For Those NOT "in the know"; PC Upgrades VS. New PC for Better Game Experience

[=VG= SemlerPDX]

Upgrade the current PC or buy a new one? What to choose....Been there, done that.


Let me ease your mind and tell you that in this case, "throwing money" at the problem will help - to a degree, before you have to buy a whole new PC.

So many of us remember a time when we first bought our computer, and lo and behold, it can play FPS games online!
And with a decent ~25-35 frames per second! !2cool

Then, some time later it just doesn't keep up with the new games, patches to old games, or whatever. Upgrading to a new PC will solve this problem, but small things still help, too.

I know a few people who just recently reset their PC's (backup, re-install Windows, transfer back the backup) and BAM! !yahoo Back to the way it ran when first purchased. Always try this first.

Crap builds up, digital and physical. A dust cleanup and re-install works wonders! And even small upgrades like the right video card, better cooling and dust control, or even faster hard drive(s) make a world of difference in our area of PC use.

Keep in mind that few (current) games can fully take advantage of high amounts of RAM, or fully utilize more than a few processing cores.

I can't say which CRASH or tech problem when playing bugs me most, cuz they just don't happen so much anymore, and I didn't spend a fortune to achieve it. Just a few parts in the right place. Just remember as you upgrade, be aware of performance bottlenecks.
What good is the best processor if the hard drive(s) and RAM can't get the information to it at fast as the new CPU itself could operate? Or why more RAM when the old CPU couldn't handle data that fast anyway?
!gamer

My recipe for a good gaming experience:
1. Fast HDD or RAID for OS and/or Programs; maybe secondary drives for programs to run on. Simultaneous reads/writes from separate OS drive and Program drive = speed!

2. A little more RAM than needed for the game + the OS
-Win7, give it 2GB RAM; for a big game, give it another 2GB RAM
(so, you'll need a killer 32-bit sys with 4GB RAM, or 64-bit sys
with at least 6-8GB of (ANY SPEED) DDR3 RAM. Anything else is overkill, except for upcoming titles, or ArmA2:OA.)

3. A Dual or Quad core (even pre-icore) processor -only for max Arma settings or maybe the upcoming BF3 will you truly need nex-gen processors for a great visual game. In Battlefield 2: Project Reality, a decent 2-4 core processor will never be your bottleneck.

4. A way to keep dust from piling up on RAM, FSB & CPU heatsinks, and Video card heatsinks. Perhaps HDD mounts right behind the main fan intake (nearly a standard now). You can really increase your PC health and even get more consistant speed with a non-stock case, one with good air-flow and filters you can simply vacuum from time to time.

5. IMPORTANT NOTE ABOUT INTERNET CONNECTION:
I called my internet service provider and asked why everyone has a DOCSYS-3 modem and I still have DOCSYS-2, paying the same price? They upgraded me for free, and at the same time, I chose to jump from the 8meg plan to 22meg plan - this could be part of it...I am always ALWAYS the first to be able to make a squad in PR on new map loads now.. !cmdo ..$25 more per month than basic internet so you get better connection to your favorite game? Is it worth it? I think so...we mostly all play all the time! !gam You're a gamer, admit it! So pay a tad more, if you can afford it, for true gaming speeds.

6. Manage those ports! Make sure your gaming PC (via MAC address or IP Ports) has PRIORITY over every other PC that connects through the WiFi router, and subsequently, the Modem itself. This way, no one downloading anything at the house will interfere with your online connection to the game.

*Had to scour tech forums to learn how, and talk to Comcast tech support guys (the good ones); !lazy Yeah...it sucked...Couple of key words: QoS Packet Scheduling, UPnP, Port Forwarding/Triggering; but all hardware is different!



7. Video cards are not always what they seem! The card in the picture is an "ATI Radeon 5750", and sounds good 'till you look at it. I don't care if it says it has a 5700 series GPU or 1GB of "RAM" -- this is NOT what gamers refer to as a video card. It depends on SHARED RAM as well as it's onboard "1GB" of so-called VRAM. This is why NO gaming laptop can compare to a desktop running the same version GPU on a REAL graphics card, well before the case/heat issues come up in the argument.

Not sure how they get away with that, but there are 3-4 "ballparks" that REAL video cards fall into. They are the $100-200 range, the $200-300 range, and the $300-750+ ranges. Place your money into a big brand-name card in one of these ranges for price vs. performance satisfaction. Names like Diamond, or Asus because BRAND NAMES MATTER with video cards! If you have room and power, use 2 less expensive cards in SLI/Crossfire instead of one VERY hot & fast ($400+) card.

Also, don't worry about minor differences in the cards specs - new versions of cards come out on a MONTHLY basis, way too hard to keep up when trying to comparing one to another of the same price range/type.

8. FINALLY, if everything is perfect, and you still want more, get a good monitor with 120Hz Refresh Rate. These are the "3D" capable monitors cuz they sync 60 refreshes to each eye with the additional $200 3D glasses. But WITHOUT the glasses, both eyes see 120 refreshes per second and it LOOKS SMOOTH AS GRAVY!! !cool
These monitors are in the $275-$350 price range to start, and I wish I could afford one!!


Hope this helps someone, I know it would have helped me before all that time spent reading and messing around. If you can, off-load sound and NIC (internet) to a PCI(-e) card(s). Less for the MB/Primary CPU to deal with. These give minor 5-10 FPS increases, respectively.

Good Luck!!

[=VG= SavageCDN (Inactive Duty)]

Great post... I can only stress the importance of keeping your PC dust free and cool. Install a free temp reader program and see how hot your CPU runs during a gaming session. Do not leave your case open to try and cool your PC.. most cases are designed for good airflow when the case is closed..opening the side just ruins the flow.

Also the wipe/re-install does wonders for older PCs... at work we re-image workstations every 12 months max

[PITN]

Good airflow is key. I've lost hard drives to failed fans and clogged filters. I know my brother has lost motherboards and video cards to an overheated case.

In my HAF full tower case I still have to manually dial up my video card fan speeds when I play ARMA on max. They get fricken HOT.

http://www.coolermaster-usa.com/product.php?product_id=2810

[=VG= SemlerPDX]

It's Summer time now (in the Northern Hemisphere, at least) and case heat is the primary concern now. I've had 2 BSOD's from overheating this past month, and tracked the issue to case heat caused by my overclocked graphics card. I run a high overclock and set fans on the card to 100%.

To solve the issue, I simply lowered the overclock and kept the fan at 100%.

PITN and SavageCDN have good advice: Dust and heat are PC killers!

Though this picture may look like it would work, you gotta laugh at how he's cutting his own leg off to save his foot.

The dust that will build up on internal parts will cause more heat in buildup areas than the cooling benefit of this fan will fix. Particularly on the far side of the motherboard where only 1/4 inch separates it from the case.