Solved Best upgrade available

Psyy

Member
Hey all,
since a couple of days im having trouble with my graphic card (Gefore GTX 260).
Also im a quite extreme gamer, and the Gefore GTX 260 cannot handle the newest games these days.
Im wondering what my best options are looking for preformance / price tag.


My setup atm:

Operating System:
Windows Vista Home Premium (x64) Service Pack 2 (build 6002)

Main Circuit Board:
Board: ASUSTeK Computer INC. P5N-D 1.XX
Bus Clock: 333 megahertz
BIOS: Phoenix Technologies, LTD ASUS P5N-D ACPI BIOS Revision 0801 08/01/2008

Processor:
3,00 gigahertz Intel Core2 Duo
64 kilobyte primary memory cache
6144 kilobyte secondary memory cache
64-bit ready
Multi-core (2 total)
Not hyper-threaded

Memory Modules: (Here im looking for an upgrade aswell, but i lack the knowledge to buy the right stuff)
3070 Megabytes Usable Installed Memory

Slot 'DIMM_A1' has 1024 MB
Slot 'DIMM_A2' has 1024 MB
Slot 'DIMM_B1' has 1024 MB
Slot 'DIMM_B2' is Empty

Display:
NVIDIA GeForce GT 220 [Display adapter] (onboard)
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 260 [Display adapter]


A couple of options would be great, fluxuating quality/price.
If you need more information about my setup atm, ask freely!

Thanks in advance,
Nathan aka Psyy
 

My Computer

My Computer

System One

  • CPU
    Dual L5639 // i7 950 @ 4.0Ghz
    Motherboard
    Evga SR-2 // Gigabyte x58a-ud3r
    Memory
    12Gig Corsair XMS3 // 6Gig OCZ Gold
    Graphics Card(s)
    gtx 560 ti // gtx 260-216
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dual 22" // Headless
    Hard Drives
    OCZ aGILITY 3, 120Gig + Seagate 500Gig x 2
    PSU
    Silverstone da700 // Corsair 520hx
    Case
    Rosewill BlackHawk Ultra // Antec 900v1
    Cooling
    Twin CM Hyper 212+ // Noctua NH-u12
    Other Info
    Acer 8930 laptop with x9100...
My choices:

- Asus GeForce GTX 660 Ti DirectCu II 2048 MB (289.50€)

Chipset GeForce GTX 660 Ti
Geheugen 2048 MB
Type geheugen GDDR5
GPU snelheid 915 MHz
Geheugen snelheid 6008 MHz
Interface PCI-E x16
RAMDAC 400 MHz
DVI 2 x
D-sub Ja, convertor

Mac Compatible Nee
DirectX Versie 11
HDMI 1 x HDMI
Displaypoort 1 X
Fabrikant NVIDIA
Koeling Actief

_____________________________________________________________________

- Asus Radeon HD 7950 DCII Top V2 3072 MB (311.50€)

Chipset Radeon HD7950
Geheugen 3072 MB
Type geheugen GDDR5
GPU snelheid 900 MHz
Geheugen snelheid 5000 MHz
Interface PCI-E 3.0
RAMDAC 400 MHz
DVI 2 x
D-sub Ja, convertor

Mac Compatible Nee
DirectX Versie 11
HDMI 1 x HDMI
Displaypoort 1 X
Fabrikant AMD/ATI
Koeling Actief


One card is PCI-E 3.0 the other one is PCI-E x16, what is the difference?
Its a 20€ difference between both cards but with the Radeon i get 1000MB memory more but lose 1000MHz memory speed.
God the dilemma's! Help?
 

My Computer

For my RAM options:

Corsair Vengeance 8 GB, PC3-17066, 2133 MHz, 11, Non-ECC, Kit Of 2 (59€)
Corsair Vengeance 8 GB, PC3-14900, 1866 MHz, 9, Non-ECC, Kit Of 2 (54€)

Does it matter much?
 

My Computer

Not really but ihighly recommend NOT buying more ram.

I'm not even sure it can hand 4Gig Sticks. The asus site does have compatibility list, but the difference ....

But I just realized those are ddr3, your board is ddr2, so its a no go.

I would rebuild your system, keeping the case drives and power supply.
Depending on your budget, for gaming I'd recommend an i3 if your poor, or an i5 3750k if your not, A z77 board and 8 Gigs of ram...

What's your realistic budget? Knowing that I can help you a lot better.

Is this system from HP, Dell etc?

On the gpus up above.. Total memory of the card only comes in to play with ginormous resolutions, and you can't compare speeds like that between AMD and NVidia as theyre built differently.

