What would be best for an upgrade?

[Cercs]

What would be most beneficial to me running EQ2? I run Balanced really well, and High Quality with lag. Here's my current setup:Operating System: Windows XP Professional (5.1, Build 2600) Service Pack 2 (2600.xpsp_sp2_qfe.070227-2300)System Manufacturer: GATEWAY  (an eMachines computer_                    System Model: W3507BIOS: Default System BIOSProcessor: Intel(R) Celeron(R) D CPU 3.20GHzMemory: 2046MB RAMDirectX Version: DirectX 9.0c (4.09.0000.0904)Video card: NVIDIA GeForce 7600 GS 512MBMonitor: 15" (I think) widescreen.. I usually play EQ2 at 1600x1024 or some such.Sound: Realtek HD Audio (came w/ computer)Thanks! ^_^

[Killerbee3000]

since the celeron is a cut down cpu the logical step would be to grab a "full blown cpu". what socket is your current cpu?

[Cercs]

CPU is my processor, right? O_o;I need to upgrade that for EQ2 to run better? I was thinking a graphics card would be better.How do I know my motherboard can handle a better CPU? How much are they and what kind should I get?No clue what you mean by socket. :p I am not computer savvy, I just know what I have on my computer. lol.Thanks so much for your time!! ^_^

[asmiro]

<p>edit: im a noobtard... i didnt read the op's first post completely...</p><p>ok, according to some specs i found online for that system of yours, the max FSB for the processor is 533Mhz. as such, THE fastest processor it can take is still a celeron D processor, but it is at a higher clock speed. 3.46Ghz to be exact.</p><p><a href="http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819112214" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">example</a></p><p>i doubt you could find anything faster, you MIGHT be able to find a P4 socket 775 processor, i dont know, and even if you did, i doubt it would be faster than what you have now.</p><p>unfortunately, you are EXTREMELY limited by that system as far as processor upgradeablility, which is not a good thing for gaming. even if you got the processor i linked above in the example, i doubt you would be able to turn up more graphics than you already have turned up. </p><p>EQ2 is an EXTREMELY CPU intensive game, so even if you were to upgrade to a top of the line graphics card, you would still see a bigger increase in performance if you had upgraded the CPU to something faster than you would from upgrading the video card. and since you are limited by the motherboard in that system, i dont see how you could upgrade it much more than what i linked above. </p><p>you MIGHT be able to upgrade the motherboard to something else, but you would need to reinstall everything again, because of the stupid windows xp activation. you would most likely need an M-atx form factor motherboard for that emachines case. </p><p>personally, i would just get a whole new machine, and use that one in case the new one craps out on you in the future, basically a "backup" machine. the video card you use is perfectly fine for now imo.</p>

[Tebos]

<p>Links specific to your computer model from eMachine website:</p><p><a rel="nofollow" href="http://emachines.com/support/product_support.html?cat=Desktops&subcat=W-Series&model=W3507" target="_blank">http://emachines.com/support/produc...ies&model=W3507</a></p><p>Link specific to parts replacement or upgrades for your computer model from eMachine website:</p><p><a rel="nofollow" href="http://parts.emachines.com/emachines/sys_lookup.asp" target="_blank">http://parts.emachines.com/emachine.../sys_lookup.asp</a></p><p>The actual motherboard that comes with the eMachines model is:</p><p><a rel="nofollow" href="http://support.gateway.com/s/MOTHERBD/Intel2/4006149R/4006149Rsp2.shtml" target="_blank">http://support.gateway.com/s/MOTHER...06149Rsp2.shtml</a></p><p>The type of CPU socket that motherboard has is:</p><p>Intel® processors in the LGA775 package</p><p>You should call and ask eMachine technical representative on whether replacing the current CPU with a non-Celeron type LGA775 CPU will void warranty or if it will work. Some times manufacturers produce proprietary computer systems that cannot be upgraded. eMachines website does not show an option to upgrade CPU. Just call them.</p><p>The CPU is your bottleneck at this point. The graphics card is just fine. Ideally, you want 2GB of system RAM inconjunction with a faster non-Celeron CPU. This computer model is a great price and performer for non taxing applications.</p>

[asmiro]

