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saintx55
Gerbil In Training
Topic Author
Posts: 1
Joined: Tue Jul 31, 2012 5:59 pm

Give me your best advice

Tue Jul 31, 2012 7:59 pm

Hey guys, I'm somewhat new to this sort of thing and very new to this site. If you could just bare with me for a moment, it would be greatly appreciated.
I've decided that i need a new processor. I got the idea because of a game that i have been wanting to play lately called Blacklight Retribution. I did actually download the game and play it for a couple games and everything worked well. But today when I got on to play it, I started experiencing lag. I checked my internet, it was good. No one else in my house was even home, let alone on the internet. So I went on Can You Run It and it said that my processor did not meet the recommended requirements to play Blacklight. In other words, I'm here for some advice on which processor I should be going with, that is both affordable and will provide the speed I need to play Blacklight smoothly. It's not necessarily as much about playing Blacklight as it is about being able to run games similar to Blacklight if I ever have the want to. My price range is probably capped at about $200, maybe a bit more. I know i got mine pretty cheap for under $100.

Specs:
Processor:Intel Pentium CPU G850 @ 2.90GHz
Video:AMD Radeon HD 6700 Series
Ram: 8GB
Windows 7
Thanks in advance guys
 
Airmantharp
Emperor Gerbilius I
Posts: 6192
Joined: Fri Oct 15, 2004 10:41 pm

Re: Give me your best advice

Tue Jul 31, 2012 10:13 pm

saintx55 wrote:
Hey guys, I'm somewhat new to this sort of thing and very new to this site. If you could just bare with me for a moment, it would be greatly appreciated.
I've decided that i need a new processor. I got the idea because of a game that i have been wanting to play lately called Blacklight Retribution. I did actually download the game and play it for a couple games and everything worked well. But today when I got on to play it, I started experiencing lag. I checked my internet, it was good. No one else in my house was even home, let alone on the internet. So I went on Can You Run It and it said that my processor did not meet the recommended requirements to play Blacklight. In other words, I'm here for some advice on which processor I should be going with, that is both affordable and will provide the speed I need to play Blacklight smoothly. It's not necessarily as much about playing Blacklight as it is about being able to run games similar to Blacklight if I ever have the want to. My price range is probably capped at about $200, maybe a bit more. I know i got mine pretty cheap for under $100.

Specs:
Processor:Intel Pentium CPU G850 @ 2.90GHz
Video:AMD Radeon HD 6700 Series
Ram: 8GB
Windows 7
Thanks in advance guys


That CPU is Sandy Bridge-derived, which would point you toward a 2500k or 3570k if your board supports them. You could still get excellent results with one of the slower unlocked quads as well.

I'm not convinced that the CPU is the problem though; you might want to take a detailed look at Task Manager while the game is running to make sure that something else isn't sapping CPU time.
 
streagle27
Gerbil
Posts: 42
Joined: Tue Dec 27, 2005 11:16 pm

Re: Give me your best advice

Tue Jul 31, 2012 10:26 pm

Game requirements list a dual-core, preferably a quad-core cpu and DX11 1GB video card.

A CPU upgrade would require you to go from dual-core, to quad-core, or higher.
(note the items in bold for comparison)

The least expensive and -worthwhile- cpu upgrade from what you currently have would be:
$179.99 - Intel Core i5-2310 Sandy Bridge 2.9GHz (3.2GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 2000 BX80623I52310
Series: Core i5
L2 Cache: 4 x 256KB
L3 Cache: 6MB

Manufacturing Tech: 32 nm
Model #: BX80623I52310
Item #: N82E16819115089
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductLi ... gesize=100

Your current CPU is a Sandy Bridge and is pretty good, but you could use more cache and perhaps a bit more speed. However, you'd blow your budget and your current video card would be severely limiting the performance of the Core i5 (or higher, though you have to stick to socket 1155 cpu's to avoid having to change out/upgrade your motherboard as well).

So the best bang for your buck would be a video upgrade:

The 6870 or a 6850 actually perform better than the 7770, but require more power.
Power note: There are adapters online which can convert SATA power to 4-6pin plugs to power a video card. From memory, SATA power can supply about 50W of power if you use a SATA to 4plug adapter.

Anything significantly better than the first two options listed (below budget), and you'd need to spend just over $200 to make it worthwhile. So you either stay well below budget, or go just above budget for noticeable performance improvement given by the 7850 or 6870 cards below.

Personally, I'd go with the 1st choice below as my best recommendation, and save some money for a future CPU upgrade when Sandy Bridge quad-core's come down in price.
You have enough RAM, and your CPU is fine unless you want to spend alot more money for a CPU AND a Video card upgrade.

