Hardware & Technical Need Help upgrading

Bloodbiter

B
Hi all,

I would like to play elite but don't think my system is up to it i went on that can you run it site and it flagged up my CPU as not good enough,
Problem is I only have £100 spare cash at the moment to upgrade it
I don't live far from scan so would probably go there for bits so could i upgrade my system for that amount? I am totally out of touch with upgrades these days so any suggestions helpful

System is

Motherboard GA-MA78LMT-S2
CPU AMD Phenom II X2 550
GFX GeForce GTX 560 Ti
RAM 2GB
DRIVE Seagate barracuda ST3500320AS
 

KillingTime

KillingTime
I would definitely give it a shot first before buying any more hardware. I've never used AMD processors so can't advise on them but a few things come to mind:

1. As previously mentioned, 2GB might be a little restrictive for modern games, but make sure you run the memory in matched pairs. DDR ram gives you the rated speed because in one half of the memory clock cycle the first stick is accessed and in the latter half the 2nd stick is so the effective speed is doubled. Replacing 2x 1GB with 1x 4GB setup would reduce the performance despite doubling your memory capacity.

2. You could look at overclocking your processor, overclock.net is a good forum that can offer advise on how to do it. It may not be possible with your setup or it could be a synch, I'm not sure as never used your motherboard. In extreme cases you can get upwards of 30% gains depending on hardware, cooling, chip quality etc.

3. Your GPU should be decent enough to handle medium at least I'd have thought.

4. If your RAM is DDR2 you may be better off upgrading your motherboard to one that takes DDR3. DDR2 has been obsolete for several years and you'll pay a premium now to get it (sometimes even double) so with a bit of looking around you could well end up paying just a little more to get a new motherboard but have loads more upgrade options.

Scan are a knowledgable bunch so if they're close by I'd suggest going in to have a chat.

Normally games are GPU limited but I don't think elite is to the same extent as modern AAA games which is why I think your GPU should be adequate
 
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Zieman

Zieman
KillingTime said:
I would definitely give it a shot first before buying any more hardware. I've never used AMD processors so can't advise on them but a few things come to mind:

1. As previously mentioned, 2GB might be a little restrictive for modern games, but make sure you run the memory in matched pairs. DDR ram gives you the rated speed because in one half of the memory clock cycle the first stick is accessed and in the latter half the 2nd stick is so the effective speed is doubled. Replacing 2x 1GB with 1x 4GB setup would reduce the performance despite doubling your memory capacity.

2. You could look at overclocking your processor, overclock.net is a good forum that can offer advise on how to do it. It may not be possible with your setup or it could be a synch, I'm not sure as never used your motherboard. In extreme cases you can get upwards of 30% gains depending on hardware, cooling, chip quality etc.

3. Your GPU should be decent enough to handle medium at least I'd have thought.

4. If your RAM is DDR2 you may be better off upgrading your motherboard to one that takes DDR3. DDR2 has been obsolete for several years and you'll pay a premium now to get it (sometimes even double) so with a bit of looking around you could well end up paying just a little more to get a new motherboard but have loads more upgrade options.

Scan are a knowledgable bunch so if they're close by I'd suggest going in to have a chat.

Normally games are GPU limited but I don't think elite is to the same extent as modern AAA games which is why I think your GPU should be adequate
Click to expand...
1. Yes, the sticks should come in pairs.

2. If in stock or second-hand, a Phenom II x4 945 or some such might fit in the budget (saw Amazon selling a few of them & 955 ones for under $100, which means under £65) with a 4GB kit (http://www.scan.co.uk/shop/computer.../ddr3-(240-pin)-single-dual-channel-(1333mhz) -grab two items 1. LN27699 for example).

3. Agreed

4. http://www.gigabyte.com/products/product-page.aspx?pid=3583#ov :) (TL;DR - DDR3, dual channel 1333MHz)
 

Bloodbiter

B
Hi All,

I been looking at my upgrade options and come up with
H81M-PLUS Intel S1150 Asus Micro ATX Motherboard
http://www.scan.co.uk/products/asus-h81m-plus-intel-h81-s-1150-ddr3-sata-iii-6gb-s-pcie-20-%28x16%29-d-sub-dvi-d-hdmi-micro-atx

Intel G3258 Pentium K Anniversary Socket 1150 Dual Core Processor
http://www.scan.co.uk/products/inte...re-32ghz-oc-up-to-45ghz-5-gt-s-dmi-32x-ratio-

Corsair Memory XMS3 Classic 4GB DDR3 1333 Mhz CAS 9 Dual Channel Desktop
http://www.scan.co.uk/products/4gb-...6-(1333)-non-ecc-unbuffered-cas-9-9-9-24-150v

Seems the chip is good for overclocking to get a boost , does this seem it be ok for elite?

Thanks
 
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Surfinjo

Surfinjo
When you do try with a lower powered board, you should manage to squeeze out a bit more performance by reducing some of the graphics options.

Always handy to try.
 

Bloodbiter

B
ive downloaded the game now and had a quick fly around seems ok with current system on medium settings so now i wonder if worth upgrading or just getting ssd or something
 

Surfinjo

Surfinjo
Bloodbiter said:
ive downloaded the game now and had a quick fly around seems ok with current system on medium settings so now i wonder if worth upgrading or just getting ssd or something
Click to expand...

Definitely get an SSD.

Incidentally, you can squeeze quite a bit more power out of your OS by turning off some of the unnecessary services.
 
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