Recommend a Graphics card up to 8K budget...

[elangoas]

Hi all,

Below is my current config of my HTPC..

Mother board - ASUS M2N-MX SE Plus - ASUS - Motherboards- M2N-MX SE Plus

Processor - AMD Athlon 64 X2 4600 + (2.4 Ghz).

RAM - 4 GB DDR2 800 (3.25GB Usable per windows)

GPU - ZOTAC NVIDIA GeForce GT 610 Synergy Edition 2 GB DDR3 Graphics Card (3K)

OS - Windows 7 (32 Bit) Pirated copy

Power supply - ATX Switching - 450W i guess.. though not very sure..

HD - Seagate Barracuda 1 TB (Primary) + 2 TB (Secondary)

DVD Writer - Sony

Logitech Wireless Keyboard & Mouse...

i had bought this GPU based on forum members guidelines... My sincere thanks to one & all who guided me in getting that GPU..I primarily bought this GPU for my wife, so she can enjoy playing online games on this PC... Most of the time she is hooked to Farm Ville2, Criminal case & few others....

Planned to pass on my GPU to my mothers CPU where she is also hooked to playing online games on PC...So thinking of a new GPU..

I have connected my HTPC -> AVR -> TV.. My TV is FHD display...Few things that i have observed when she plays games on PC (Full Screen) is that the video refresh is happening a litte late than it should... There is lag....Not very sure if the online games demand a higher GPU.. If that is the case, i dont mind buying a higher end graphics card which my current PC can support (Limitations)

I also run XBMC on my PC..I got hold of an Avatar Movie around 47GB (ISO) file...When i play it, the video starts to stutter...I have played many movies of file size up to 25GB & nothing happens...

Does this instances means that a higher GPU is needed (or) am i missing any technical tweaking.. (Driver files up to date - Online updtae)

Kindly recommend a GPU which doesn't exceed my systems limitations... Budget Max of 8K if required...

 

[sbg]

...
I have connected my HTPC -> AVR -> TV.. My TV is FHD display...Few things that i have observed when she plays games on PC (Full Screen) is that the video refresh is happening a litte late than it should... There is lag....Not very sure if the online games demand a higher GPU.. If that is the case, i dont mind buying a higher end graphics card which my current PC can support (Limitations)
...

elangoas,Ithink you should stick to the current GPU,If you are talking about the lag, and Farmville. GPU is not the limiation here, this should be the Internet bandwidth.You should plan for the suggested DSL as per these online gaming req.

 

[elangoas]

elangoas,Ithink you should stick to the current GPU,If you are talking about the lag, and Farmville. GPU is not the limiation here, this should be the Internet bandwidth.You should plan for the suggested DSL as per these online gaming req.

I am currently on UL 900 Plan... Unlimited usage throughout the month & limited to 4Mbps connection for 25GB something... After that the speeds drop to around 1 Mbps....

Is this a Broadband limitation...

 

[arhantd]

IMHO i think the GPU is very decent and you can keep it.
You could look at going up to 8 GB RAM and moving to 64-bit copy of the OS so that it can utilize the RAM properly.
Also i think you can swap DDR2 RAM for a faster category.

 

[sbg]

I am currently on UL 900 Plan... Unlimited usage throughout the month & limited to 4Mbps connection for 25GB something... After that the speeds drop to around 1 Mbps....

Is this a Broadband limitation...

Surely, there seems lot of "non-essential" application running all the time in this case.I would advise a complete clean up of PC and try the performance.

 

[elangoas]

IMHO i think the GPU is very decent and you can keep it.
You could look at going up to 8 GB RAM and moving to 64-bit copy of the OS so that it can utilize the RAM properly.
Also i think you can swap DDR2 RAM for a faster category.

My MOBO capacity is 4GB RAM Max.. which i exhausted already hyeah:...

Would you recommend Win 7 64 Bit for a system that has 4GB RAM only...

Surely, there seems lot of "non-essential" application running all the time in this case.I would advise a complete clean up of PC and try the performance.

Not really...Other than U Torrent there are no other applications running in the background...

 

[vaibhavyagnik]

The GPU seems fine. I am worried about processing power. Do the following. while running XBMC in full mode, press "\" key so that XMBC changes to windowed mode. Now open task manager and open performance tab. Now play avatar ISO. tell us processor usage when playing the file.
2. while the movie is running, presss "O" for onscreen display. Does it have DXVA2 mentioned anywhere?

