Help with upgrading PC for better a10 performance

[blade782]

Hi all i really enjoying dcs a10 but i would like to get be able to run this game on high settings with high res with constant good fps, so i was wondering what could i upgrade to be able to do so, so far i have went from nvidia 9800gt to nvidia gtx550 ti 1gb card, and that has helped alot but still not what i want here my specs, thx for help in andvance

 

windows vista 32bit

P5Q Asus motherboard lga775

Intel Core Quad CPU q9400 @2.66 ghz, but i have it overclocked to 3.4 stable

4 GB ram 2 sticks ddr2 1066

750w powersupply

1gb nvidia geforce 550Ti video card

i forget size of hard drive but its decent

 

i was thinking of getting a new proccessor maybe will help thx

[EtherealN]

Yes, processor should be your main objective. I'd say something like an Intel Core i5 2500K with a good motherboard (I personally is partial to the ASUS boards), 8GB RAM (I'd say 2x4GB modules, 1600MHz is a good price point).

 

That'll be relatively cheap, and basically as good as you can go. i7 2600K will probably not give much added performance compared to the added price.

 

A 550Ti might still leave some room for improvement in that department, but as it stands right now your CPU is most definitely your bottleneck. One thing at a time. :)

[rextar]

Ethe is right blade,put it this way I've just upgraded my whole system from a pentium 4 where I was getting 10-11 FPS

The i5 I've purchased still with my old gtx260 in it I'm getting 60-85 FPS

So there's your answer!

[Wartski]

I agree with EtherealN.

 

I think I would go with Windows 7 Professional x64 too.

[EtherealN]

I think I would go with Windows 7 Professional x64 too.

 

Whoops, thanks for that - didn't notice the 32-bit.

Yes, definite a 64-bit Win7. I'm not convinced that Professional will be better for the purpose than Win7 Home Premium. As long as there's nothing specificly in the Professional version that he'll use that isn't in the HP version, no real point to pay extra and bloat the OS. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_7_editions

 

But definitely, definitely, 64-bit.

[RSharpe]

windows vista 32bit

P5Q Asus motherboard lga775

Intel Core Quad CPU q9400 @2.66 ghz, but i have it overclocked to 3.4 stable

4 GB ram 2 sticks ddr2 1066

750w powersupply

1gb nvidia geforce 550Ti video card

i forget size of hard drive but its decent

 

i was thinking of getting a new proccessor maybe will help thx

 

Short of the power supply, storage and video card, you should probably think of starting over and upgrading everything else, including your O/S. Even the video card could stand being upgraded.

[Ghanja]

Even the video card could stand being upgraded.

Why would you call a card "outdated" that was only released a month ago?

 

Update: Sorry, I was flying over the thread and read "outdated" but then saw you were talking about upgrading - ignore my post :-)

Edited May 2, 2011 by Ghanja

[blade782]

thx for all you help guys, so far i have the money to afford these upgrades

ASUS SABERTOOTH P67 LGA 1155 SATA 6Gbps and USB 3.0 Supported Intel P67 DDR3 1800 ATX Motherboard

Intel Core i7 Processor i7-2600K 3.4GHz 8MB LGA1155 CPU BX80623I72600K

Corsair Memory Vengeance 8 Dual Channel Kit DDR3 1600 MHz (PC3 12800) 240-Pin DDR3

SDRAM CMZ8GX3M2A1600C8

 

so far this is gona cost me around 660 dollars, is this the best i can do for this money? also is win7 64 bit that much better and worth the exta 100 dollars? Also you guys say my vid card is not that good, i thought it was ok, but what if i get another 550ti and try sli im not sure if the sabertooth supports sli, i think it does, would that work better then buying a really expensive card? open to suggetions.

 

One more thing i shouldn't have any problems overclocking this new chip to 4.0 correct?