1st choice would be an AMD 7770
$144.99 - SAPPHIRE Radeon HD 7770 GHz Edition OC 1GB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready Video Card (11201-02-20G)
Chipset Manufacturer: AMD
Core Clock: 1150MHz
Stream Processors: 640 Stream Processors
Effective Memory Clock: 1250MHz (5.0Gbps)

Model #: 11201-02-20G
Item #: N82E16814102968
Return Policy: VGA Standard Return Policy
1 x 6pin PCIe power connection
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6814102968

2nd choice if your power supply allows:
$159 HIS H687FN1GD Radeon HD 6870 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card
Free Dirt3 game coupon w/ purchase, limited offer HIS H687FN1GD Radeon HD 6870 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card
Chipset Manufacturer: AMD
Core Clock: 900MHz
Stream Processors: 1120 Stream Processors
Effective Memory Clock: 1050MHz (4.2Gbps)
Model #: H687FN1GD
Item #: N82E16814161389
Return Policy: VGA Standard Return Policy
2 x 6pin PCIe power connections
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6814161389
note: a few not so good reviews.

Over $200 options:
1) $219.99 VisionTek 900505 Radeon HD 7850 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card
Chipset Manufacturer: AMD
Stream Processors: 1024 Stream Processors
DirectX: DirectX 11
OpenGL: OpenGL 4.2
Model #: 900505
Item #: N82E16814129230
Return Policy: VGA Standard Return Policy
1 x 6pin PCIe power connection
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6814129230

2) $209.99 XFX HD-687X-CNFC Radeon HD 6870 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card
Chipset Manufacturer: AMD
Core Clock: 900MHz
Stream Processors: 1120 Stream Processors
Effective Memory Clock: 1050MHz (4.2Gbps)
Model #: HD-687X-CNFC
Item #: N82E16814150563
Return Policy: VGA Standard Return Policy
2 x 6pin PCIe power connections
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6814150563

Some performance graphs for review:
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/HIS/ ... ire/7.html
http://www.guru3d.com/article/amd-radeo ... -review/13

Enjoy the video card upgrade, you should notice the difference.
 
Airmantharp
Emperor Gerbilius I
Posts: 6192
Joined: Fri Oct 15, 2004 10:41 pm

Re: Give me your best advice

Tue Jul 31, 2012 11:27 pm

The game, now that I look it up, is UE3-based; his system should be fine. Even my Toshiba's lowly HD3000 can play ME2, though it has a quad-core.

I'd be more inclined to think that a CPU upgrade will be more beneficial, as it usually is with multi-player games.
 
Chrispy_
Maximum Gerbil
Posts: 4670
Joined: Fri Apr 09, 2004 3:49 pm
Location: Europe, most frequently London.

Re: Give me your best advice

Wed Aug 01, 2012 7:04 am

Your processor is complete overkill for Blacklight already. It'll run on a low-end Core2 Duo as per the system requirements. Your graphics card isn't the best but it should be more than adequate.

I will second Airmantharp's suggestion that you check background processes via Task Manager.. Your game should run smoothly with your hardware and there is no need for you to spend any money whatsoever.

More importantly, you said it was running fine the first few times and then it started lagging. Your processor and graphics card didn't magically lose power overnight - something else is wrong.

If the game has an option to do so, reset all the settings to defaults - it's possible you enabled a graphics/network setting that is too optimistic for your system - such as max texture detail with antialiasing and anisotropic filtering. These can destroy game performance if your 6700 card doesn't have enough RAM to handle it all at once.
Congratulations, you've noticed that this year's signature is based on outdated internet memes; CLICK HERE NOW to experience this unforgettable phenomenon. This sentence is just filler and as irrelevant as my signature.
 
DPete27
Grand Gerbil Poohbah
Posts: 3776
Joined: Wed Jan 26, 2011 12:50 pm
Location: Wisconsin, USA

Re: Give me your best advice

Wed Aug 01, 2012 8:49 am

As others have said, your processor is plenty good for ALL of the most demanding modern games. No need to upgrade. Were you playing online when everything slowed down? You might have just gotten on a high-ping game.
Main: i5-3570K, ASRock Z77 Pro4-M, MSI RX480 8G, 500GB Crucial BX100, 2 TB Samsung EcoGreen F4, 16GB 1600MHz G.Skill @1.25V, EVGA 550-G2, Silverstone PS07B
HTPC: A8-5600K, MSI FM2-A75IA-E53, 4TB Seagate SSHD, 8GB 1866MHz G.Skill, Crosley D-25 Case Mod
 
Jason181
Gerbil First Class
Posts: 186
Joined: Thu May 19, 2005 7:23 pm
Location: Oregon

Re: Give me your best advice

Wed Aug 01, 2012 12:34 pm

Another possible problem might be malware. It can have little effect on the general OS responsiveness, but still have a large effect on performance-sensitive applications like games. Malwarebytes and combofix are both good ideas to have on your system and run scans occasionally anyway, so even if it turns up nothing you'll have ruled out a possibility and have a more secure system for it.

You might get fraps and watch your framerates to see if it's the framerates that are dropping. If it isn't, the most likely cause is the connection to the server you're playing on.
 
anotherengineer
Gerbil Jedi
Posts: 1688
Joined: Fri Sep 25, 2009 1:53 pm
Location: Northern, ON Canada, Yes I know, Up in the sticks

Re: Give me your best advice

Wed Aug 01, 2012 2:51 pm

System seems good. What kind of network controller you have on your mobo?

I slapped one of these in my system and have been happy with it.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... I9301CTBLK
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