Upgraded HP, need advise/clarification/suggestions

H

Hollowman

Geek Trainee
Hi Everyone,

I have an older (4 years old) HP desktop (m8400F) that includes:
Processor: AMD Phenom™ 9500 Quad-Core Processor
• 2.20 GHz, 2MB L2 + 2MB shared L3 Cache, 2000 MHz System Bus
Chipset: NVIDIA nForce 430
Just got a new 600w power supply and a GTX 550TI graphics card. The computer has 3GB of ram as well. The issue I am running into is I can only play Starcraft2 (one of the only games I play) on low settings without the computer lagging or causing very little control in large engagements. I just had everything wiped and a new OS installed (Win 7 64 bit). I have 8GB of new Ram on the way. My question is will the new ram help? Or should I be looking for something else?

Thanks in advance for any help!
 
Nope. I would suspect the processor. Have you the latest drivers for the motherboard and vga card?
 
Processors are fairly easy to replace. A little thermal paste on top and you're done. But lets not jump to it just yet. Download Speedfan while running SC2 and post up the temps. A lot of times the game could be slow because of high temps.
 
I briefly had time to play this weekend. Tempature in the middle of a large engagement was 43º. Dont know if that is good or bad? The Ram will be here today, will see how that does.
 
Ok the Ram helped everything else except for the graphics situation. I geuss I need to look into another processor. I found some recommended upgrades for my Motherboard, dont know if these are viable, or if anyone else could recommend another processor. The socket type is AM2+
This is what HP recommends.


  • Phenom with Quad Core (Agena) technology (AM2+) up to 9600 (up to 95 watt TDP)


  • Athlon64 X2 with Dual Core technology up to 5600+ (up to 89 watt TDP)


  • Athlon64 less than 4000+


  • Sempron less than 3800+
Are any of these a good, or great upgrade over what I all ready have? Also I know there are processor and MOBO combos out there that would be a good upgrade. I just dont know if there are any that still support the $150 ddr2 Ram I just bought. I am hoping to stay under $200 if at all possible. Thanks again for all the help!
 
Wow, $150 is extremely expensive for ddr2 sticks. What country did you order them in?
Now that i think about it, your processor isn't bad at all and runs well over the recommended specifications. Do you have any other games you can test out? Is Starcraft updated? Something doesn't seem right. It would be a waste of money to get another processor when yours is completely fine.
 
What would you recommend for a mobo-cpu combo if I were to stay with the ddr2 ram? Does my OS stay with my hard drive if I get a new mobo and cpu? I am going to try another game and see what happens. From some of the things I have been reading SC2 just runs slow or bad on alot of machines.

Thanks again for reply!
 
Yes, your OS is setup on your hard drive so switching to a another mobo-cpu won't matter. I wouldn't recommend you get a DDR2 motherboard. That would be a waste. Instead i suggested you send back the sticks because they're so expensive. You can get larger, faster DDR3 ram for half the price! But you would have to shell out about 450 for a mobo-cpu combo.

Which game do you plan on trying? Whatever it is make sure you get the latest patches.
 
Ouch $450 is a little much at this point. I might as well have just started off building a pc from the case up from the sounds of it. Probably be cheaper:) I think I am going to get one of the older battlefield titles and try that.
Thanks again for all your help.
 
Yeah i was just throwing it out there so you have an idea of the cost. I'm eager to find out how BF works out for ya.
 
Ok I got Skyrim over the weekend (fun addicting game) Running on very high without an issue, so I really dont know why I would be having issues with SC2. I have uninstalled and reinstalled a couple times and all the updates are current. Just those large engagments is what slows me way down. Still running on low, so I may have to jsut save up for a new mobo and processor to get things moving better.
 
Tell me about it. I spent the whole winter vacation playing it! Off topic what skill set did you choose?
Anyway it's odd that Skyrim runs smoother than SF2. It's much more demanding. I guess it's something blizzard needs to work on.
 
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