They are both PCI-e 3.0, 3.0 is the newest/fastest interface out today.

I like my 560ti, I use to run 260-216s, but you really won't notice much difference in game play with either. TV only runs at 30fps and I doubt you can tel.
 

My Computer

System One

  • CPU
    Dual L5639 // i7 950 @ 4.0Ghz
    Motherboard
    Evga SR-2 // Gigabyte x58a-ud3r
    Memory
    12Gig Corsair XMS3 // 6Gig OCZ Gold
    Graphics Card(s)
    gtx 560 ti // gtx 260-216
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dual 22" // Headless
    Hard Drives
    OCZ aGILITY 3, 120Gig + Seagate 500Gig x 2
    PSU
    Silverstone da700 // Corsair 520hx
    Case
    Rosewill BlackHawk Ultra // Antec 900v1
    Cooling
    Twin CM Hyper 212+ // Noctua NH-u12
    Other Info
    Acer 8930 laptop with x9100...
Specs on my motherboard:

4 x DIMM, Max. 8 GB, DDR2 800/667/533 Non-ECC,Un-buffered Memory
Dual Channel memory architecture
* Refer to ASUS or user manual for Memory QVL (Qualify Vendor List)
**When installing total memory of 4GB capacity or more, Windows 32-bit operation system may only recognize less than 3GB. Hence, a total installed memory of less than 3GB is recommended.


Beeing sure it doesnt support DDR3 or more then 4GB (does this apply when you have a 64-bit operation system aswell?) i'd opt not going to buy RAM at this moment.
I do feel that my system lacks speed tho, is that because it lacks RAM or is there something else the problem?

Rebuilding the system sounds great, but i dont have the enginering skills to put it all together i'm afraid.

I think im better of just upgrading my graphics card and work from their on out.
Any of those 2 cards are good enough to place in any new system i might buy in the future.

This whole system is from Alienware, sadly enough.
I wasnt smart enough to build my own system when i was looking for a new pc.

You say both cards are PCI-E 3.0, but Asus GeForce GTX 660 Ti DirectCu II 2048 MB clearly says its a PCI-E x16 tho.
Which of these 2 cards will help me the longest?

My budget is max 400-500€ atm.
I only want to upgrade my graphics card & RAM (if i can).

Thanks in advance, Nathan aka Psyy


ps:
there is a possiblity that i would buy a new motherboard, what would you suggest? :)
I'm leaning towards the Asus Radeon HD 7950 if that matters.

This is a pic from my pc inside if that helps anything.
DSC02974.jpg
 
Last edited:

My Computer

Here is NVidia specs on the 650ti... PCI-e comes in 4 speeds, x1, x4, x8, x16. To be even more confusing x16 comes in 1.0, 2.0, and 3.0.
GeForce GTX 660 Ti | Specifications | GeForce

The mobo does hold 8Gig, but only in 2Gig sticks.

Upgrading over time is the smartest and either of the gpus will be great upgrades.

Do you know how big your power supply is?
 

My Computer

System One

  • CPU
    Dual L5639 // i7 950 @ 4.0Ghz
    Motherboard
    Evga SR-2 // Gigabyte x58a-ud3r
    Memory
    12Gig Corsair XMS3 // 6Gig OCZ Gold
    Graphics Card(s)
    gtx 560 ti // gtx 260-216
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dual 22" // Headless
    Hard Drives
    OCZ aGILITY 3, 120Gig + Seagate 500Gig x 2
    PSU
    Silverstone da700 // Corsair 520hx
    Case
    Rosewill BlackHawk Ultra // Antec 900v1
    Cooling
    Twin CM Hyper 212+ // Noctua NH-u12
    Other Info
    Acer 8930 laptop with x9100...
Hi sorry for the late reply.
Had to sleep on it :)

I dont know my power supply, when i open it up again i'll check.
I know that i'll have to check it when i want to upgrade my motherboard and such.

You say that my motherboard can hold 8Gb of RAM, it wouldnt be wise for me to buy that much would it? At this moment i have 3Gb but they are from 2 different brands, which give me troubles sometimes (i think).
Since my motherboard can only hold DDR2-RAM i found this for it:
- Corsair TWIN2X2048-6400 2 GB.
Speed: PC-6400, 800MHz
Cas: 5 (what does this mean "Cas"?)
Kind: DDR2-RAM
Price: 33€ - its a pack of 2, so 4GB total.

Is this something decent for a small upgrade at this moment?
Or do i need something quicker?


