Squeezing a bit more out of an older PC | Forums

[rlmergeuser]

I'm trying to milk my PC for a bit longer, and it's technically just below system specs. Any ideas as to the biggest bottleneck besides the processor? I'd like to see if I can run this consistently stable while windowed.

System specs:
AMD Athlon X64 @2.9ghz (dual core)
6GB DDR2 RAM
Win 7 64-bit
Nvidia GeForce 210 1GB DDR3

I guess my question is whether I can pony up for a much better graphics card and get it to be more stable.

[RetiredRonin]

I don't know, you're rocking an AM2 CPU, and they haven't been exploring that chipset for a while. You can always go for a better GPU (depending on available slots), but I think your CPU might be a bottleneck for you. If you are an AMD fan, I suggest looking for some CPU+MB bundles, as the newer integrated video chipsets (while not supported in most games) will out perform your 210.

Something like this would be less than buying a new video card, and set you up for better performance in case you want to add a card later. Please note that this is one of the more inexpensive bundles, and typically, you get more when you pay more.

EDIT: Disregard. I could have sworn that that board had built in graphics. Doesn't look like it does.

EDIT #2: "AMD A6-5400K Trinity 3.6GHz (3.8GHz Turbo) Socket FM2 65W Dual-Core Desktop APU (CPU + GPU) with DirectX 11 Graphic AMD Radeon HD 7540D AD540KOKHJBOX", but when looking at specs for onboard video it says "None"....

[rlmergeuser]

Yeah, it's a Dell PC. I get them recycled from work. They have odd form factors that don't always accept new mobos. They'll screw in but usually something like a fan shroud is in the way.

@Shifty - by the way, I'll be uploading XBLA Fans' Trials Tuesday tonight. My son dropped my external hard drive with all my tracks and video. It ruined the head so I had to record all-new footage this morning before my 9-5 job. It was rendering when I left.

[RetiredRonin]

HAHA, your username totally slipped by me! Awesome that more Trials Tuesday will be coming, sucks about the drive.