goatfarmer

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I have the following setup:

Athlon 64 4000+ San Diego 2.4GHz Single Core Processor
1.5GB DDR400(PC3200) Ram
7600GT 256MB PCI-E video card
450-500 watt power supply with 28A rail(s)

I play Everquest and WoW on this machine and it lags on Raids and high traffic areas. Framerates go from 40-50fps to less than 15-20fps in these high traffic areas. All graphics detail and eyecandy are at low. I am running it on a 19" monitor at 1024x768 resolution. CPU usage shows around 90-100% on task manager and Nvidia monitor during gameplay.

My questions are:

1) Is Everquest CPU or GPU dependent?

2) Would upgrading to a 9600GT 512MB help any, or would CPU bottleneck the heck outta it?

3) Would adding another 1GB of DDR400 RAM help in combination with video card

4) Or should i just scuttle this system, build a new system, and give this to my girlfriend to use as is? Ha Ha!

I wanna get good gameplay at the most economic alternative. If i have to retire this system, what would be a good system to build for running Everquest? For......lets say the $500-$750 range? I know it is a tight budget....but i would like to include a monitor in that as well. Thanks for any insight and recommendations.
 
I like #4, Scuttle the system and give to the GF as a.... GIFT! here you go hunny. HAHA.

It's deffinitly not a BAD system at all for general use, but for Games it just isn't cutting it dude. Anything you add to the system is just going to be a waste and delay to a new system. Trust me on this. A year ago the 7600GT was a nice capable card. However newer games are really showing those cards age.

You can get something moderate for $500-$750. But not if you include a monitor. that would get you a decent economical gamer. Why not keep your 19"? If you are ok with Overclocking an Intel 2xxx or 4xxx chip would be great. If you don't want to OC you can get an AMD x2 chip pretty cheap. The reason I say that is the Intels in stock form dont beat out the AMD x2 on the lower end chips. Intel's 6xxx and above would be better but cost more. The Intels do OC way better than the AMDs and with tweaking are the better buy. Let us know if you are going to build and make an initial list for us to tweak... we are good at that and you will get alot of conversation out of it.
 

goatfarmer

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I do not play any of the "newer" games, just Everquest and World of Warcraft. While I am not up to par on computer games their programming features, I believe those two games are based on older "gaming engines". Although I am sure with new expansions they are becoming more and more graphics intensive, even with older gaming engines, unless I am mistaken. I am wondering if I "need" a high end graphics card and high end CPU to run these games because of that. I do not plan to play any of the newer games at all, just EQ and WoW. One part of me tells me to get an E8400 processor, 8800GTS G92 512MB video card, and 4+ GB of DDR2 800 ram. Another part of me tells me to get an E2xxx processor, 9600GT 512MB video card, and 2GB DDR2 800 RAM. So that is the dilemma......to bite the bullet and pay $1500-$1800 for the high end type, or <$1000 for a lower/mid type. I do not want to pay a whole lot if it is not gonna be beneficial for the games I play. I want the system to last playing these games for about 2-3 years. Suggestions welcome.........
 
G

Guest

Guest
Go with the E2xxx CPU, 9600GT, and 2GB of DDR2 800 memory.

That would be able to run Wow and EQ on high easily. The 8800GTS, E8400, and 4GB would all be overkill.

In 2 years if your system starts to lag, you could easily swap the GPU and CPU (whichever is the bottleneck, probably the GPU since you can OC the E2xxx to over 3.0Ghz) on the cheap and keep on going.
 

sailer

Splendid
For Everquest and World of Warcraft, you don't need a $1500 machine. Since your present machine uses a PCIe card, that's the first place I'd put my money, the reason being that the card can transfer to a new machine later. Keep the old card to put back into the present machine when you finally do a new build, so it works well enough for the G/F without having to buy another card. After that, you might try putting in a 2x1 gig set of ram. The third thing would be to overclock the CPU if you haven't already.

If you do decide on an new build, Tom's just did some articles on various builds and price ranges. For what your doing, I think someplace between a $500 and $1000 machine would work well enough. But that wouldn't include a monitor.
 
Yeah I vote an OCed 2xxx CPU, 2GB ram, 9600GT card. If you aren't playing demanding games it won't be of benefit. Heck you can always get a better CP like the e8400 and stay with the 2GB RAM and 9600GT. That card will run a 19" for pretty much anything. I think me and a buddy of mine put together a sweet gamer for $800 w/o monitor including a license copy of windows and everything. I like getting a decent CPU because it is something that isn't replaced are regularly as a video card or more memory. So spend the extra $50-$100 and get a good Processor.

We found that dipping under $800 really took away from the system and anything over $800 was really just a luxury. The trick is to find that point where you will be happy but yet not go overboard nor cheapout on stuff.
 

blacksci

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Dont skimp on the video card, i played eq2 for 3 years, that game is still hella graphically intensive, with everything maxed out i bet it would still slow down most peoples computers these days. Eq2 is a graphically intensive game, and responds well to more ram. The GTS would serve you well, and the e8400 would probably be a little over kill. 4 gigs of ram would help also. I think a few people here dont quite understand how intensive the graphics of eq2 really are, but hey its your call, this is what i would go with though.
 
