I want to upgrade

[mopower]

Hey all new to the forum.

I built my computer a few years back. Now I'm noticing I cant run games on mostly high settings anymore with out lag. Even games such as Star Wars Force Unleashed wont support my video card.

heres my setup
Asus p5b deluxe motherboard
2G of Corsair DDR2
Radeon 512mb X1600 pro video card
and a 2.8G Pentium D processor

I was thinking of upgrading the Video Card first. Possibly the Radeon HD 4850 X2, Or the Radeon HD 4870 1GB.

Any suggestions comments would be helpful! thanks.

 

[Muffin Man]

whats your budget for this upgrade?

something else you might have to look at is your psu. post its make and model, or info like watts/amps to see if it will support higher end gfx cards.

as far as what gfx card you upgrade to goes, again, this depends on your budget, but i wouldnt look at a 4850x2 just because there are single gpu cards that have equal or higher performance. the 4870 is a good card, but your cpu could possibly be a bottleneck, so if your budget allows you to, i would also upgrade the cpu.

 

[Trotter]

Your budget will definitely be the restricting factor.

According to Asus, you mobo can handle 45nm processors as well as quads up through the Q9650. Basically, you could drop in anything you could afford. The cheapest quad NewEgg has is this:
Newegg.com - Intel Core 2 Quad Q8200 2.33GHz 4MB L2 Cache LGA 775 95W Quad-Core Processor - Processors - Desktops
This one does not have virtualization, so it would not be able to run XP mode should you go with Win7. The Q9400 does, but it is $40 more.

If you do decide to go with Win7 (or you are currently using 64-bit Vista), you may consider bumping your RAM to 4GB. DDR is not cheap anymore, but neither is DDR2 or DDR3 right now. On both the RAM and a quad core you may be able to catch some good deal on ebay.

As for a graphics card, Muffin is right about checking your PSU. BFG has a great 550W PSu for $50:
Newegg.com - BFG Tech GS-550 550W ATX12V V2.2 / EPS12V V2.8 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready Power Supply - Power Supplies

The 4870 is an awesome card, by the way.

 

[Nubbleet]

If you live near a Micro Center, they sell Q9550's for $169.

 

[mopower]

Thanks for the quick replys.

I was looking to spend around $200 to be honest. I guess ill be spending more than I expected

I think I'm going to go with the Radeon HD 4870. Should I get two? or will one be enough?

Also as of now im still using XP. I'v heard good things about windows 7, maybe its time to make the switch?

If I stick with XP for a while longer will the Q8200 still be an alright processor?

Also I do believe my power supply is 550watts. I will open the case and double check when I get a chance. What kind of wattage do you recommend for a quadcore with the Radeon 4870?

 

[Nubbleet]

One 4870 will be enough. Windows 7 is a great OS and I would recommend upgrading to it. It depends on the amps on the 12V rail of your PSU. What model is it?

 

[mopower]

Ok got a chance to look at the PSU this morning. Its made by Ultra

Model NO: ULT-400P
AC input Voltage: 115/230V
AC input frequency: 50/60Hz
AC input current: 7.5A(RMS) for 115VAC input
4.5A(RMS) for 230VAC input

Thats what I got. I guess ill be upgrading that as well.

 

[Trotter]

I guess ill be upgrading that as well.

Most definitely.