Best upgrade from 9800gt?

[theeyeclops]

I've been running a medium/budget gaming system for a while now, but I think it's about time for an upgrade.
The specs are:

Athlon 64 x2 6000+ (Socket AM2)
Nvidia 9800 gt
3Gb DDR2 RAM
500W X-power PSU

I'm getting mediocre performance on medium/low settings in Modern warfare 2 and would like to fix that. My question is: Which needs an upgrade more: my GPU or CPU? I don't want to break the bank, but I've got in the ballpark of $200 to spend on graphics and $100 on a processor, give or take.

Thanks for your help

 

[cromedome]

thats a tough question and i also wana see the answer. i would think CPU because my friend uses a 9600gt in call of duty mw2 and he gets good performance(sort of)..

if i were you i would get a new display card, i recently bought a XFX HD 4890 for $195 from amazon(newegg also have this price).. and in the near future buy a new CPU

 

[deadlockedworld]

A 9800GT should be able to handle medium setting unless you are running a really large monitor--so I think it has to be the aging CPU

Shouldnt this AM2+ be compatible? $155 Phenom II X4 940 Black Edition Deneb 3.0GHz
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103471&cm_re=Socket_AM2-_-19-103-471-_-Product

(someone else jump in here plz. I know the 9800 well, but--im not an AMD socket expert)

 

[rodney_ws]

I don't think there's a single sub $200 GPU out there that is dramatically better than your current one...

http://www.techspot.com/review/209-ati-radeon-hd-5770/page4.html

Look over those benchmarks... your card isn't THAT far behind a 4870/5770...

If you're absolutely dying to spend $300 on your upgrade, just pick up a 5770 for $170 - http://www.ewiz.com/detail.php?name=GA-5770_1G&src=FR&pid=46a1e480fea6943f4650e86369f921c1e9bc1c24a3f61af68a0d28d04d06b430

And put the $130 towards the fastest processor you can get that is compatible with your board.

Alternately, spend a little more on the 4890... and you have a little less to spend on your processor.

For me? This wouldn't be a big enough upgrade to justify the cost... but it might be for you.

 

[theeyeclops]

A 9800GT should be able to handle medium setting unless you are running a really large monitor--so I think it has to be the aging CPU

Shouldnt this AM2+ be compatible? $155 Phenom II X4 940 Black Edition Deneb 3.0GHz
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103471&cm_re=Socket_AM2-_-19-103-471-_-Product

(someone else jump in here plz. I know the 9800 well, but--im not an AMD socket expert)

Yes, an AM2+ processor will work in my mobo, just with lower Hypertransport or whatever-it-is.

So the concensus so far is that a better cpu is in order? I had considered getting a 9800 gx2 (reconsidering now) with a phenom x4 from newegg or something. I'll look at the ati cards, although I'm not as used to their offering as I am with Nvidia. (or their naming system)

 

[jyjjy]

We need to know your native resolution before making any recommendations for video cards. Something like the HD5770 would be approximately 50% better than your 9800GT at higher resolutions.
Also we need to know the brand/model of your motherboard to make any suggestions about CPUs.

 

[theeyeclops]

We need to know your native resolution before making any recommendations for video cards. Something like the HD5770 would be approximately 50% better than your 9800GT at higher resolutions.
Also we need to know the brand/model of your motherboard to make any suggestions about CPUs.

Certainly. I've stated that I've got a socket AM2 board, but its full model name is the Gigabyte M61VME-S2.
Also, I generally try to run my games at at least 1024x768.

 

[megamanx00]

At 1024x768 I'd say your CPU is holding you back more than your 9800GT. Check for BIOS updates for your board to see if it can support any of the Athlon IIs or Phenom IIs. If it only supports the older Phenoms the performance increase won't be as great .

 

[tuesday0180]

I'm using a E5200 dual core cpu with a GTX 260 216shader. Moderm warfare 2 runs at max setting for me at 1680x1050.

If you're getting poor performance then it's most likely your video card since Modern Warfare 2 is more video card dependent.

I run modern warfare 2 flawlessly and games like Crysis like crap.

 

[sabot00]

I don't understand, the 6000+ is 3GHz, while it's not fast it certainly shouldn't be holding back the 9800GT.

For Socket AM2+ (not AM2) you could upgrade to a Phenom II if you have the money.

$200 Card:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150438&cm_re=4890-_-14-150-438-_-Product

$100 CPU:
Quad-Core
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103706&cm_re=Athlon_II-_-19-103-706-_-Product
Dual-Core
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103680&cm_re=Phenom_II_X2-_-19-103-680-_-Product

The quad will be better if you OC it to 3GHz & your games are threaded well.
If you don't want to OC/beginner at it then the X2 BE will be great as you can pump it to 3.6GHz easy, better for older/less threaded games.

 

[sabot00]

I'm using a E5200 dual core cpu with a GTX 260 216shader. Moderm warfare 2 runs at max setting for me at 1680x1050.

