it won't fit into a shuttle.

[Infinite]

lol, i remember when i changed from a P4 3ghz to the E6600 (still using an Ati X1300Pro). Frames for Guild Wars went up from around 30 to 60.

[kalniel]

lol, i remember when i changed from a P4 3ghz to the E6600 (still using an Ati X1300Pro). Frames for Guild Wars went up from around 30 to 60.

That's because Guild Wars can even run on an Intel chip.. WiC@1920x1200 it is not

[b0redom]

Interestingly I've just had a play, and I can ramp the graphics options up and down, and I still get pretty much the same:

Average 19
Min 7
Max 52

so left everything on max, and dropped the resolution to the absolute minimum - and guess what

Average 19
Min 7
Max 52

Looks like it could be time for a CPU/motherboard upgrade