It's time to play spot the bottleneck!

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stevovo

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What do you guys think is the bottleneck in my pc?

I want to make it a bit zippier gaming wise but I dont have a whole heap of cash either.

Specs:

Motherboard: Asus P5B-VM DO (supports quad core so that could be an option to upgrade maybe?)
CPU: Core 2 Duo 2.4Ghz (dont have the exact cpu model number with me right now)
Display: Nvidia 8800GTS 640MB
RAM: 2GB 533 (2 x 1gb)
OS: XP x64
 
cerebus said:
Your ram is the first major bottleneck and the cheapest to fix.
Click to expand...

I figured it would probably be the ram :)

Is the speed (533) too slow or is it the amount of ram (2gb)?

Also, if I'm going to upgrade the ram to say for eg. 4gb, will it make a uber difference if I upgraded to 800mhz as well?
 
Overclock? Might as well fry the stuff- 2nd hand value is low.

stevovo said:
I figured it would probably be the ram :)

Is the speed (533) too slow or is it the amount of ram (2gb)?

Also, if I'm going to upgrade the ram to say for eg. 4gb, will it make a uber difference if I upgraded to 800mhz as well?
Click to expand...

Get the fastest RAM the Mobo can support. 2x2GB is enough.
 
Just get 2x2gb of ddr2800 ram. No point buying 533 is there - i guess it won't make the hugest difference but still...really....
 
Is there a huge difference between dual core and quad core of the same speed? eg. 2.4 ghz core 2 duo and 2.4ghz quad core, is it a mind-blowing difference?

EDIT: I'm probably still going to upgrade the ram first but I would just like to know for future reference
 
Your mobo supports ddr2 800. As mentioned, get 2x2GB, since you are running 64bit you will have no problem with 4 gigs. I see your mobo has 4 slots. Make sure the two modules go in the correct slots so you get dual channel.
 
The speed of the ram is fine, amount is the problem. You are on 64 bit windows drop another 2 gb in.

Games have finally moved into the quadcore like many predicted, some games it makes a huge difference some games it makes no difference but one thing is for sure more games are using more cores now than ever before. Also your vga card is a weak link. That would need upgrading if you want to play new games on high.
 
If you upgrade the processor I'd still go for an e8500 over a q6600 (eg) for gaming. Check out tomshardware cpu benches.
 
Any point in keepting the old ram? 2x2GB slow + 2x2GB 800. Will they run at their respective speeds, or will they all throttle to the lowest common denominator?
 
I would not go for a e8500 over a q6600, games are using more than 2 cores now. It would seem silly to pay for a e8500 when the quadcore is future proof. The memory will throttle back tot he lower speed but it does not matter there is like 1-3% performance drop so not a big deal.

Cerebus go look at some benchies of vga 4 for instance, it uses 3 cores and runs like crap on a dual core. Battelfield bad company will use all four cores plus hyper threading if available. Dual cores should not be bought for gaming rigs. Even a q8400 would be better than a dual core in the coming months.
 
Anyone know where I can get cheap ram? I'm thinking of buying another 2x1 gb 533 dimms and then I'll upgrade to a higher speed ram when I upgrade my mobo someday.

I currently have kingston.
 
stevovo said:
Anyone know where I can get cheap ram? I'm thinking of buying another 2x1 gb 533 dimms and then I'll upgrade to a higher speed ram when I upgrade my mobo someday.

I currently have kingston.
Click to expand...

Got plenty if you want to buy second hand - trying to clear out some stuff after buying Digital Addiction? Else, new just buy the current cheapest and mix it....
 
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