Computer Help!

[Supertegwyn]

Hey all, I have a pretty shit computer and I want to upgrade to a new one. The problem is that I won't have enough money for a big upgrade until sometime next year. What I'm trying to do now is just get a fairly cheap graphics card that will be able to run Skyrim on Low/Medium/High. My system and some ideas are below:

System:
Processor: Intel Core 2 Quad CPU Q6600 @ 2.40 GHz
OS: Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit
Memory: 4.00 GB
Graphics Card: Nvidia GeForce 8600 GT
Motherboard: Gigabyte EP45T-UD3P
Power: 430W

Suggestions:
Radeon 6570
Radeon 6770 with Antec Basiq 500W
Radeon 6750 with Antec Basiq 500W
Radeon 6790 with Antec Basiq 500W

Would I need to upgrade my motherboard to use any of these cards, and are there any others that are better than this?

 

[Supertegwyn]

I don't want to bump this but I really need this help urgently.

 

[MolotoK]

The 6770 and 6790 are good choices, if you want to upgrade your system, but don't want to buy a completely new system.
U won't need a new power supply though. 430W is more than enough for your system.

One thing to consider is overclocking your Q6600 (if you have decent cooling).
Lazy console ports like Skyrim often can't use all 4 cores of your CPU and are limited by single thread performance. Getting your Q6600 up to 3GHz would probably give u a significant performance boost in many CPU demanding games.

 

[oplinger]

I just got a 6870 for $180, I'd consider that a pretty good deal. However for your suggestions, go with the 6770, or 6790, the higher the last 2 numbers, the higher the power of that class.

However the above poster is wrong. Overclocking to 3GHz won't give you "significant" performance boost. It may give you "noticeable" result, by about 5 FPS. maybe less. Not "significant"

I'd suggest overclocking it to at least 2.7 though. That's a minimum requirement on some games. It hardly makes a difference these days though as games move away from the CPU. And a nifty fact, Skyrim is multi-threaded. Uses all of my cores about equally. So to say the least it at least allocates CPU usage properly.

 

[Wicky_42]

I thought the whole point of the Q6600 was overclocking it - with a decent fan mine's running at 3.6GHz, and testers have got them up to around 4Ghz. Definitely recommend a graphics card upgrade though - I had a 8800GT and although it was doing so gracefully, you could tell it was ageing. I got the Radeon HD6950 (when my 8800GT actually straight up broke down on me), and as i understand it a simple BIOS update or some such makes it perform exactly like the 6970, so I figured it was good bang-for-buck (much like the Q6600 was in it's prime). One thing is that ATI cards don't support PhysX - not a big deal, only a bit annoying when a game (eg Arkham Asylum) bangs on about it but you can't use it, but is a bit more serious if you plan on using dynamics in 3DS Max. Just a little thing that I ran into.

I would have expected your motherboard to support a new graphics card just fine, they are pretty universal. It's processors you'll probably have to change boards for as each generation of chips seems to have it's own socket :/ I would also support you upgrading your power supply, especially if you decide to overclock your processor. Poor powersupply can hamstring your system, so it's much better to be safe than sorry. Check technical reviews before purchasing anything to make sure the product is reliable and good value for money!

 

[MolotoK]

However the above poster is wrong. Overclocking to 3GHz won't give you "significant" performance boost. It may give you "noticeable" result, by about 5 FPS. maybe less. Not "significant"

That depends entirely on the game. In some games a 2.4GHz core2quad is enough and performance depends entirely on the graphics card. In other games, overclocking from 2.4 to 3 GHz could give u a 20fps increase.

And a nifty fact, Skyrim is multi-threaded. Uses all of my cores about equally. So to say the least it at least allocates CPU usage properly.

Not according to this test:
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/skyrim-performance-benchmark,3074-9.html

Skyrim is just another lazy console port.

 

[oplinger]

However the above poster is wrong. Overclocking to 3GHz won't give you "significant" performance boost. It may give you "noticeable" result, by about 5 FPS. maybe less. Not "significant"

That depends entirely on the game. In some games a 2.4GHz core2quad is enough and performance depends entirely on the graphics card. In other games, overclocking from 2.4 to 3 GHz could give u a 20fps increase.

And a nifty fact, Skyrim is multi-threaded. Uses all of my cores about equally. So to say the least it at least allocates CPU usage properly.

Not according to this test:
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/skyrim-performance-benchmark,3074-9.html

Skyrim is just another lazy console port.

I...see, this is the best part.