[thereminqblank]

The ASUS Sabertooth looks great, but I'm not sure is worth the extra money. I'm not sure what the others think, but the P67 Pro looks good enough to me, even for overclocking. However, it does look like the Sabertooth does support SLI/Crossfire.

 

Win7 is pretty good compared to Vista. Even if you don't decide to go with Win7, you should try to obtain the 64-bit version of Vista (not sure if you can request a 64-bit version from MS for free seeing that you have 32-bit). You'll need 64-bit to take advantage of the 8GB RAM you're looking at.

[blade782]

only reason i picked sabertooth is because ive read alot of online reviews stating the is a superb mobo, also what do you think of the proccessor choice?

I am kind of computer newb and not sure if i will need a bigger case and P/S also

[thereminqblank]

only reason i picked sabertooth is because ive read alot of online reviews stating the is a superb mobo, also what do you think of the proccessor choice?

I am kind of computer newb and not sure if i will need a bigger case and P/S also

 

Yeah that's fair enough about the mobo :) It's really up to you, but I think when you start paying that kind of capital for a mobo, you would be doing so to push the CPU overclock to its fullest.

 

Most people tend to think that the 2600K is overkill and money (about AUD$100 more?) better spent elsewhere. From what I understand, the only difference between the 2500K and 2600K is that the 2600K has a little more cache and hyperthreading (which is not used by games?)

 

Again it's really up to you. When I finally get to upgrade, I'd be going with the 2600K and a Asus P67 Pro.

[revalence]

Yeah that's fair enough about the mobo :) It's really up to you, but I think when you start paying that kind of capital for a mobo, you would be doing so to push the CPU overclock to its fullest.

 

Most people tend to think that the 2600K is overkill and money (about AUD$100 more?) better spent elsewhere. From what I understand, the only difference between the 2500K and 2600K is that the 2600K has a little more cache and hyperthreading (which is not used by games?)

 

Again it's really up to you. When I finally get to upgrade, I'd be going with the 2600K and a Asus P67 Pro.

 

Very good advice! If you can, go for the GTX560Ti. Even for about 30 more USD, it's very much worth it. Along with playing DCS A-10C Warthog well, it plays Crysis 2 like a charm and all the other games out there.

 

If you want to save, go for the ASUS P67 Pro. It is more than enough for OCing. But if you would like a Sabertooth, that's also great.

 

Also, if SSDs are too expensive, go for a HDD, 500 GB @ 7200 RPM. DO NOT go for the 5400 RPM ones, however inexpensive they are. For the most part, they will make wait times unbearable. And make sure to install DCS A-10C Warthog in the first 300 GB of the Hard Drive (Great advice from Ethereal :)). 750 GB if you like to make movies.

 

Good Luck!

[blade782]

Ok this is going to be my final build, please help if you see something missing or can be better(trying not to spend to much money)

 

Nspire NSP PSH750v P/S carry over from my old rig

western digital caviar blue wd5000aaks 500g harddrive carry over from old rig

gtx550ti 1gb vid card, carry over from old rig

i7-2600k 3.4ghz sandybridge new

asus p8p67 Pro mobo new

win7 64bit home version

reusing old case, case has 3 build in fans, also would i need a cpu cooler? i plan to oc this chip to past a bit over 4ghz

anything im missing? also etherial you seem to be real good at this stuff any suggestions to my build so far?

Edited May 4, 2011 by blade782

[thereminqblank]

Hrmm...I've never heard of Nspire brand of power supply. Does anyone know if that will run the spec he has listed?

 

I found the voltage output: +5V = 28A , +12V1 = 18A, +12V2 = 18A, 3.3W = 30A, 5Vsb = 3A - is that going to be enough for the system?

 

If you want to overclock, then it would be a good idea to get a good CPU cooler.

 

What case do you have? It might not fit a new cooler :P

 

*Sigh* this stuff can get so expensive...

