Faster Processor Or More Memory?

[species5478]

SUCCESS!

So I finally did it! After a few months of research, I was actually able to rebuild my pc! My mom thought I was crazy...because my room looked like a factory for a little while...but anyone who knows me, knows that I'm big risk taker. Rebuilding a pc isn't as dangerous as my favorite hobby of rock climbing…however, I think there's still a measurable amount of risk involved. You can fry your pc, for instance! Or you may never get the thing to work. I've been successful though and after about four or five days of tweaking and game playing, and I can honestly say that I'm overwhelmed by the results. Just about every improvement exceeded my expectations. I've listed below, some of the things that I've changed for those who may be interested. My new power supply isn't listed so I'll mention it here. I previously had a 250 watt power supply, and bought an Antec at 650. Wanted something larger, but couldn't afford it. In any event, I want to thank everyone who posted answers to my questions. No post went unread and every bit of knowledge was utilized to the best of my ability.

 

:thanks:

I'd like to give and added thumbs up to Balagor, who took time to give me some one on one advice that helped to see me through some of the installation issues that I was having with the new motherboard.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Version EVEREST v5.30.1900

 

Benchmark Module 2.4.273.0

 

Homepage http://www.lavalys.com/

 

Report Type Quick Report

 

Computer NEFERTARI

 

Generator Ehari

 

Operating System Microsoft Windows 7 Professional 6.1.7600 (Win7 RTM)

 

Date 2010-01-30

 

Time 07:48

 

 

 

 

 

--------[ Summary ]-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

 

 

Computer:

 

Computer Type ACPI x64-based PC

 

Operating System Microsoft Windows 7 Professional

 

DirectX DirectX 11.0

 

Computer Name NEFERTARI

 

User Name Ehari

 

Logon Domain Nefertari

 

Date / Time 2010-01-30 / 07:48

 

 

 

Motherboard:

 

CPU Type DualCore AMD Phenom II X2 Black Edition 550, 3100 MHz (15.5 x 200)

 

Motherboard Name Gigabyte GA-MA785GMT-UD2H (2 PCI, 1 PCI-E x1, 1 PCI-E x16, 4 DDR3 DIMM, Audio, Video, Gigabit LAN, IEEE-1394)

 

Motherboard Chipset AMD 785G, AMD K10

 

System Memory 4096 MB (DDR3-1333 DDR3 SDRAM)

 

DIMM1: Corsair XMS CMX4GX3M2A1600C9 2 GB DDR3-1333 DDR3 SDRAM (9-9-9-24 @ 666 MHz) (8-8-8-22 @ 592 MHz) (6-6-6-16 @ 444 MHz)

 

DIMM2: Corsair XMS CMX4GX3M2A1600C9 2 GB DDR3-1333 DDR3 SDRAM (9-9-9-24 @ 666 MHz) (8-8-8-22 @ 592 MHz) (6-6-6-16 @ 444 MHz)

 

BIOS Type Award Modular (11/30/09)

 

Communication Port Communications Port (COM1)

 

Communication Port Printer Port (LPT1)

 

 

 

Display:

 

Video Adapter ATI Radeon HD 4850 (512 MB)

 

3D Accelerator ATI Radeon HD 4850 (RV770)

 

Monitor HP w2207 [22\\\" LCD] (CND71919VN)

 

 

 

Multimedia:

 

Audio Adapter ATI Radeon HDMI @ ATI RV770/790 - High Definition Audio Controller

 

Audio Adapter Realtek ALC889A @ ATI SB750 - High Definition Audio Controller

 

 

 

Storage:

 

IDE Controller Standard Dual Channel PCI IDE Controller

 

Floppy Drive Floppy disk drive

 

Disk Drive Hitachi HDS721010CLA332 ATA Device (931 GB, IDE)

 

Disk Drive Hitachi HDT725032VLA380 ATA Device (320 GB, 7200 RPM, SATA-II)

 