Skyrim doesn't appear to be optimized for more than two threads.

And to top that off, you may not even no how CPU allocation works.

And about your overclocking increases, 20FPS would be an improvement from a bottle neck(And there are many things that can cause a bottle neck. Not just CPU/GPU cooperation.), not just more CPU power. 2.4 dual core is more than enough power for most games these days. And an unbelievable amount of power for last gen games.

He'd see no real improvement from 2.4 to 3GHz. In fact, me going from 2.4GHz to 3GHz gave me an increase of 5 frames in most of my games.

 

[Gamblerjoe]

I just put together a good gaming rig. My graphics card is a GeForce GTX 550 Ti which cost me $120. If your current motherboard has a PCI-e 16x slot then I reccomend this card. You will be able to keep it around once you are ready to step up to a real gaming PC.

edit: I just looked up your motherboard, and it does have a PCI-e slot. It also uses DDR3 ram which is good. It can take up to 8 gigs, and RAM is cheap so that's always a good option as well. For easily under $200 you could make these upgrades, then when you're ready to go all out, you will only need to get a good case, a better CPU, a motherboard that can take your new CPU (make sure it takes DDR3 ram as well) and a better PSU. For that I recommend figuring out what u are going to have, running the specs into a calculator, then doubling that number. Your PSU will run at peak efficiency when you draw 50% of its max power rating. I also recommend getting one with an 80+ rating. The money you save on electricity will make up for the cost.

As my post implies, you will have to put it together yourself. Don't be afraid, its super easy, and the individual parts should all have their own warranties.

 

[theonecookie]

Hey all, I have a pretty shit computer and I want to upgrade to a new one. The problem is that I won't have enough money for a big upgrade until sometime next year. What I'm trying to do now is just get a fairly cheap graphics card that will be able to run Skyrim on Low/Medium/High. My system and some ideas are below:

System:
Processor: Intel Core 2 Quad CPU Q6600 @ 2.40 GHz
OS: Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit
Memory: 4.00 GB
Graphics Card: Nvidia GeForce 8600 GT
Motherboard: Gigabyte EP45T-UD3P
Power: 430W

Suggestions:
Radeon 6570
Radeon 6770 with Antec Basiq 500W
Radeon 6750 with Antec Basiq 500W
Radeon 6790 with Antec Basiq 500W

Would I need to upgrade my motherboard to use any of these cards, and are there any others that are better than this?

This may be just me but that computer doesn't sound to bad if you just want to play skyrim you may not get anything above the midrange settings but its not hopeless

 

[Gamblerjoe]

Hey all, I have a pretty shit computer and I want to upgrade to a new one. The problem is that I won't have enough money for a big upgrade until sometime next year. What I'm trying to do now is just get a fairly cheap graphics card that will be able to run Skyrim on Low/Medium/High. My system and some ideas are below:

System:
Processor: Intel Core 2 Quad CPU Q6600 @ 2.40 GHz
OS: Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit
Memory: 4.00 GB
Graphics Card: Nvidia GeForce 8600 GT
Motherboard: Gigabyte EP45T-UD3P
Power: 430W

Suggestions:
Radeon 6570
Radeon 6770 with Antec Basiq 500W
Radeon 6750 with Antec Basiq 500W
Radeon 6790 with Antec Basiq 500W

Would I need to upgrade my motherboard to use any of these cards, and are there any others that are better than this?

This may be just me but that computer doesn't sound to bad if you just want to play skyrim you may not get anything above the midrange settings but its not hopeless

I have to agree with this. If you really need improvements, I would start with a video card, then RAM, then run your specs into a calculator to see if u need a better PSU, then a nice case. A coolermaster should run you about $100 and will vastly increase the longevity of your components.

 

[Nalgas D. Lemur]

then a nice case. A coolermaster should run you about $100 and will vastly increase the longevity of your components.

For $70 shipped (and apparently 25% off on top of that right now), I still can't say enough good things about this one [http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811112319] instead. Since getting mine, three of my friends have too, and everyone's been really happy with it for the price. It's kind of huge, which meant I had to move some stuff around and couldn't have everything set up in the room the way it was with my old case, but it's the most pleasant case to work in I've ever had, and the airflow is great, even with just the stock fans it comes with.

 

[Supertegwyn]

This may be just me but that computer doesn't sound to bad if you just want to play skyrim you may not get anything above the midrange settings but its not hopeless

I can run it on medium, but the FPS takes a big hit. High and Ultra are beyond it.