 

[arhantd]

My MOBO capacity is 4GB RAM Max.. which i exhausted already hyeah:...

Would you recommend Win 7 64 Bit for a system that has 4GB RAM only...

...

You could try doing that but i dont think it will give much of a performance boost.
CPU as pointed out by Vaibhav is another thing to look at, but i am assuming changing that is not an option right now?
Maybe there are some tweaks you could do to the CPU but i am not aware of them.
Another thing you could try is to swap the 4GB DDR2 for a faster RAM and see if that helps. I think it should help a bit.

 

[elangoas]

The GPU seems fine. I am worried about processing power. Do the following. while running XBMC in full mode, press "\" key so that XMBC changes to windowed mode. Now open task manager and open performance tab. Now play avatar ISO. tell us processor usage when playing the file.
2. while the movie is running, presss "O" for onscreen display. Does it have DXVA2 mentioned anywhere?

Ok.. Sure.. will check that when i get back home & update here...

 

[elangoas]

You could try doing that but i dont think it will give much of a performance boost.
CPU as pointed out by Vaibhav is another thing to look at, but i am assuming changing that is not an option right now?
Maybe there are some tweaks you could do to the CPU but i am not aware of them.
Another thing you could try is to swap the 4GB DDR2 for a faster RAM and see if that helps. I think it should help a bit.

Nope.. changing CPU is not an option now...

Only 2 slots aval for RAM which has been filly loaded with 4GB DDR2 of 800 Mhz..

Would it be something to do with power supply ??

Ok let me check what vibhav has said here & update & let us take it forward one step @ a time...

 

[vaibhavyagnik]

You could try doing that but i dont think it will give much of a performance boost.
CPU as pointed out by Vaibhav is another thing to look at, but i am assuming changing that is not an option right now?
Maybe there are some tweaks you could do to the CPU but i am not aware of them.
Another thing you could try is to swap the 4GB DDR2 for a faster RAM and see if that helps. I think it should help a bit.

He is already running 4GB DDR2 "800" Mhz. Only thing faster than 800 Mhz DDR2 is 1066 Mhz DDR2 which is hard to find, expensive and may have compatibility issue with the board.

 

[elangoas]

The GPU seems fine. I am worried about processing power. Do the following. while running XBMC in full mode, press "\" key so that XMBC changes to windowed mode. Now open task manager and open performance tab. Now play avatar ISO. tell us processor usage when playing the file.
2. while the movie is running, presss "O" for onscreen display. Does it have DXVA2 mentioned anywhere?

So i tried what you told here..

running the XBMC in full mode, i pressed "\", played the Avater ISO file, the CPU usage is always > 65%.. When the movie struggles, meaning lag in video, the the CPU usage is 90 % - 100%...

I pressed "O" when watching any video file, it doesn't have DXVA2....

Also when Farmville2 is being played in full screen, the CPU usage hovers between 75% to 90% & the Physical memory is 2.4GB used of a total 3.25 Aval... when there is a refrehs lag, the CPU usage is 100%...

When i run the PC only with web browser, the CPU usage is 5 - 8% & Physical memory is 1.29 GB used of total 3.25 GB.....

Any insights here...

 

[rikhav]

So i tried what you told here..

running the XBMC in full mode, i pressed "\", played the Avater ISO file, the CPU usage is always > 65%.. When the movie struggles, meaning lag in video, the the CPU usage is 90 % - 100%...

I pressed "O" when watching any video file, it doesn't have DXVA2....

Also when Farmville2 is being played in full screen, the CPU usage hovers between 75% to 90%.. when there is a refrehs lag, the CPU usage is 100%..

Any insights here...

Hi
I guess then you need a faster CPU more urgently then more ram. I guess even an i3 will suffice for your needs or an equivalent AMD

 

[elangoas]

Hi
I guess then you need a faster CPU more urgently then more ram. I guess even an i3 will suffice for your needs or an equivalent AMD

does it mean the existing CPU is currently overloaded & not able to handle the load... (Video lag)...

Should i look @ Quad core AMD processors ? what price range..