If you're getting poor performance then it's most likely your video card since Modern Warfare 2 is more video card dependent.

I run modern warfare 2 flawlessly and games like Crysis like crap.

The 5200 probably holds back the GTX 260 in Crysis because Physics/AI take a lot of CPU-power.

 

[theeyeclops]

I don't understand, the 6000+ is 3GHz, while it's not fast it certainly shouldn't be holding back the 9800GT.

For Socket AM2+ (not AM2) you could upgrade to a Phenom II if you have the money.

$200 Card:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150438&cm_re=4890-_-14-150-438-_-Product

$100 CPU:
Quad-Core
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103706&cm_re=Athlon_II-_-19-103-706-_-Product
Dual-Core
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103680&cm_re=Phenom_II_X2-_-19-103-680-_-Product

The quad will be better if you OC it to 3GHz & your games are threaded well.
If you don't want to OC/beginner at it then the X2 BE will be great as you can pump it to 3.6GHz easy, better for older/less threaded games.

That card does seem a good deal. I'll need a new PSU though. D:
Maybe a new card+PSU with CPU upgrade later?

 

[jyjjy]

The HD4890 is truly massive overkill for 1024x768, what is your actual highest resolution? Honestly your 9800GT should be pretty great for 1024x768 already especially if you overclock it so it must be the CPU holding you back. Your board can handle a Phenom II x4 it seems;
http://www.gigabyte.com.tw/Support/Motherboard/CPUSupport_Model.aspx?ProductID=2381#anchor_os
It can probably handle Athlon II x4 chips as well and that just hasn't been updated yet and those are probably the best for the money although the Phenom IIs are nice if you can afford it.

 

[sabot00]

What do you mean by at least 1024x768? The 9800GT should driver 1680x1080 easily.

 

[theeyeclops]

What do you mean by at least 1024x768? The 9800GT should driver 1680x1080 easily.

I mean that on 1024x768, I can only get moderate performance at medium/low settings. (at least in mw2) Should I be getting something better? I'll get a fraps if necessary to know my exact framerate.

 

[jyjjy]

Yes, you should be doing much better than that with a 9800GT at 1024x768. It should be getting around 50 fps average with everything maxed out and x4AA/x16AF.

 

[jyjjy]

Higher actually. This doesn't have your resolution but it has 1280x1024 which is actually considerably higher res;
http://www.guru3d.com/article/call-of-duty-modern-warfare-2-vga-graphics-performance-review/9
8800GT=9800GT FYI if you didn't know.

 

[theeyeclops]

Yes, you should be doing much better than that with a 9800GT at 1024x768. It should be getting around 50 fps average with everything maxed out and x4AA/x16AF.

Wow. I'd be happy with just that, as I rarely play anything at above 1024x768 anyway.
Maybe I need a better driver? I'm on a rather new installation of windows 7. What could be the reason for such low framerates? I'll do a fraps now.

 

[jyjjy]

Yeah, definitely make sure you have the newest drivers;
http://www.nvidia.com/Download/index.aspx?lang=en-us
Uninstall the old ones first then run driver sweeper before installing the new ones;
http://www.guru3d.com/category/driversweeper/
If that doesn't help I guess it is your CPU although I'd think an x2 6000+ should do better than that.

 

[theeyeclops]

Yeah, definitely make sure you have the newest drivers;
http://www.nvidia.com/Download/index.aspx?lang=en-us
Uninstall the old ones first then run driver sweeper before installing the new ones;
http://www.guru3d.com/category/driversweeper/
If that doesn't help I guess it is your CPU although I'd think an x2 6000+ should do better than that.

Well, I've already installed that driver. I'll go ahead and do a reinstall anyway. Just went ingame, fraps gave me up to 50-60 in very simple environments while going down to around 20 when it got even moderately busy. all this on 1024x768, medium texture quality, no AA, specular or shadows.

 

[mohsentux]

i think Intel CPUs are more reliable
you can see sites benchmarks if you like

 

[jyjjy]

Yeah, it's likely the processor. That game really isn't very GPU intensive. Do other games give you similar problems?

 

[theeyeclops]

Yeah, it's likely the processor. That game really isn't very GPU intensive. Do other games give you similar problems?

Not in the ones that I play most often, but I do seem to remember substandard performance in a few spots of dragon age: origins. I'll most like get a phenom II quad or something.

Also, As far as my vid card goes, I've secured a 9800 gx2. So I suppose It's off to newegg for a new processor.

 

[jyjjy]

How much are you paying for the 9800x2?

 

[Bluescreendeath]

For my home comp, I have a 19" monitor and a 4830 (equal to a 9800GT) and I run MW2 maxed out with AAx4 without any problems. I get about 60+fps average although sometimes I dip into the teens (abet rarely) during scenes that include a whole lot of explosions and smoke grenades...

A 9800GT should have no issue with MW2 maxed out if you're running 1280x1024 or below. Overclock your CPU