$1100 system and all you are getting is a E2220? Man I'd really work down a few items like the $30 mouse and $60 keyboard. I have a M$ keyboard and mouse combo I got 2 years ago for $30 and they still are great. Maybe a

Get the 7200.11 or ES.2 Hard drive instead, its WAY faster:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148309

Buy.com has corsair PSU's much cheaper than newegg and free shipping:
http://www.buy.com/prod/corsair-520w-sli-certified-modular-atx-power-supply/q/loc/101/203270716.html

Crucial Ballistix memory w/ $30 rebate makes it $25:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820146565

If you want to save a few $ on a 22" monitor go with an Acer, my buddy builds PC's and uses Acers. They are a bit cheaper but still look amazing. They are really rated high by customers to. You can save:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824009094

CPU cooler is good, if you want to save $10 you can get the Artic Cooler Freezer 7 pro:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835186134

e8400 would be worth the extra $100
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115037

GREAT MOBO! don't change that, its rock solid.

 

goatfarmer

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E8400 was original choice, was trying to keep costs down. Have been reconsidering though.

Thanks for suggestion on Seagate ES.2 hard drive.....never seen that one. How does it compare to:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136218&Tpk=WD6400AAKS ?

I am a fan of Crucial Memory, but was hesitant because I have heard they have had some bad batches of memory as of late.

Acer monitor was second choice, but Samsung had free shipping and friend has that exact monitor and also the Acer one and I like Samsung better, so after free shipping and mail in rebate, 2253BW turns out to be about $30 more.

Gonna go with Zerotherm mostly because of mounting. I have heard bad things about the push-pin style coolers.

Link on power supply from buy.com is appreciated. Never ordered from Newegg.com or Buy.com. Have ordered from Tigerdirect.com. Are the two aforementioned as reliable and good on customer support and returns?

Is there any difference in these two motherboards:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&DEPA=0&Description=GA-P35-DS3L

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128337&Tpk=GA-eP35-DS3L

other than the "E" has latest Bios revision and Power Saving Technology?

Also is 9600GT good for 22" monitor, or should I get an 8800GTS G92?

Thanks again for suggestions and I am still open for more.
 
Not sure about those new Western Digital 320GB platter drives. I heard they are pretty good. The ES.2 is basiaclly the Enterprise version of the 7200.11 drives. I have that exact drive which I used to replace the 250GB 7200.10 drive. It loads maps WAY faster in games. It uses a 32MB cache instead of an 8 or 16MB one.

I have 4x sticks of that exact memory. Well I got that kit way back when it was $300 1.5 years ago and had a $100 rebate. I got the other set for $90 6 months ago w/ $30 rebate. The heat spreader was different though. They run like champs though.

Monitors can be alot of preference. Acer is good but if you like the samsung better you should get that is funds are there.

I had the Freezer pro and didn't have an issue. I sold it to a buddy and he hasn't had an issue. Some of the cheaper ones do have issues though I've heard.

Newegg is TOP NOTCH! it has rated extremely high in every review ever done on them. Buy.com is sorta like an amazon for electronics. They are great, but I try to stay away from the marketplace items, you know that ones that are sold by other little companies but placed on buy.com to sell.
Standard items I have never had any issues with on Buy.

They are similar I think the EP35 supports 1600Mhz chips and 1200Mhz Memory. It also has the Dynamic Energy thinger.

The 8800GTS would be better
 

blacksci

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GTS ftw but hey thats my opinion, and i actually care about what my video card is going to do, and the performance its going to give me.
 
If your motherboard is PCI-express, is the cpu a socket AM2?

I noticed you have ddr 400 memory listed. Do you have a motherboard that supports both ddr and ddr2? Its a rarity to see a motherboard with a pci express slot but only ddr.

If your board has:

AM2 socket
ddr2 memory support

I would get a dual core cpu and a 9600GT. Even with the new expansion packs for the games you play it shouldnt press your system that hard to its limits.

You can spend your money on a new system if you want, if you have it to spare. Im sure you will be happy with that. But if you cant really spend it and you have the upgrade options I listed above it will be more than enough to get you thru the next 2-3 years.
 

goatfarmer

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May 6, 2008
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Unfortunately it is a Socket 939 and only supports up to 4GB DDR400(PC3200) only. Don't ask what brand or type(embarassing). I built this system about 3 years ago. Did not know a whole lot then as I was just getting back into computers, and did not do enough research. Before that, last computer I built was like a Pentium 3. This time around I am doing more research and not buying "cheaper" components. Also trying to leave me a rout for upgrade with motherboard and video card(i.e. quad core support, pci-e 2.0 etc.). Would like this system to last about 3 years if possible, at least the base components. Can upgrade video card, memory, and cpu if necessary. Thanks again for all the input and help. I have gotten some good tips from all of this, and it has help tremendously.