Aviyur

Performance Tweaking and Upgrades Decisions

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Performance Tweaking and Upgrades Decisions

from Demigod Forums

Hi, i've had my machine for the past 2 years. And basically, lately its starting to struggle with new games, i've been chopping and changing bits and pieces and currently, though my machine rapes older games, it has troubles with newer ones, i.e I play demigod on LOW fidelity everything and my SIMspeed will still drop to abysmal rates during later gameplay.

Anyway, i'm trying to pin-point exactly what piece of hardware is slowing me down. My assumption is processor, but I need some help from you real techheads since this machine was my first build.

Its currently got:

  • Core2 Duo 2.1ghz processor(not sure on model codes etc, since it is pretty old
  • abit Fatal1ty FP-IN9 SL motherboard
  • GeIL Black Dragon 4GB (4x1GB) PC2-8500C5 1066MHz DDR2 Dual Channel(I am aware my mobo doesn't support the 1066mhz of the ram, and only up to 800)
  • XFX ATI Radeon HD 4890 1024MB GDDR5
  • Some sort of WD Raptor drive.

Anyway, Just wondering if any of you teckies can give me an idea as to whether picking up a 3ghz Dual Core processor(£137.99) will be sufficient to "future proof" my machine for at least another year. Or if going with these parts that i've selected will ultimately be more cost effective in the long run:

  • MSI 790FX-GD70 AMD 790FX (Socket AM3) PCI-Express DDR3

  • AMD Phenom II X3 Tri Core 720 Black Edition 2.8GHz

At a total of £245.90 (I will also get a new case if I take this option as my antec900 is a wee bit cramped. But thats a given in either situation)

Thanks for the help, Karma given for awesomesauce useful answers.

Or if I should just try my hand at overclocking and hope I dont blow anything up.

       
   
168,838 views 32 replies
Reply #26 from WinCustomize Forums Top

Well, I’ll take the CPU cooler off this weekend, give it a good clear out from dust etc, stick it back in

If you do this make sure you get a hold of some Arctic Silver, you can get it at radio shack... do not get anything other than Arctic Silver... It’s the best...  and be sure to follow the directions for correct application.  THIS IS A MUST!!!

Unfortunately I can't actually test my PSU

Actually can if you can read a mulitmeter, but if you can't then take your power supply to a computer shop and have them test it.

Know that too little power will ruin electronics and too much power will fry them... anything between what’s right and what’s wrong will slowly kill your electronics.

My Pentium 4 runs at 130F (54.4°C) all the time even with a third party HSF.

If it’s that temp running idle then you have issues...  yes your CPU can handle it...  but you are decreasing the life span quicker.  Running at such a high temp at idle could mean that there are other issues... 

CPU gets to 70°C (158°F) or more at load.

at load yes, but definitely not at idle because that means temps are hitting in the danger zone during load and what damage are you causing at peak.  No one can tell me the CPU never hits peak.  Opening programs make the CPU hit peak so what kind of damage are you causing your CPU over a period of a year using the PC everyday...

Aviyur, get your power supply checked and you need to get the PC cooled down.

 

System: 82.4°F, CPU: 136.4°F, Aux: 107.6°F, Core1: 174.2°F, Core2: 172.4°F

Kona0197, you need to get your PC checked too those temps are not going to make your computer suddenly burst into flames, but it will ruin your computer over time.  Your gaming performance will suffer for this and the more you can the worse it will get.

 

Both, Aviyur and Kona0197, try running this program called Prime95. This will help you get an idea of how your CPU performs. Even though you have not over clocked your system you can see the temps of the CPU under stress while Prime95 is running and you seeing the temps with SpeedFan

For overclockers, Prime95 has a feature called "Torture Test" that allows maximum stress testing on the CPU and RAM. There are several options allowing the stress test to focus on the memory, processor, or a balance of both.

Usually Prime95 will detect an error within a matter of minutes if an overclock is not stable, however many people like to let the system "burn-in" overnight to ensure long-term stability.

The benefit of this version is that it is multi-threaded and will automatically manage worker threads to fully stress all cores of your CPU.

Disclaimer:

EXTREME Over-clocking provides files for download "as is" without any warranty, liability, or technical support and may be used for informational purposes only. The entire risk as to the results of the usage of the software is assumed by you.

http://files.extremeoverclocking.com/file.php?f=103

 

Reply #27 from WinCustomize Forums Top

Did I mention that the temp I suggested was when I was playing a hardware intensive game? Normal temp on this CPU is around 92 to 100 F. And the program you suggested will not run on my machine as I use Linux not Windows.

Sins of a Solar Empire II
Reply #28 from WinCustomize Forums Top

FYI  I ran Prime95 for nearly 10 minutes and under a full load my CPU never reached 70°C (158°F) and at idle I sit with anywhere between 30°C and 32°C (86°F and 89.6°F) and during normal use I average 40°C (104°F)

Reply #29 from WinCustomize Forums Top

Did I mention that the temp I suggested was when I was playing a hardware intensive game?

nope, you didn't and right on about the linux.  Whats games do you play???

 

Reply #31 from WinCustomize Forums Top

Cool, what distro of linux are you using, I use Ubuntu myself

Reply #32 from WinCustomize Forums Top

Ubuntu 9.04 here. Might switch to Xandros. Who knows.