CPU or GPU Upgrade?

[isaac12345]

Hi all,

Below is my gaming current rig -
Intel C2D e4500 (2.2 Ghz) overclocked to 2.7Ghz
Stock cooler
MSI P35 Neo2-FR
2 X 1Gb corsair ddr2 800 4-4-4-12 2.1V RAM
MSI NX8800GT-T2D512E-OC
OCZ PSU 600SXS StealthXStream 600W
CoolerMaster RC330
HANNSG HW173AB ( 1440 X 900)

This rig , along with the keyboard, mouse and the speakers cost me around 700 pounds at the time. Being the cheapy student that I am, I want to squeeze as much as possible out of it before going for a platform revamp. Also, I aimed for this build to be able to play Crysis at that resolution with high settings without AA, which it did quite nicely ( and I fell in love with the game!)
I want my upgrade to last atleast a year or more, so I am thinking of getting a Gelid Tranquillo and overclock the CPU to atleast 3GHz. I am also thinking of getting a Radeon 5850, and then subsequently a monitor with a native res of 1920X1200 to justify the 5850. I want this rig to be able to play Crysis 2 .This should cost me around 400 quid over a period of 3 to 4 months.
But after reading this article (http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/...ming,2588.html) about gpu and cpu limitations, I am confused as to whether the e4500 will be a bottleneck for the 5850 at resolutions of 1680x1050 and above.
What do you guys think? Any suggestions? Thanks!

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

I would upgrade the graphics card nearer to the time that Crysis 2 is released at the end of the year. Crysis 2 may scale better on lower end hardware than the previous game but OTH it may actually really tax graphics cards on the higher settings. Hence it is better to wait and see what the game actually requires for a graphics card and you would probably be able to get something faster for your budget by then anyway IMHO.

An upgrade to around 4GB of RAM if you use a 64 bit OS and a quad core would be a good place to start. I would look at a secondhand Q6600,Q6700,Q9300 or a Q9400 off Ebay. I have seen these processors sell for under £100 on Ebay IIRC.

[kalniel]

I am confused as to whether the e4500 will be a bottleneck for the 5850 at resolutions of 1680x1050 and above.

No, it will not be a meaningful bottleneck.

[isaac12345]

I would upgrade the graphics card nearer to the time that Crysis 2 is released at the end of the year. Crysis 2 may scale better on lower end hardware than the previous game but OTH it may actually really tax graphics cards on the higher settings. Hence it is better to wait and see what the game actually requires for a graphics card and you would probably be able to get something faster for your budget by then anyway IMHO.

An upgrade to around 4GB of RAM if you use a 64 bit OS and a quad core would be a good place to start. I would look at a secondhand Q6600,Q6700,Q9300 or a Q9400 off Ebay. I have seen these processors sell for under £100 on Ebay IIRC.

Thanks for the advice. I was thinking of doing the same. Unfortunately I've never shopped off ebay. Would you know of any tried and trusted sellers?

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

Thanks for the advice. I was thinking of doing the same. Unfortunately I've never shopped off ebay. Would you know of any tried and trusted sellers?

I would look at the sellers previous feedback and what they have sold before. Also if something looks to good to be true then be a bit weary but again check the sellers feedback as sometimes people want to get rid of all their old computer parts quickly. I would only pay by paypal and use recorded or special delivery for the items.

[Salazaar]

My system (<---) runs pretty much everything I throw at it with a moderate degree of success.

[Pob255]

Hard to say with Crysis 2 as it's not out.
crysis was a general system pig, high ram demand, high graphics demand and high cpu demand (mainly because of the physics system the engine uses which runs off the cpu, you can see this when you do something like demolish a shack, all the physics will cause a big cpu spike)

For your resolution I'd say that's a pretty good system an upgrade of OS and an extra 2x1gb of memory (if you can get it for a reasonable price) would be a good move in the short term.

I'd also agree with CAT on a 2nd hand cpu, not nesserally a quad core, even an e6600 can be got fairly cheap and "should" hit 3ghz on your system without need for voltage increase (well I didn't on my e6600+MSI P35 Neo2-FR so I know it's possible )

My big word of warning about fleabay is that most of the buy-it-now offers are just plain ripoffs, often far higher than you can buy from other e-tailers.
Acutions on 2nd hand stuff is where the bargins come from and this is where feedback can be far less useful, as these are sometime just people selling off stuff after an upgrade so they are not powersellers or sell much at all, so don't generate the feedback.
However these can often be the best people to buy from because they are just getting rid of stuff and trying to get some money back after an upgrade and not reselling to make a profit.

Above all, figure out a max price and don't bid over it, don't get into bidding wars, if it overs over your max just wait for the next one and always check current online prices first.

[isaac12345]

Hard to say with Crysis 2 as it's not out.
crysis was a general system pig, high ram demand, high graphics demand and high cpu demand (mainly because of the physics system the engine uses which runs off the cpu, you can see this when you do something like demolish a shack, all the physics will cause a big cpu spike)

For your resolution I'd say that's a pretty good system an upgrade of OS and an extra 2x1gb of memory (if you can get it for a reasonable price) would be a good move in the short term.

I'd also agree with CAT on a 2nd hand cpu, not nesserally a quad core, even an e6600 can be got fairly cheap and "should" hit 3ghz on your system without need for voltage increase (well I didn't on my e6600+MSI P35 Neo2-FR so I know it's possible )

My big word of warning about fleabay is that most of the buy-it-now offers are just plain ripoffs, often far higher than you can buy from other e-tailers.
Acutions on 2nd hand stuff is where the bargins come from and this is where feedback can be far less useful, as these are sometime just people selling off stuff after an upgrade so they are not powersellers or sell much at all, so don't generate the feedback.
However these can often be the best people to buy from because they are just getting rid of stuff and trying to get some money back after an upgrade and not reselling to make a profit.

Above all, figure out a max price and don't bid over it, don't get into bidding wars, if it overs over your max just wait for the next one and always check current online prices first.

Thanks for the advice. I see that you have the same motherboard as I do. I seem to be having a problem OCing my e4500 beyond 2.7 Ghz on a stock cooler and stock voltage. Did you have to increase any voltages for your overclock?