Optical Drive HL-DT-ST DVDRRW GSA-H30L ATA Device (DVD+R9:8x, DVD-R9:8x, DVD+RW:16x/8x, DVD-RW:16x/6x, DVD-RAM:12x, DVD-ROM:16x, CD:48x/32x/48x DVD+RW/DVD-RW/DVD-RAM)

 

SMART Hard Disks Status OK

 

 

 

Partitions:

 

C: (NTFS) 931.4 GB (832.1 GB free)

 

E: (NTFS) 289.3 GB (157.2 GB free)

 

F: (NTFS) 9044 MB (8965 MB free)

 

Total Size 1229.5 GB (998.0 GB free)

 

 

 

Input:

 

Keyboard HID Keyboard Device

 

Keyboard Standard PS/2 Keyboard

 

Mouse HID-compliant mouse

 

Mouse Saitek Cyborg Mouse (HID)

 

Game Controller Microsoft PC-joystick driver

 

 

 

DMI:

 

DMI BIOS Vendor Award Software International, Inc.

 

DMI BIOS Version F5

 

DMI System Manufacturer Gigabyte Technology Co., Ltd.

 

DMI System Product GA-MA785GMT-UD2H

 

DMI System Version

 

DMI Motherboard Manufacturer Gigabyte Technology Co., Ltd.

 

DMI Motherboard Product GA-MA785GMT-UD2H

 

[ Motherboard ]

 

 

 

Motherboard Properties:

 

Manufacturer Gigabyte Technology Co., Ltd.

 

Product GA-MA785GMT-UD2H

 

 

 

 

 

[ Memory Controller ]

 

 

 

Memory Controller Properties:

 

Error Detection Method 64-bit ECC

 

Error Correction None

 

Supported Memory Interleave 1-Way

 

Current Memory Interleave 1-Way

 

Supported Memory Speeds 70ns, 60ns, 50ns

 

Supported Memory Types SPM, DIMM

 

Supported Memory Voltages 2.9V

 

Maximum Memory Module Size 4096 MB

 

Memory Slots 4

 

 

 

[ Processors / AMD Phenom™ II X2 550 Processor ]

 

 

 

Processor Properties:

 

Manufacturer AMD

 

Version AMD Phenom™ II X2 550 Processor

 

External Clock 200 MHz

 

Current Clock 3100 MHz

 

Type Central Processor

 

Voltage 1.0 V

 

Status Enabled

 

Upgrade Socket 754

 

Socket Designation Socket M2

 

 

 

 

 

--------[ Overclock ]---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

 

 

CPU Properties:

 

CPU Type DualCore AMD Phenom II X2 Black Edition 550

 

CPU Alias Callisto

 

CPU Stepping RB-C2

 

Engineering Sample No

 

CPUID CPU Name AMD Phenom™ II X2 550 Processor

 

CPUID Revision 00100F42h

 

CPU VID 1.3500 V

 

North Bridge VID 1.1500 V

 

 

 

CPU Speed:

 

CPU Clock 3069.8 MHz

 

CPU Multiplier 15.5x

 

CPU FSB 198.1 MHz (original: 200 MHz)

 

HyperTransport Clock 1980.5 MHz

 

North Bridge Clock 1980.5 MHz

 

Memory Bus 660.2 MHz

 

DRAM:FSB Ratio 20:6

 

 

 

CPU Cache:

 

L1 Code Cache 64 KB per core

 

L1 Data Cache 64 KB per core

 

L2 Cache 512 KB per core (On-Die, ECC, Full-Speed)

 

L3 Cache 6 MB (On-Die, ECC, NB-Speed)

 

 

 

Motherboard Properties:

 

Motherboard Name Gigabyte GA-MA785GMT-UD2H (2 PCI, 1 PCI-E x1, 1 PCI-E x16, 4 DDR3 DIMM, Audio, Video, Gigabit LAN, IEEE-1394)

 

 

 

Chipset Properties:

 