Also, my decision on the graphic cards is this:
Asus GeForce GTX 660 Ti DirectCu II

I'm 100% sure it will fit in my case + my motherboard supports the card aswell.
Didnt want to take the risk with that PCI-E 3.0 on the Radeon.


Only need a 'go' on that RAM and ill put in my order!
Thanks in advance Patonb!

Cheers Psyy
 

My Computer

hmm, It is great RAM, and you'll see some improvement, just from being a set, but can you link me an actual webpage if this is from an online store?

I can't find a 2 x 2Gig set, only a 1 x1G set for 2Gig total.

I just want to be sure you found a 4Gig set so you don't get the wrong stuff. And really, you don't actually need more than 4Gigs unless you are doing photoshop cad, or the high memory loads. My i7 has 6Gig, and it doesn't run 3Gigs.

Cas is the timing of the ram, sort of how it process the info. So 800 5-5-5-10 is better than 800 7-7-7-12

In ddr and ddr2 ram the lower the better, and its harder the get low Cas numbers the faster the main speed is, i.e. ddr3 1600 would not be found in 5-5-5-10 but starts at 7-7-7-15

For an upgrade with RAM, IF you don't plan on a mobo/cpu/ram upgrade in 6 or more months, then it is worth it if you have the money. If moneys tight or you have plans to upgrade sooner, it's not worth it.

As for pci-e 3.0 it's backwards compatible with 2.0, which is what your board has. Oh and the 660ti is actually smaller than the gtx 260s!

As for your question before about mobos. If its for you current cpu, I won't. I do not recommend upgrading a 775 mobo unless it's broke.

As for a new setup, depends on your money and intended use. I like Intel as they are the fastest/powerfulest cpus, BUT they can cost more at all ends of the scale.
Where as AMD gives 85% of the performance at 75% of the cost.

On your psu, the cabling suggests a decent one, and a 660ti or the 7950 both require the same as your 260, I just like to be thorough.

If you got more questions, keep asking, I'm the kinda person that triple checks all my stuff before I buy, then waits an extra day then rechecks, cause I'm never ever sure /I checked everything
 

My Computer

System One

  • CPU
    Dual L5639 // i7 950 @ 4.0Ghz
    Motherboard
    Evga SR-2 // Gigabyte x58a-ud3r
    Memory
    12Gig Corsair XMS3 // 6Gig OCZ Gold
    Graphics Card(s)
    gtx 560 ti // gtx 260-216
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dual 22" // Headless
    Hard Drives
    OCZ aGILITY 3, 120Gig + Seagate 500Gig x 2
    PSU
    Silverstone da700 // Corsair 520hx
    Case
    Rosewill BlackHawk Ultra // Antec 900v1
    Cooling
    Twin CM Hyper 212+ // Noctua NH-u12
    Other Info
    Acer 8930 laptop with x9100...
Site link of RAM:
salland.eu | Corsair TWIN2X2048-6400 PC-6400, 800 MHz, Kit Of 2, 5, 2 GB - TWIN2X2048-6400

Im not planning to upgrade more after these 2 additions, defently not in the first 6 months. When the time is ripe, ill be sure to contact you again!

On the size of the cards; i didnt want to take the Radeon because it takes up 3 slots
(salland.eu | Asus Radeon HD 7950 DCII Top V2 3072 MB - 90-C1CRX0-U0UAY0BZ). Now i'm sure it will fit in my case, the Geforce 660Ti that is.

I've tried to search which is the best, but they are so identical in almost every review.
So if they are so close to eachother anyway my money was my second concern.
Asus Radeon HD 7950 DCII Top V2 3072 MB: 306.99€
(salland.eu | Asus Radeon HD 7950 DCII Top V2 3072 MB - 90-C1CRX0-U0UAY0BZ)
Asus GeForce GTX 660 Ti DirectCu II 2048 MB: 289.50€ (Action Price)
(salland.eu | Asus GeForce GTX 660 Ti DirectCu II 2048 MB - 90YV0362-M0NA00)
Extra option:
Asus GeForce GTX 660 Ti DirectCu II OC 2048 MB: 288.99€
(salland.eu | Asus GeForce GTX 660 Ti DirectCu II OC 2048 MB - 90YV0364-M0NA00)
This one is overclocked to 967MHz GPU speed instead of 915MHz GPU Speed (GTX 660 Ti).

Since this one cost 10.00€ less, would take make it the better choice?
They are identical in every aspect expect GPU speed, its quicker and costs less?
Is there a catch that im not seeing?


