Looking to upgrade my GFX Card

[Aezze]

Hi im looking to upgrade 2 things in my computer and i'm wondering if anyone clever can help me out, I currently have a Foxconn 45CMX motherboard with an Intel Pentium Dual-Core E2160 @ 1.80GHz, 2 x 1GB DDR3 1033Mhz Ballistix RAM, and an ATI Radeon HD5450 DDR3 1GB PCI-E running on Windows XP SP3 32bit.

I'm looking to upgrade my CPU and Graphics but i'm not 100% sure what graphics cards are compatible with my computer? Also, because I want to stay on the LGA775 platform I've been looking at a Intel Core 2 Duo Q6600 Quad Core 2.4GHz to buy and I managed to find one at around £80-£100.

I don't really know much about computers so I ask nicely if anybody can suggest something or help me out? Thanks

[stroyal]

Welcome to TechIMO!
Foxconn PRODUCT : Motherboard : Details
Any PCI-e X16 video card is compatible in theory, and that is mostly true.

There are a very small number of,boards, with PCI-e X16 version 1.0 slots that have a problem, with, newer version boards.

I don't know what version you have.

We will need to know what brand your power supply, watts, as well as the label information, pertaining to the 12volt amps.
Most likely, you will need a power supply for any significant upgrade

What is your budget, keeping in mind, that the new CPU will still be a bottleneck for any high end video card.

You would be better off with a dual core @3.0 or more , if they exist.
Or a quad of 3.0 or higher.

The gamers can tell you more on that.

IMO, this will be a relative wast of money.

[SoloCamo]

Waste of money? Perhaps, but it really epends on the games he plays, too. As it is, the 5450 is hardly capable of playing games from years ago, let alone todays games. A jump to Q6600 will still give him a nice boost in most games, as its still a good low end cpu. Couple a low power gpu like a 7750, or even 6670 or so and it would be a decent lowendgaming rig.

Depending on the budget, it may indeed be a waste of money, though.

[ShyguyXPC]

Welcome to TechIMO!
Foxconn PRODUCT : Motherboard : Details
Any PCI-e X16 video card is compatible in theory, and that is mostly true.

There are a very small number of,boards, with PCI-e X16 version 1.0 slots that have a problem, with, newer version boards.

I don't know what version you have.

We will need to know what brand your power supply, watts, as well as the label information, pertaining to the 12volt amps.
Most likely, you will need a power supply for any significant upgrade

What is your budget, keeping in mind, that the new CPU will still be a bottleneck for any high end video card.

You would be better off with a dual core @3.0 or more , if they exist.
Or a quad of 3.0 or higher.

The gamers can tell you more on that.

IMO, this will be a relative wast of money.

945 chipset, so its pcie 1.0 or more likely 1.1.

[Aezze]

Waste of money? Perhaps, but it really epends on the games he plays, too. As it is, the 5450 is hardly capable of playing games from years ago, let alone todays games. A jump to Q6600 will still give him a nice boost in most games, as its still a good low end cpu. Couple a low power gpu like a 7750, or even 6670 or so and it would be a decent lowendgaming rig.

Depending on the budget, it may indeed be a waste of money, though.

I don't really play high end games just runescape but i don't really want to fork out a lot of money just a cpu that will give me more of an edge and not a passive heat gpu..

[ShyguyXPC]

so then why a Q6600? is Runescape even optimized for a Quad core? If not, then just get a 3GHz range Core 2 Duo. With your 945 Chipset though you will probably be limited to 1st Generation (Conroe) Core 2 Duo's, (Kentsfield) Core 2 Quads, or (Allendale) Pentium Dual Cores like you have now.


Since Runescape is a browser based game its requirements are pretty low, even looking at this,

Game requirements - The RuneScape Wiki

Your current PC with its CPU and RAM should more than be able to play the game decently.

Judging by that, its Single core Optimized, it just states a 1GHz or 2GHz CPU, doesn't say dual core, so most likely single core.

If thats the case, a 1.8Ghz Dual core should easily be handling that game.

[Aezze]

so then why a Q6600? is Runescape even optimized for a Quad core? If not, then just get a 3GHz range Core 2 Duo. With your 945 Chipset though you will probably be limited to 1st Generation (Conroe) Core 2 Duo's, (Kentsfield) Core 2 Quads, or (Allendale) Pentium Dual Cores like you have now.


Since Runescape is a browser based game its requirements are pretty low, even looking at this,

Game requirements - The RuneScape Wiki

Your current PC with its CPU and RAM should more than be able to play the game decently.

Judging by that, its Single core Optimized, it just states a 1GHz or 2GHz CPU, doesn't say dual core, so most likely single core.

If thats the case, a 1.8Ghz Dual core should easily be handling that game.

I know that the game only requires 1 core but I record and do commentarys, I want a better CPU for rendering on Sony Vegas Pro because it takes hours for a render on this cpu, also I run my graphics through DirectX and I would like to play fullscreen 1440x900 (my monitors max settings) with a smooth/crisp 50fps if possible. I just don't want to fork out too much if you know what I mean...