Motherboard Chipset AMD 785G, AMD K10

 

Memory Timings 9-9-9-24 (CL-RCD-RP-RAS)

 

Command Rate (CR) 1T

 

DIMM1: Corsair XMS CMX4GX3M2A1600C9 2 GB DDR3-1333 DDR3 SDRAM (9-9-9-24 @ 666 MHz) (8-8-8-22 @ 592 MHz) (6-6-6-16 @ 444 MHz)

 

DIMM2: Corsair XMS CMX4GX3M2A1600C9 2 GB DDR3-1333 DDR3 SDRAM (9-9-9-24 @ 666 MHz) (8-8-8-22 @ 592 MHz) (6-6-6-16 @ 444 MHz)

 

 

 

BIOS Properties:

 

System BIOS Date 11/30/09

 

Video BIOS Date 12/25/08

 

Award BIOS Type Award Modular BIOS v6.00PG

 

Award BIOS Message GA-MA785GMT-UD2H F5

 

DMI BIOS Version F5

 

 

 

Graphics Processor Properties:

 

Video Adapter XFX Radeon HD 4850

 

GPU Code Name RV770 Pro (PCI Express 2.0 x16 1002 / 9442, Rev 00)

 

GPU Clock 625 MHz (original: 625 MHz)

 

Memory Clock 991 MHz (original: 993 MHz)

 

 

 

--------[ CPU ]---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

 

 

CPU Properties:

 

CPU Type DualCore AMD Phenom II X2 Black Edition 550, 3100 MHz (15.5 x 200)

 

CPU Alias Callisto

 

CPU Stepping RB-C2

 

Instruction Set x86, x86-64, MMX, 3DNow!, SSE, SSE2, SSE3, SSE4A

 

Min / Max CPU Multiplier 5.0x / 31.5x

 

Engineering Sample No

 

L1 Code Cache 64 KB per core

 

L1 Data Cache 64 KB per core

 

L2 Cache 512 KB per core (On-Die, ECC, Full-Speed)

 

L3 Cache 6 MB (On-Die, ECC, NB-Speed)

 

 

 

Multi CPU:

 

Motherboard ID OEM00000 PROD00000000

 

CPU #1 AMD Phenom™ II X2 550 Processor, 3114 MHz

 

CPU #2 AMD Phenom™ II X2 550 Processor, 3114 MHz

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

--------[ Operating System ]--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

 

 

Operating System Properties:

 

OS Name Microsoft Windows 7 Professional

 

OS Code Name Vienna

 

OS Language English (United States)

 

OS Kernel Type Multiprocessor Free (64-bit)

 

OS Version 6.1.7600 (Win7 RTM)

 

OS Service Pack -

 

OS Installation Date 1/26/2010

 

OS Root C:\\\\Windows

 

 

 

License Information:

 

Registered Owner Ehari

 

Current Session:

 

Computer Name NEFERTARI

 

User Name Ehari

 

Logon Domain Nefertari

 

UpTime 1487 sec (0 days, 0 hours, 24 min, 47 sec

 

I dusted off a copy of Crysis, and played it for the first time on Very High, and it actually ran smoothly! I've had the game since it came out and now I've been playing it as though it were the first time...and I've REALLY been enjoying Mass Effect 2. If you like Sci Fi stuff, shootouts, amazing powers and beautiful graphics, can't go wrong with that game.

[Balagor]

With Crysis Warhead however, do be carefull. It´s a graficcard killer on high specs. :thumbsup:

[species5478]

Warhead kills graphics cards? Really? Funny that you should mention that game, because shortly after playing it on my old Nivida 800 GTS, (my first graphics card) my GTS died. If Crysis did kill my old graphics card, I wonder how...I'm going to Google it. If I find something, I'll post it here.

[Balagor]

Never go higher than Mainstream settings. Especial in Arizona(warm). I can go higher in Denmark(cold).

I think Crytec have stocks in both Ati an Nvidia. Thats why they made it so.

