Need an upgrade for gaming?

Slowrider8

Hello there.
Recently I have been attempting to play some new high-end games (ArmA 3) and I have noticed that I am having trouble running it. I can only get about 20 FPS on medium settings when I'm not online or looking at anything intensive.
I understand that the ArmA 3 Alpha still has optimization problems, but I have also noticed the slowness in other games as well.

These are my basic specs:
Mainboard : FOXCONN A7VMX-K
Chipset : AMD 780
Processor : AMD Phenom X4 9650 @ 2300MHz
Physical Memory :4096MB (2 x 2048 DDR2-SDRAM )
Video Card : AMD Radeon HD 7700 Series
Hard Disk : Western Digital WD6400AAKS-00A7B2 ATA Device (640GB)(194GB Left)
(Ask if you need any more)

I have put the slowness down to 3 things.
The processor
The RAM (There only being 4GB)
The HDD. (Not a lot of space and a slower HDD)

Help would be much appreciated

Mirno

The size of the hard disk won't affect frame rate (other than if the OS was page-file swapping, but then it'd be really low - in the low single digits).
It's also unlikely that the memory is causing that much of an issue either - while 4GB is small by today's standards, if you don't have many other apps open while running the game it will be enough.

In all likelihood it's the CPU that's slowing you down, which means it's an expensive upgrade (new motherboard, new CPU, potentially new RAM).
If you're comfortable with overclocking it may be able to eek out a bit more performance. However there are certain dangers with OCing, and if you're not willing to risk potentially frying the processor it's probably best not to!

Mirno

Slowrider8

Mirno wrote: »

The size of the hard disk won't affect frame rate (other than if the OS was page-file swapping, but then it'd be really low - in the low single digits).
It's also unlikely that the memory is causing that much of an issue either - while 4GB is small by today's standards, if you don't have many other apps open while running the game it will be enough.

In all likelihood it's the CPU that's slowing you down, which means it's an expensive upgrade (new motherboard, new CPU, potentially new RAM).
If you're comfortable with overclocking it may be able to eek out a bit more performance. However there are certain dangers with OCing, and if you're not willing to risk potentially frying the processor it's probably best not to!

Mirno

Thanks!
Can you recommend any processors/motherboards?

Cisco001

Your motherboard can handle Phenom II x4 955 95W. You can probably find a second hand on ebay for £60 - 80

Have you got a retail version Windows? If it is OEM version, you will need to purchase one if you change the motherboard.

If you are purchasing CPU + Mobo now, go for i5 3570K with GIGABYTE GA-Z77-HD3

Or you can wait until June for intel new CPU (with new socket)

Spankey

First thing to do is to go to your graphics card manufacturers site and download they`re specific drivers for your exact card and install them.
In world of warcraft this sends my graphics from 12-20 fps to 69+ , it makes a world of difference in gaming.
The standard nvidia or radeon/ati drivers just arn`t good enough for some specific games.
Post card name here and i will post a direct link for your driver.

grumpycrab

Cisco001 wrote: »

Your motherboard can handle Phenom II x4 955 95W. You can probably find a second hand on ebay for £60 - 80

£80 new @Amazon.
I wouldn't worry about memory for now (4GB should be ok).

Question. You say 7700 series. Which one specifically? (7770 is about 30% faster than 7750).

Cisco001

grumpycrab wrote: »

£80 new @Amazon.
I wouldn't worry about memory for now (4GB should be ok).

Question. You say 7700 series. Which one specifically? (7770 is about 30% faster than 7750).

I think amazon sell 125W version. Not 95W

Slowrider8

Spankey wrote: »

First thing to do is to go to your graphics card manufacturers site and download they`re specific drivers for your exact card and install them.
In world of warcraft this sends my graphics from 12-20 fps to 69+ , it makes a world of difference in gaming.
The standard nvidia or radeon/ati drivers just arn`t good enough for some specific games.
Post card name here and i will post a direct link for your driver.

grumpycrab wrote: »

Question. You say 7700 series. Which one specifically? (7770 is about 30% faster than 7750).

The GPU is Gigabyte AMD RADEON HD 7770 1GB GDDRS. Only got it recently (few months ago)
Hope that helps!

grumpycrab wrote: »

£80 new @Amazon.

Where do you see this? I see lots of different ones and am frankly confused at them all :P

Cisco001

CPU support list
http://www.foxconnsupport.com/cpusupportlist.aspx?type=mb&model=A7VMX-K&cputype=

Phenom II x4 955 95W HDX955WFK4DGM

http://compare.ebay.co.uk/like/271192434872?var=lv&ltyp=AllFixedPriceItemTypes&var=sbar&_lwgsi=y&cbt=y&adtype=pla&crdt=0&ff3=1&ff11=ICEP3.0.0&ff12=67&ff13=80&ff14=63

Spankey

http://uk.gigabyte.com/products/product-page.aspx?pid=4132&dl=1#driver

http://uk.gigabyte.com/products/product-page.aspx?pid=4133&dl=1#driver

http://uk.gigabyte.com/products/product-page.aspx?pid=4278&dl=1#driver


theres 3 different drivers listed for that card , you will have to download and save all 3 and see which one works best , remember to select your operating system in the drop down list , win xp, vista, windows 7 32 or 64 bit when you go to download each one.

Slowrider8

Just wondering, would the AMD Phenom II X4 955 really make more difference over my current one?
Some friends are telling me it might not run as smoothly.
Can anyone tell me if this is true or not, and perhaps show one that would be better, but still under £100