Upgrade my computer for better performance

B

Bergy

Posts: 6   +0
Hi everyone,

First off my English is not that great so bare with me ...

I find that my current computer lacks performance when it comes to gaming (lags, poor FPS, takes too long loading). This is a computer i have bought second hand. I was wondering if i could optimize it to better fit my needs.

Goal : Run World of Warcraft with 25 addons at maximum settings. I currently run dual monitors (25.5IN ASUS VW266H 2MS BLACK 16:10 SPK and Samsung Syncmaster T220 22")
Used for : Playing Wow 99.9% of the time / watching movies / web browsing
Store : buying my parts at a local branch : Mycrobites


The built :

OS : Windows Seven Home Premium 64 Bits
CPU : AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core Processor 6000+ 64 Bits 3.00GHz (Socket Am2)
MTB : Asus M3A Sam2 (Pcie, 4DDR2/Sata/Son/Lan)
Ram : Kingston 2X1024 Megs DDR2 800 Mhz
HD : Seagate 500g 7,200rpm
Power Supply : Cooler Master 650W model :Rs-650-ACAA-E3
Video card : EVGA Geforce 9800 GTX+ 512 MB DDR3
Case : Antec nine hundred two

Any suggestions on where to start ?
i don't plan on a complete overhaul neither ...
 
Everything looks good, except that you're running with just 2gb of RAM. It might not be too much of an improvement, but try upgrading to 3.
My rig runs WoW almost full spec, and i've only got half the graphics capability of yours + my cpu's a 2.2ghz, but I have 6gb of RAM.
 
What's your budget?
I would suggest moving up to a Phenom CPU, 4GB of RAM and maybe a GTS 450. WoW likes a very fast processor so go for high clock-speed and then overclock it.
 
Im on a Student budget, which is to say it aint all that much. it's starts at a 300 range for now.

I'm looking on AMD's website and are you referring to the standard Phenom or Phenom II ?
Ram will be update to 4gig this coming weekend.

Would the CPU be a better improvement compared to the video card for now, since my budget is rather small ?
 
I think that'd be 300 CAD, seeing where the OP's from. Clarification would help.

Also, I think the only thing that needs upgrading is the CPU and RAM. A new motherboard and DDR3 RAM is unnecessary, especially for a game like WoW. Just get a high-clocked triple\quad-core CPU and OC it if need be, grab another 2GB of a decent, inexpensive RAM brand like Kingston, OCZ, Crucial or Corsair, and spend some cash on a new cooler, if you have any left over. You should be able to get great performance on WoW without any problems IMHO.

Besides, a new mobo will force you to completely reinstall Windows from scratch, which is a hassle I don't think you want.
 
Ordering from Newegg Canada shouldn't be too far off Newegg US prices. Still I imagine, about 300 of whoever's dollars.
 
No, but it does support a Phenom CPU, with a BIOS upgrade most likely. A Phenom should still do the trick IMHO; a Phenom II is not necessary and the OP specifically stated that he doesn't wanna do a "complete overhaul", which would essentially be changing the board, CPU & RAM, among others. The Phenoms are also pretty cheap IIRC; the X4 9850BE is for $73 on Newegg, CPU-only.

Besides, I doubt Phenom II support will be far behind. In fact, some people have already got it to work with the X3 720 and X4 940\945, as seen here and here.
 
Thanks for all the help from everyone !

It was indeed 300$ CAD ( sorry about that, all clarify at the beginning next time around. It didn't occured to me HelloKitty was asking for my currency at the time )
Installed another 2gb of RAM this morning. (Same one as i already have).
I'm looking into the Phenoms CPU as stated by Rage. So i fi got this right i have two options opened to me :

-AMD Phenom II X3 740 Triple-core
-AMD Phenom 9850 Quad-core

Either will do just fine, so just take the cheapest one of them ?

Question to Rage : You mentioned adding a new cooler, that would be a CPU cooler right ?
If so, any suggestions ?

Sorry about all the "noob" questions. I'm just starting learning computer stuff ... lots to learn
 
The X3 720 is the one that's been reported to work, not the X3 740; it's not a given however, and more like a toss-up, since there isn't much info available about whether or not it will definitely work. I'd suggest playing it safe and getting the X4 9850 instead. Be aware that you may need to flash your BIOS using your current CPU first so the new CPU is detected properly.

And yes, I was talking about a CPU cooler; a great, inexpensive cooler would be the Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro.
 
At about $300 I still think that going for a Phenom II on a relatively cheap board is a much better upgrade option instead of spending on an older CPU. Later, the OP could have simply upgraded to a better GPU.
 
Good call; you should be set for quite some time with that setup. You can also buy some cheaper RAM; there're usually some cheap GeiL and Mushkin kits on Newegg for USD ~70, and they'll work just as well as the G.SKILL kit.
 
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