[blade782]

http://www.amazon.com/Nspire-NSP-PSH750V-ATX12V-PCI-Express-Supply/dp/B0015TVFVS

 

thats the link for the P/S that i have, i dont know if it would be enough this is going to be my first build

 

also ive bought an assembled computer from magic micro for gaming couple years back and got that case, but there is no identifications on the case anywhere as to what name it is

[thereminqblank]

Unfortunately, I have no idea if that power supply will be sufficient. It's got the wattage, but that's not really what counts. I think most people will tell you that the name brands (Corsair, Seasonic, Silverstone, etc) would be the only ones to look at.

 

Can you work out the internal width of the case starting from where the motherboard would sit? I ask because most of the best coolers are freaking huge and wouldn't fit in a lot of 'no-name' cases...

[Duke]

The system you have now isn't that bad. Your biggest bang for the buck would be double your ram and most of all, upgrade your OS to Win7 64. You'd notice a big improvement with just those 2 options sorted.

[blade782]

Ok guys built my new rig, I got the i5 2500k with spinq CPU cooler overclockd to 4.5ghz no problem, antec 902 case, p8p67pro ASus mobo and win7 64bit and old 750w power supply as well as my old Western digital caviar 500gb hdd, 8gb corsair vengeance ram

Vid card is pny gtx550ti 1gb. Now my game play is awesome now,fps is great, except on runways when I first start I get 20-30fps and when I see a lot of other players online in same screen fps also slows down is there something I can tweak or is it my vid card holding me down now?

[EtherealN]

It might be the video card, it all depends. 550 is on the lower end of the mid-range selection and certain settings might cause issues. Avoid Scenes, Effects and View Range Max (run them at medium or something) and it might make the difference. It might also be texture memory (but it's unlikely in this case). Ensure you do not use "Every Frame" on the cockpit displays.

[blade782]

what is a good affordable vid card that will give me the performancei seek? gtx560ti?

[starkey817]

what is a good affordable vid card that will give me the performancei seek? gtx560ti?

 

Ive been told the 560 would be pretty sufficient, though I have yet to actually buy one so I cant vouch for it

[beers]

I recently upgraded my whole system and chose a 560ti for my only gfx card. I'm happy with the 560ti, not sure if I could be pulling more fps with a more expensive card.

 

Settings all on full, HDR on, AA at x16q, (push campaign missions) I pull around 60 most of the time. When spooled up and ready for take off, if I look forward I get 50-60, when I turn my head to look at the wingie sitting to my right it drops to 30-40. In air, I don't think it has dropped below 40 at all, most times it's pinned at 60. In the heat of a maneuver, in the middle of the action, it's normally in the 40's.

 

I think I can say that AS filtering makes a difference; gazing at wide-open spaces seems to drop a few FPS at 16, the drop isn't so noticable at 4.

 

So, I find the 560ti to provide a very playable A-10. I don't know if you get more from a 570, but I didn't think the extra $100 would get much.

 

One weird thing, the 560ti seems to be one of the few cards that is not compatible with the nVidia advanced tools. Specs say it works for 550, 570, 580, etc... have not even tried to install it

[Pyroflash]

I wouldn't worry about it. And no, a new graphics card would not see you getting more FPS. A 560Ti is more than sufficient for this sim.

[Tek]

The 550 will hold you back a bit but its up to you. With gpu's i believe that its always best to buy the best card you can for your money. i.e a stock gtx570 > superclocked gtx 560ti. that said the 560ti is an epic card so it is worth it if you can pick up something like this. In general, and i can not stress this enough, the PSU is the most important bit of a pc. it wont give fps but not frying expensive components will save you money. just check yours out as i have never heard of it.....

you dont need a 750w psu unless you plan to sli/xfire in the near future but stable power is key.

 

gief your system though! still have to wait a couple of months before i can get my sandybridge system.

 

happy flying :pilotfly:

[MTFDarkEagle]

Yes, I agree with the above: the 560ti should do perfect for this.