[Thor.]

Hmm Crysis a Card Killer, i managed to get around 45fps with my 2 9800gtx's with simple air cooling, be carefull to watch your temps when playing, its not the game its the heat. Note this was done with ini tweaks and ultra high settings.

 

resolution around 1280x960.

 

hmm its funny they say they have managed to unlock many of the Directx 11 features in Crysis with dx 10 cards, like they did with dx9 and windows xp, its all about the frame rates really.

 

That may be the same with Crysis 2 when it comes out.

[Balagor]

Sure it´s the heat, thats also why I pinpoint the importance of paying attention to where in tha world you are,

Like I said, I can run CRY Warhead on my GTX 280 at highest setting (enthusiasm, or what ever it´s called) because I play in winter,

and I play in Denmark, wich is cold. GFX temp goes to 90 degres C. (passive cooled w. Noctua 120 mm fan)

[Burnagirl]

Balagor, I'm not as clued up as both you and the rest of the poster's here when it comes to the intricacies of a computer, but I'm sure that my PC isnt running as best as it can ... my OS is windows 7 (64 bit) -I have 6 gigs DDR 3 - Nvidia 250 gts - Core i7 950 - and an Asus Rampage Gene II motherboard.

I love this machine but I feel that I'm somehow not getting the max out of it.

 

I'm sure that I've got enough memory and processor is fine but when I set the graphics to Ultra, F3 looks a bit darker, I have fiddled with the settings both on F3 and the monitor but to no avail .... is this the way it's supposed to look and I've just had low end machines in the past, and am used to the "low" end graphics ?

I've heard that I can "unlock" more cores from my processor but would this really change anything ?

[Balagor]

@BurnaG

Your setup looks good exept for one thing; your grafic card.

I don´t know if it´s the 512mb or the 1gb version you got,

but that does´nt matter either.

It has only got 128 streamprocessors, wich is way to little for

games like FAO, FAO3, Crysis and so on.

 

You need a better grafic card. Here you need to make a decision;

do you want to stay with Direct X 10 (still the best cards available)

or will you make a futureproff upgrade that supports Direct X 11?´

The latter will support highest grafic features in new games.

I think Crysis support DX 11, I am not sure about FAO.

 

Never the less, you have a "old slow card".

Suggestions for new one could be:

DX10: Nvidia GTX295 1gb

DX11: ATI Radeon HD 5970 2gb

 

And last:

Do not fall into the "SLI-trap"

SLI (2 or more cards together) is NOT always faster. In some games even SLOWER.

The SLI was envented by the manufacteres, so they could sell 2 cards instead of just one.

 

Spend a lot of money on ONE good card instead of two average cards.

[Thor.]

Actually thats not true, sli does make games run smoother, even my much much older 8800gts had a huge increase in frames when put together.

[Balagor]

Actually thats not true, sli does make games run smoother, even my much much older 8800gts had a huge increase in frames when put together.

 

In your particular games, yes. But not in ALL games/applications.

 

Read the benchmark tests on the net. I didn´t link, since there´s plenty.

 

Thats why you need to read the bencmarks an decide BEFORE you spend money on SLI or CROSSFIRE.

 

You refer to 8800GTS, which can not be purchased anymore. They are very much alike th 9800GTS.

2 of them would be the same as 1 GTX 280 in price, on which you get far more streamprocessors (240 I think).

Since streamprocessors being the most important feature on your grafic card, this will do far more better

than 2 9800GTS, and at the same price.

 

When I build PC´s I don´t pay attention to the framerates, as long as they are high.

Your eye can not tell the difference between 35 or 40.

I use my eyes when I make a good set up. It must run with absolutely no stuttering in max settings.

It must have fast load times, and it has to be so quite that you can not find it with your eyes closed.

 

Then I think about the economy, I don´t wast money on something wich in best case increase perfomance by 10 or 15 %

and in worst case decrease it the same, and on top of that doubbels the price.