<p>ok according to the info tebos posted, i was able to determine you can actually go with a slightly better CPU than the one  i linked before.</p><p>here is a list of possible upgrades, although i do not think the allendale cores your motherboard will support. i think you are stuck with the presler cores.</p><p><a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=2+50001157+40000343+1051707842+1302820275+138962 7502+1051107411&name=800MHz" target="_blank">list</a></p><p>i would say that the following processor would be the best you could hope for for a maximum upgrade.</p><p><a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116240" target="_blank">example</a></p><p>i could be wrong, though, and if you CAN in fact use an allendale core with that motherboard (you would have to contact emachines tech support and find out for sure like tebos said), then the following would be the best you could use with that motherboard.</p><p><a href="http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115031" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">example</a></p><p>hope this helps a little, but you will have to talk to emachines support to find out exactly what it can and cannot support.</p>

[Cercs]

Well, I simply do not have a budge for a new computer. What I have now runs EQ2 at High Quality with lag here and there, and I am fine with that. I could <i>probably</i> shell out around $250-300 for something new. Maybe $350. so I am kind of confused. Do I need a new motherboard AND processor? O_o;

[Cercs]

Oh, and asmiro, the 3rd link is the same as the 2nd.Thanks so much for all the help!

[asmiro]

<p>ok edited the 3rd link... should work now</p>

[Cercs]

Thanks for the links! The processors you linked are in my price range; how much better would it help me play EQ2 right now if I run High Quality with 20FPS average?How much would a complete new motherboard <i>and</i> processor be, and how much would it help me?Thank you all so much! <img src="/smilies/283a16da79f3aa23fe1025c96295f04f.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" />

[Vodr]

<p>Celerons are gimped on the cache side however 3.2 gig is a decent speed processor,  You do however have a PCI-E slot and could upgrade your video card.  However you can also just tweak some settings and save cash and run higher profiles.</p><p>The fastest single core I have seen is a AMD 4000+ which clocks at the speed of a 4 gig processor.  Reason being AMD runs 9 instructions per clock cycle where Intel runs 6.</p><p>There is a major initial design flaw in eq2 with how shadows are rendered,  When the engine was programmed it was designed for the future which at the time was higher clock speeds and not multiple cores.  The shadows are rendered on your CPU where back when the engine was written would of more than balanced out on a single core by now.</p><p>Adjust your settings to the quality level you want,  disable shadows and see how you like it.  You will notice a huge boon in performance just by disabling shadows alone and without changing out any hardware.</p><p>Your video card is fine,  great amount of ram for EQ2, Processor is celeron but isn't that bad.</p><p>Then save the few hundred you can put in it now,  after xmas save a few hundred more and for around 600 you can build a pretty good gaming computer re-using your current video card.</p>

[Tebos]

<p>Celerons are gimped on the cache side </p><p>More notablely, they don't have dedicated math co-processing capability. That has always been the down fall of those type processor's.</p>

[Cercs]

How on Earth could I build a better system with $600? <img src="/smilies/69934afc394145350659cd7add244ca9.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" />And shouldn't I get a single core processor (if I upgrade my CPU) with EQ2 instead of a dual core?

[antwar]

<p>hmmm. </p><p> well, assuming you are going budget for as much as possible and reusing as much as possible from the old system, i can give you some recommendations. you would of course have to buy a new case and power supply, but that should only run you around 150 at most, unless you want the fancy-schmancy ones. the fancy ones do usually last longer tho.</p><p>assuming your video card is pci express, we can just reuse that for now, and skip that expense. so really, all you would be looking for would be the following:</p><p>case</p><p>powersupply</p><p>motherboard</p><p>processor</p><p>ram</p><p>you might want to get another hard drive too, so you dont have to touch your current one in case something horrible goes wrong with the new system (we all like backups, right? <img src="/smilies/69934afc394145350659cd7add244ca9.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /> )</p><p>case and power supply will run you right around 150 total for both combined. for decent ones that is.</p><p>motherboard - this is really something you would have to tell us exactly what you want built into the motherboard and what you dont want built in (such as network, audio, etc.)</p><p>processor - AMD or Intel, personally i prefer the core 2 duos from intel, but that is just personal preference. this is something you will have to decide on BEFORE you decide on a motherboard.</p><p>ram, 2 gigs and windows xp home is really all you need for EQ2. vista is still sorta buggy, although not NEARLY as bad as it used to be. expect to pay around 150-200 for decent ram (the full 2 gigs of ram, not each chip) and another 90-130 for an OEM version of xp home. you can get these still through places like newegg.com and tigerdirect.com, etc.</p><p>please let us know what you want for a processor primarily, and then what all you can live with that would be built into the motherboard, and what you simply must be NOT on the motherboard.</p>