I just got a 6870 for $180, I'd consider that a pretty good deal. However for your suggestions, go with the 6770, or 6790, the higher the last 2 numbers, the higher the power of that class.

However the above poster is wrong. Overclocking to 3GHz won't give you "significant" performance boost. It may give you "noticeable" result, by about 5 FPS. maybe less. Not "significant"

I'd suggest overclocking it to at least 2.7 though. That's a minimum requirement on some games. It hardly makes a difference these days though as games move away from the CPU. And a nifty fact, Skyrim is multi-threaded. Uses all of my cores about equally. So to say the least it at least allocates CPU usage properly.

I can't be bothered overclocking as I will be getting a brand spanking new i7 2700k next year that will serve me well enough. I'll look into the 6870, but it's a litttle expensive for me. I'll be getting a better card next year, this just needs to last me until then.

The 6770 and 6790 are good choices, if you want to upgrade your system, but don't want to buy a completely new system.
U won't need a new power supply though. 430W is more than enough for your system.

One thing to consider is overclocking your Q6600 (if you have decent cooling).
Lazy console ports like Skyrim often can't use all 4 cores of your CPU and are limited by single thread performance. Getting your Q6600 up to 3GHz would probably give u a significant performance boost in many CPU demanding games.

The 6770 looks good but Radeon says it needs a 450W PSU. Is this true or would mine be able to run it?

 

[MolotoK]

The 6770 looks good but Radeon says it needs a 450W PSU. Is this true or would mine be able to run it?

AMD is obviously being cautious when recommending a 450W PSU. Your 430W power supply should have no problem with any of the cards you are looking at.
A 6770 is limited by it's power connectors to 150W (75W PCI-E slot + 75W 6pin power cable) and will actually only draw around 100W while gaming. A Q6600 also needs only a bit more than 100W, more than that when overclocked.

Graphics card and CPU add up to about 250W. That leaves 180W for all the other stuff in your computer. That's plenty unless you have 10 hard drives and 3 sound cards in there.

 

[Supertegwyn]

The 6770 looks good but Radeon says it needs a 450W PSU. Is this true or would mine be able to run it?

AMD is obviously being cautious when recommending a 450W PSU. Your 430W power supply should have no problem with any of the cards you are looking at.
A 6770 is limited by it's power connectors to 150W (75W PCI-E slot + 75W 6pin power cable) and will actually only draw around 100W while gaming. A Q6600 also needs only a bit more than 100W, more than that when overclocked.

Graphics card and CPU add up to about 250W. That leaves 180W for all the other stuff in your computer. That's plenty unless you have 10 hard drives and 3 sound cards in there.

While that sounds good, I want to be 100% sure that I can run it with my current PSU before I buy it. Has anyone here ever bought a graphics card with a smaller PSU than is required?

 

[Certainfool]

Know I'm coming in a bit late here. And, you have most likely dealt with your problems. But, I have a few comments to make here.

First off, as was mentioned above, your cpu will become a bottleneck in some instances. Skyrim being on of those. Depending on the stepping of your processor you should be able to get anywhere from 3.2 - 3.8 ghz. It's free performance - Do it! Your looking at a possible 30% increase in fps depending on your video card solution.

Second, your platform doesn't support support sli/crossfire- But, anything you upgrade to is going to. Its a good idea to plan on picking up a second card at some time in the future. Personally, I like nvidia solutions. Also, you might consider going used. I picked up 3x gtx 470's for $400 a few weeks ago. Turned around and sold one for $150. Considering the $150 profit I made on selling my gtx 590(which I bought for $450 used). The two 470's cost me $50 a piece. I always keep some cash lieing around and check up on kijiji/ebay/graigslist in my moments of boredom. Its scored me some great deals in the past. Many of these items will still have warranties(Asus does not require a reciept for RMA's, XFX allows one transfer of warranty per product) and if your careful who you buy from many sellers will help with the RMA process if anything does go wrong with your purchase.

Third, your psu is a little light on the power. I'm not sure about the manufacturer as its not posted. Most psu's can handle more wattage than they are rated for(450W means about 550W peak). But, will degrade over time and provide less than ideal voltage fluctuation under load. That can result in massive system instability or blown components. I had a cooler master 550 that could not handle an e6850 and 2 8800gt's in sli. Upgrading to a Corsair 850W solved all those problems. And the 550 works great in my media pc. I would consider upgrading this as it will provide you with the most flexibility in future upgrades and allow you to get the most out of your current components via over clocking.

Anyway, thats my 2cents. good luck!