As my computer spec can be seen below (the signature) there is no need to re-write the specs so I was wondering the following-
I paid £245 for that X800 XL when I bought it 1 year ago now its available for £82 and is considered to be a budget graphics card. When I bought it it was like the best one out, only second to some others however I recently bought Call Of Duty 2 and downloaded fraps (a FPS counter) and found with all settings on full I was getting about 3-10 FPS which is unplayable, by the time I turned to shoot; im dead!
I lowered it all down to its lowest (oh by the way the resolution is the native for a 17inch (1280 x 1024) also DVI connection) after I lowered it all down (the settings in ATI catalyst were still full, I dont know if the settings in COD2 change those settings or not) all the way down to low, etc, then it went up to a playable 22-30 FPS, however the detail level was ridiculous; I hate playing games on such low detail.
One thing to mention however I played the entire game without noticing how low the framerate was with the settings in ATI Catalyst on full and the settings in COD2 on roughly medium, then after I installed FRAPS I realised how low the FPS actually was and realised 'no wonder I found it sooo hard'!
Anyway I would like to upgrade my graphics card however I am not sure if I should.
I recently read in a magazine that you should upgrade your card according to your system in other words match it to the system. Its said 'there is no point in buying the latest card and placing it on a system with an Athlon or similar because the processer will restrict it creating bottlenecks'.
Now I also must mention that I recently left my job so I only have £800 and I am 17; left school after finishing GCSE's and decided to take a year off. Now I start college in 3 months so I quit, so what im trying to say is that I had better spend (Actually I should save but when it comes to computers I cannot resist!) it wisely.
So the question is should I buy a newer card if so which one would you lot recommend keeping in mind the bottleneck restriction (oh and I downloaded the patch to make COD2 better for P4 with HT).
Also the Intel website says my Prescott (P4) sould be running at 38C however in my BIOS it tells me its running at 41C idle (I have no idea under load I have no software to test that nor hardware). So I am also wondering is it worth spending £35 on the Zalman CNPS9500-LED Aero Flower + £8 on the Arctic Silver 5.
Or should I try replacing the Powercolor's heatsink + fan or both (I have no idea how warm the X800 XL get's either).
Upgrading the CPU seems pointless I had bought it for £170 so....... but if you people think I should then just say.
Woah I go on dont I? Its just I have so much info and questions all stored in my head this is the only way to release them! Sorry and thank you for taking the time to actually read this.
All replies greatly appreciated. If you go to this link you will find some pics of my computer the older photos are on this site :http://theone008.blogspot.com/ and the latest photos are on this one:http://theone009.blogspot.com/. The recent photos were taken fast I didnt have time to take them properly (the new ones) oh and I took all of them using my phone (K750i). Oh and that crap Tycoon mouse will son be replaced with the Logitech G5 Gaming-Grade Laser any recommendations on mice?
I feel I am spending too much on this mouse (£40) as I am not that serious a gamer yeh I play COD2 often so.... however I thought about getting the MX518 for £5 less but it looks worse then the G5 it looks like someone got a hammer and bashed it, I do not like that effect. Also the G5 only has 1 button that I can program yeh it has side scroll but people say its useless and that it doesnt work properly and the + and - I will need to change the DPI settings in COD2 whilst I am sniping.
And i am adding a neon inside.
There I go again!
Can anyone recommend some games like COD2 which you lot think I might like.
Oh also I have rewired it better then that photo of it open. Oooops soz!!! Ok that's defintley it.
I paid £245 for that X800 XL when I bought it 1 year ago now its available for £82 and is considered to be a budget graphics card. When I bought it it was like the best one out, only second to some others however I recently bought Call Of Duty 2 and downloaded fraps (a FPS counter) and found with all settings on full I was getting about 3-10 FPS which is unplayable, by the time I turned to shoot; im dead!
I lowered it all down to its lowest (oh by the way the resolution is the native for a 17inch (1280 x 1024) also DVI connection) after I lowered it all down (the settings in ATI catalyst were still full, I dont know if the settings in COD2 change those settings or not) all the way down to low, etc, then it went up to a playable 22-30 FPS, however the detail level was ridiculous; I hate playing games on such low detail.
One thing to mention however I played the entire game without noticing how low the framerate was with the settings in ATI Catalyst on full and the settings in COD2 on roughly medium, then after I installed FRAPS I realised how low the FPS actually was and realised 'no wonder I found it sooo hard'!
Anyway I would like to upgrade my graphics card however I am not sure if I should.
I recently read in a magazine that you should upgrade your card according to your system in other words match it to the system. Its said 'there is no point in buying the latest card and placing it on a system with an Athlon or similar because the processer will restrict it creating bottlenecks'.
Now I also must mention that I recently left my job so I only have £800 and I am 17; left school after finishing GCSE's and decided to take a year off. Now I start college in 3 months so I quit, so what im trying to say is that I had better spend (Actually I should save but when it comes to computers I cannot resist!) it wisely.
So the question is should I buy a newer card if so which one would you lot recommend keeping in mind the bottleneck restriction (oh and I downloaded the patch to make COD2 better for P4 with HT).
Also the Intel website says my Prescott (P4) sould be running at 38C however in my BIOS it tells me its running at 41C idle (I have no idea under load I have no software to test that nor hardware). So I am also wondering is it worth spending £35 on the Zalman CNPS9500-LED Aero Flower + £8 on the Arctic Silver 5.
Or should I try replacing the Powercolor's heatsink + fan or both (I have no idea how warm the X800 XL get's either).
Upgrading the CPU seems pointless I had bought it for £170 so....... but if you people think I should then just say.
Woah I go on dont I? Its just I have so much info and questions all stored in my head this is the only way to release them! Sorry and thank you for taking the time to actually read this.
All replies greatly appreciated. If you go to this link you will find some pics of my computer the older photos are on this site :http://theone008.blogspot.com/ and the latest photos are on this one:http://theone009.blogspot.com/. The recent photos were taken fast I didnt have time to take them properly (the new ones) oh and I took all of them using my phone (K750i). Oh and that crap Tycoon mouse will son be replaced with the Logitech G5 Gaming-Grade Laser any recommendations on mice?
I feel I am spending too much on this mouse (£40) as I am not that serious a gamer yeh I play COD2 often so.... however I thought about getting the MX518 for £5 less but it looks worse then the G5 it looks like someone got a hammer and bashed it, I do not like that effect. Also the G5 only has 1 button that I can program yeh it has side scroll but people say its useless and that it doesnt work properly and the + and - I will need to change the DPI settings in COD2 whilst I am sniping.
And i am adding a neon inside.
There I go again!
Can anyone recommend some games like COD2 which you lot think I might like.
Oh also I have rewired it better then that photo of it open. Oooops soz!!! Ok that's defintley it.
