Should i upgrade mobo and ram DDR2 to DDR3 or should i get a new GPU?

Question

hello
my computer specs are:
processor: AMD Phemon II 4x 945 (3.2gz(tiny OC cause its not BE)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103809&cm_re=945-_-19-103-809-_-Product
MOBO: GIGABYTE GA-MA785GM-US2H (i hate it...just the layout of the board pisses me off)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128394
Ram: G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1200 (PC2 9600) Dual Channel
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231201
Graphics Card:XFX GS250XZDFU GeForce GTS 250 1GB 256-bit DDR3
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150439
Power Supply: XFX P1-650X-CAG9 650W ATX12V 2.2 / ESP12V 2.91
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817207002&cm_re=xfx_power_supply-_-17-207-002-_-Product
hard drives: i got 2x 500gb 7200 RPMS Hitachies(they get the job done haha)

well ive started to notice some kind of bottle necking in my computer while playing games at very high details, now before i upgraded my computer i had a in my mind weaker setup with AMD 7750 BE dual core, 8gb of value DDR2 ram, same Graphics card, and a 700watt power supply(pretty much walmart brand) with Asus M3A78-CM AMD 780V/SB700 Chipset. and it could run even crysis at very high graphics. now at that time i only OC my 7750 to about 3gz.
now after i upgraded parts...it feels like its being bottle necked...and im not sure why, even on old games like dark age of camelot(evne tho this game still have very very nice graphics). what im geting at is...should i buy a new GPU? or should i buy a WHOLE new MOBO jsut to get NEW ddr3(from what i heard it really wasnt that big of a difference in proformance. the GPU is still pretty good from what i can tell runs like a champ and handles most of anything.
also even when i run the new CPU at Stock speeds of 3gz it still feels bottle necked.
PS. my air flow in the case is def not the problem, i have 4x fans all with 100+ CFM rating on them(Sythe Haze).

Answer 1

Upgrading the graphics card will have a much greater effect on your frame rates, especially if you're playing with all the video effects set to the highest levels. Faster memory would likely not help, as the bottleneck is in the graphics card. The GTS 250 is a nice card for casual gaming, but not designed for fluid rates when you crank up the resolution and video effects. They unfortunately do not have the GTS 250 available for comparison, but if you want to start shopping for a new video card, this site can help you choose smartly:



http://www.anandtech.com/bench/GPU/88



You can compare (almost) any two gaming GPUs against each other and it will give you a visual performance comparison. For example, comparing the ATI Radeon 5850 which is what I have against the nVidia GTX 260, the next fastest offering from them after your GTS 250 yields the following:



http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/164?vs=170



Much faster in every game, and the difference would be even greater than that since that's showing the faster GTX 260. Or if you want to stick with nVidia a GTX 285 would give you a very nice performance gain -- it's pretty much neck and neck with the 5850.

Answer 2

I just bought 2 1gb gtx 460s and they are amazing. Id recommend getting a gtx 460 for around £160. I get 55 fps average on crysis all settings maxed on 1920 x 1080 resolution 8 x aa.

Answer 3

i don't think GTS 250 should be a problem



unless u r using a 24" or higher monitor and playing games @ 1900*1200 or higher resolutions





dat card is good enough to play games with high settings @ 1920*1080 resolution on a 22" monitor







if u have bigger monitor and resolution , then u have to go for better card as above mentioned , else this is fine





and wat framerate u r getting when playing crysis @ high settings ?





dont go for DDR3 ram , it won't give any noticable performance boost

try playing game turning of antivirus , disabling firewall , defragmenting hard drive

Answer 4

Upgrade your GPU



I have used this product and it performs really well I would definitely suggest



EVGA GeForce GTX460 Superclocked 1024 MB DDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card with Lifetime Warranty

*GeForce GTX 460 Superclocked with 763 MHz core clock

*PCI Express 2.0

*1024 MB 256 bit 2.5ns GDDR5 memory

*3800 MHz memory clock and 1526 MHz shader clock

*Windows XP, Vista and Windows7 support

http://www.amazon.com/EVGA-Superclocked-PCI-Express-Graphics-01G-P3-1373-AR/dp/B003VWZEBY/?tag=klnprk-20



Also check out at Ebay

http://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/711-53200-19255-0/1?ff3=4&pub=5574865779&toolid=10001&campid=5336440665&customid=klnprk&mpre=http%3a%2f%2fshop.ebay.com%2fi.html%3f_nkw%3dgraphics%2bcard%26_sacat%3d0%26_odkw%3dAudio-Technica%2bAT2020%26_osacat%3d0%26_trksid%3dp3286.c0.m270.l1313

Answer 5

upgrade your GPU to a ati 5830 hd or gtx 460 and you will see a big rise in performance



as it is ddr2 ram is still fine it has no effect on gameplay only on the loading times of your games

Answer 6

if that is the Memory you want to use then you need to get a board that supports it . check out the board you settle on buying go to the manufacture web site see what hard ware it supports ,choose wisely some boards limit your chooses .