Thanks for the your time with this Patonb!
I'm forever grateful! I try to double check everything aswell, you can never be sure enough! :)

Cheers Psyy
 

My Computer

Hmm, I never suggest an OC (OverClocked) card as they are usually more expensive, and achieving the same speed for free is a 5 second operation using msi afterburner or evga precision.
Hmm, my clicking shows the non' OC card 4€ cheaper, and both 660's 10€ cheaper than the 7950.

The ram does sound like a kit of 2 x 2Gig so Not to bad. I have the xms3 version in my dual 6 core computer and it runs just fine.

So The ram is good and either 660ti is the best option for you
 

My Computer

System One

  • CPU
    Dual L5639 // i7 950 @ 4.0Ghz
    Motherboard
    Evga SR-2 // Gigabyte x58a-ud3r
    Memory
    12Gig Corsair XMS3 // 6Gig OCZ Gold
    Graphics Card(s)
    gtx 560 ti // gtx 260-216
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dual 22" // Headless
    Hard Drives
    OCZ aGILITY 3, 120Gig + Seagate 500Gig x 2
    PSU
    Silverstone da700 // Corsair 520hx
    Case
    Rosewill BlackHawk Ultra // Antec 900v1
    Cooling
    Twin CM Hyper 212+ // Noctua NH-u12
    Other Info
    Acer 8930 laptop with x9100...
Enjoy it. Plewase report back when you're up and running.
 

My Computer

System One

  • CPU
    Dual L5639 // i7 950 @ 4.0Ghz
    Motherboard
    Evga SR-2 // Gigabyte x58a-ud3r
    Memory
    12Gig Corsair XMS3 // 6Gig OCZ Gold
    Graphics Card(s)
    gtx 560 ti // gtx 260-216
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dual 22" // Headless
    Hard Drives
    OCZ aGILITY 3, 120Gig + Seagate 500Gig x 2
    PSU
    Silverstone da700 // Corsair 520hx
    Case
    Rosewill BlackHawk Ultra // Antec 900v1
    Cooling
    Twin CM Hyper 212+ // Noctua NH-u12
    Other Info
    Acer 8930 laptop with x9100...
Hey Patonb!

The stuff got deliverd yesterday, installed it right away.

GTX 660Ti works great, but, i have the feeling if i put the graphics all the way (Borderlands 2) up my computer cant handle it. It feels like my motherboard starts to strugle and the game starts to lag where it comes to an overload of graphic material (if you understand that?).

Right click on desktop, Personalize, Display Settings, Advanced Settings, Properties (Adapter), Driver Tab -> Update Driver.
If i follow this; will the driver always update to the newest online or do i have to search it myself on the NVidia site?

Now on the RAM.
Corsair TWIN2X2048-6400 PC-6400, 800 MHz, Kit Of 2, 5, 2 GB - TWIN2X2048-6400
They fooled us both! It clearly is only 2GB. Its 2 sticks of 1GB...
Should i try to write to the site this is absolutly not acceptable? It really shows "2x2048", by my calculations thats 4GB...
They work but now i have to pair them up with 2 other sticks of 1GB each. On my motherboard i have 4 places to put them, 2 slots are black and 2 slots are yellow. Do i put the same pair in the same color or next to eachother?
(You can see the slots on the picture)

Ow and last but not least, a picture of my power supply.


Cheers Psyy!
View attachment 27573
View attachment 27574
 

My Computer

Yha, I'm certain your cpu is now the bottleneck, but not hugely so I'd be that concerned. 3.0Ghz dual core is just fine.

Bullocks on the ram! But you can run all 4 sticks, and yes, i'd match the colours, you may need a tweek in the BIOS, but i think your board will do it itself.

You have a 950W psu... But not sure on brand, but you're set for power for along time.
 

My Computer

System One

  • CPU
    Dual L5639 // i7 950 @ 4.0Ghz
    Motherboard
    Evga SR-2 // Gigabyte x58a-ud3r
    Memory
    12Gig Corsair XMS3 // 6Gig OCZ Gold
    Graphics Card(s)
    gtx 560 ti // gtx 260-216
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dual 22" // Headless
    Hard Drives
    OCZ aGILITY 3, 120Gig + Seagate 500Gig x 2
    PSU
    Silverstone da700 // Corsair 520hx
    Case
    Rosewill BlackHawk Ultra // Antec 900v1
    Cooling
    Twin CM Hyper 212+ // Noctua NH-u12
    Other Info
    Acer 8930 laptop with x9100...
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