semi-old computer, what should I upgrade?

Discussion in 'General Hardware' started by vravro, Feb 26, 2014.

  1. vravro

    vravro Member

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    Hey everyone. just wanted to get some feedback on what I should upgrade on my 4 year old computer. Over all I'm fairly happy with it still, but there are obvious slowdowns when playing certain games(titanfall). Here are the specs:

    cpu:
    Intel Core i7-920 Bloomfield 2.66GHz LGA 1366 130W Quad-Core Processor
    cpu cooler:
    Noctua NH-D14 120mm & 140mm SSO CPU Cooler
    hard drive:
    2x SAMSUNG 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5 (raid 0 setup)
    windows 7 pro
    video cards:
    2x EVGA 01G-P3-1282-TR GeForce GTX 280 Superclocked 1GB 512-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP SLI
    memory
    16 gb CORSAIR 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800)
    motherboard
    ASUS P6T Deluxe V2 LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX Intel Motherboard
    power supply
    CORSAIR HX series HX650 650W ATX12V

    My main question is what do you guys thing is the one thing that's slowing things down the most? And if it's more than one thing, do you think I should do a full upgrade? would an ssd drive help at all? Any help is appreciated
     
  2. Neo Cyrus

    Neo Cyrus Ancient Guru

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    黃仁勳 stole my 4090
    If you OC your i7-920 to 4GHz the thing slowing you down the most will be your GTX 280.

    Get a new video card and SSD and you'll see a huge performance increase. I'm basically still using (pretty much) that same CPU.
     
  3. vravro

    vravro Member

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    Nice! Thanks for the feedback. Yes, I forgot to mention that the cpu was overclocked. It's running at about 3.8ghz right now. And I'm pretty much already planning on upgrading to ssd, so that's great to know. Any recommendations on video card?
     
  4. sverek

    sverek Guest

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    Really depends on the games and the price you willing to pay.

    For high end it would be:
    Nvidia 780 is great card for HD resolution (1080) and has strong reliability and future proof, unless you you considering switching to higher resolution monitor.

    AMD offering 290/290X that will surpass 780 performance. However price might be unstable due to bitmining rush.
    290 with aftermarket cooler is a very good choice.

    Middle class would be Nvidia 770 or AMD 280X.

    If you not in hurry you can wait for nvidia Maxwell, which got very promising new architecture.

    edit: Also, SSD won't boost your fps unless you playing open world games.
    SSD speeds up game load, and might prevent freezing due to not loaded models, but don't expect any significant fps boost.
     
    Last edited: Feb 26, 2014

  5. Pzykotik

    Pzykotik Guest

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    Go for the NVidia 780. Great card, and it's not too expensive.
     
  6. vravro

    vravro Member

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    Nvidia 780 it is, thanks for all the help!

    Does this also include loading/unloading assets into a scene, like in Skyrim? This happens to me constantly and does cause a lot of hiccups.
     
  7. sverek

    sverek Guest

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    I think it depends. It might be GPU side not being able to process all rich scenery visual data or actually hard drive fetching new models/effects for the scene.

    However hiccups are more common with high CPU usage or Hard Drive data fetch.
    Loading Skyrim from SSD might actually solve this.

    edit: Also, skyrim with mods consumes lots of VRAM (video card RAM). If you running at HD (1920x1080) resolution, its fine.
    However if you running on 1440 or above, there chances 780's 3GB memory might not be enough.

    I've no idea if anybody experienced VRAM outage, maybe some Skyrim players with 780 can shed light on it.
     
    Last edited: Feb 26, 2014
  8. vravro

    vravro Member

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    Just an update. Got a gtx 780 ti today and the result is INCREDIBLE. I was completely floored playing every game on ultra high at 60 fps(looked like 60). fixed every problem I was having, including the hiccups in Skyrim(with every possible gfx upgrade mod). This is probably the best upgrade I've ever done. Thanks for all the help!
     
  9. scoter man1

    scoter man1 Ancient Guru

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    I'd still vote for a SSD down a little down the line if you can get one. They make a big difference too. Congrats on the 780 ti.

    I feel like you should update your specs in your user cp, lol. Doesn't really look right
     
  10. 0blivious

    0blivious Ancient Guru

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    I like the old specs. :nerd:

    +1 for an SSD.

    Its worth it for the dramatically faster windows loading time alone. What used to take a minute now takes about 7 seconds. I may buy another 128/256GB SSD just for the slow map load, online games like BF4 and (presumably) Titanfall.
     

  11. oddwaytoolive

    oddwaytoolive Guest

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    did you up your clock speeds on the cpu .?
     
  12. Barry J

    Barry J Ancient Guru

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    +1 SSD will really speed the system up I was amazed with the difference it made I was so impressed I removed all HDD and now I run 5 x SSDs i bought 5 to spread the usage rather than 1 big SSD I use a 500GB USB HD for backups


    My PC starts and is usable faster than my ipad retina just to give you an idea of how quick.
     
    Last edited: Mar 1, 2014
  13. clawhamer

    clawhamer Ancient Guru

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    Moving up from a 280 to a 780 ti is quite a jump... put an SSD in there and you likely won't feel the need to upgrade your system for another year or two.

    I'd try and get that 920 to an even 4.0 :)
     
  14. vravro

    vravro Member

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    Thanks everyone. My cpu clock speed is at 3.8ghz right now. I usually keep it there just for safety, but I'll try getting it to 4.0 since I have a nice cooler for it.

    Any recommendation or tips on ssd types/brand/setup? the motherboard storage spec are:

    PATA: 1 x ATA100 2 Dev. Max
    SATA 3Gb/s: 6
    SATA RAID: 0/1/5/10

    edit: just OCed cpu to 4.0ghz. So far so good :)
     
    Last edited: Mar 2, 2014
  15. Barry J

    Barry J Ancient Guru

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    I have samsung and crucial SSDs can't fault them
     

  16. Mineria

    Mineria Ancient Guru

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    Isn't a problem even with ultra res textures as long as one uses the memory patch and ENB-Boost.

    The 920 itself needs some overclock to avoid bottlenecks on CPU dependent tasks, 3.5-4.0Ghz should be fine.
     
  17. Mineria

    Mineria Ancient Guru

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    Depends on which Samsung, EVO uses TLC while PRO uses MLC.
    TLC is fine for a disk only containing games and none important data, for important data MLC is preferred in addition with a good backup strategy.

    Crucial M500 is good from 480GB and up, since the lower spaced disks sit at SATA 2 write speeds, so unless you basically only need fast reads your better of with a SanDisk Ultra Plus below 480GB.
     

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