 

[rikhav]

does it mean the existing CPU is currently overloaded & not able to handle the load... (Video lag)...

Should i look @ Quad core AMD processors ? what price range..

You have to decide a budget and then check what fits in your budget. You will have to even change your motherboard and ram

Also, when was the last time you cleaned your cabinet from inside? Heatsink clogged with dust will result in more hot cpu and that will lead to lower cpu performance.

Call an engineer to your house. Make him remove the cpu cooler and clean it under flowing water so all accumulated dust is removed. Also make him apply new thermal paste on cpu

 

[devilwearsprada]

Your GPU is not lagging you at all. It is a pretty good GPU. Although the internet connection is lagging, the CPU is what is lagging. IMHO , rather than spending the 10k on GPU, get a decent AMD CPU + Motherboard. Or look for the previous-gen i3 and a basic motherboard.!

 

[elangoas]

You have to decide a budget and then check what fits in your budget. You will have to even change your motherboard and ram

Also, when was the last time you cleaned your cabinet from inside? Heatsink clogged with dust will result in more hot cpu and that will lead to lower cpu performance.

Call an engineer to your house. Make him remove the cpu cooler and clean it under flowing water so all accumulated dust is removed. Also make him apply new thermal paste on cpu

i think changing the mobo & CPU is as good as rebuilding the entire system.... Might be an expensive affair as i need to invest on RAM also...

Yes there was dust... I removed them when i installed the GPU... But i couldn't clean as much as you said...

Is there an AMD CPU that can run on MOBO designed for both DDR 2 RAM & DDR 3 RAM...

Your GPU is not lagging you at all. It is a pretty good GPU. Although the internet connection is lagging, the CPU is what is lagging. IMHO , rather than spending the 10k on GPU, get a decent AMD CPU + Motherboard. Or look for the previous-gen i3 and a basic motherboard.!

If i need to change my CPU without changing my mother board, which CPU would you recommend for the above motherboard....

 

[sarith]

i think changing the mobo & CPU is as good as rebuilding the entire system.... Might be an expensive affair as i need to invest on RAM also...

Yes there was dust... I removed them when i installed the GPU... But i couldn't clean as much as you said...

Is there an AMD CPU that can run on MOBO designed for both DDR 2 RAM & DDR 3 RAM...



If i need to change my CPU without changing my mother board, which CPU would you recommend for the above motherboard....

I always check my sys for dust. I brush all the fans, MB and everything. Later setting my vacuum cleaner on low power, I clean the dust that has accumulated on the surface of the cabinet after brushing. Once in a

while I remove the cpu cooler and clean it well with a brush and then with a soft damp cloth. After buying my system in 2012, I have changed thermal paste two times. I will be changing it again in near future to higher

quality thermal compound (currently using CM paste)

 

[rikhav]

i think changing the mobo & CPU is as good as rebuilding the entire system.... Might be an expensive affair as i need to invest on RAM also...

Yes there was dust... I removed them when i installed the GPU... But i couldn't clean as much as you said...

Is there an AMD CPU that can run on MOBO designed for both DDR 2 RAM & DDR 3 RAM...



If i need to change my CPU without changing my mother board, which CPU would you recommend for the above motherboard....

Clean the heatsink of CPU cooler in running water and apply new thermal paste and see how much difference does it make. If you Are not familiar removing CPU coolers, please call an engineer. The clips of the CPU cooler are extremely fragile and break with the slightest pressure


I am not familiar with amd CPU architecture , so not sure which new CPU will go with your old board. But Athlon is quiet an old CPU, DDR2 ram costs double of ddr3 and is slower then ddr2. So thinking long term, save some cash and go for a CPU, ram and mobo upgrade at one go. Also new motherboard chipset means you will have faster USB and many other things which will result in faster computing

Then depending on budget you can either go for amd fx series CPU or intel i3 third generation


Hope this helps

 

[humblebee]

Maybe you can try out a solution in this order:

- Get DXVA to work - Update drivers; Try using MPC-HC or other SW; Update Mobo BIOS (details here)

- Get a new SMPS heavy one with low wattage like CM or FSP 350W.

- Finally get a decent CPU/Mobo upgrade if nothing works.

Maybe one more:
- Try to live without 47GB ISO's and be happy with 15GB rips !


Cheers!