Computer Problem

[FallenEmber]

Hello, new account, looking for some help. I have a pretty nice computer that I got two years ago at Christmas, an Alienware Aurora (yeah it's overpriced and all that).

Anyway, recently, I've been having difficulty with games, including Minecraft and WoW. WoW will not run above 'good' settings. Anything above that and it becomes a completely unplayable mess. Here are my specs:

Processor - Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-3930K CPU @ 3.20GHz
Video Card - AMD Radeon HD 6800 Series
RAM - 16 GB
Operating System - Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium Edition Service Pack 1 (build 7601), 64-bit

I don't know much about computer hardware, but I believe I should be expecting much better performance. Could anyone give me some guidance? Should my computer be running games better? Is there anything I can do to find the issue, if there is one?

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Bump... Can anyone help me?

[Deleted]

What resolution and the 'AMD Radeon HD 6800 Series' is from 2009 iirc, why buy it two years ago?

edit: google says 2010, but still...

[Deathquoi]

You sure about those specs? Those are specs from a 2010 machine.

[FallenEmber]

Just double-checked, it was Christmas 2012, actually. So 3 years now. When it was bought it was new, straight from the manufacturer.

I'm certain of the specs, just checked again.

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What resolution and the 'AMD Radeon HD 6800 Series' is from 2009 iirc, why buy it two years ago?

edit: google says 2010, but still...

1680 x 1050

[JestersShadow]

Just double-checked, it was Christmas 2012, actually. So 3 years now. When it was bought it was new, straight from the manufacturer.

I'm certain of the specs, just checked again.

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What do you mean by what resolution? How can I find that...?

Alien ware spun you a line then because holy god. So whats the issue does it slow down, jitter, do you get artifacts?

[Deleted]

Resolution measures how many pixels your monitor displays. You find out in the menu that opens by right-clicking the windows background.

[FallenEmber]

Alien ware spun you a line then because holy god. So whats the issue does it slow down, jitter, do you get artifacts?

FPS completely dies. Seems to work fine on 'good' settings, but jitters/jumps/freezes up on high, and even more on ultra.

[Deathquoi]

You're running on a 5 year old machine. It's expected.

You might be able to get some modest performance improvement by opening up the case and blowing out all the fans and heat sinks with canned air.

[JestersShadow]

FPS completely dies. Seems to work fine on 'good' settings, but jitters/jumps/freezes up on high, and even more on ultra.

I actually disagree a 6800 is so very outdated and was not even a good card in the day. but you can try some of the usual suspects, Remove your drivers completely and reinstall them. make sure your CPU is not overheating too Alienware is Notorious for Overheating.

[FallenEmber]

You're running on a 5 year old machine. It's expected.

Alright... Thanks

[Deleted]

I'd also say it's working as intended. Ultra is out of reach and high will have issues where many players' textures must be loaded: pvp, cities, 25-man raids.

[JestersShadow]

You're running on a 5 year old machine. It's expected.

You might be able to get some modest performance improvement by opening up the case and blowing out all the fans and heat sinks with canned air.

I'm running on a 4-5 year old machine and I run most shit on Ultra it's not that at all. he just has a super shitty GPU

[Deathquoi]

I'm running on a 4-5 year old machine and I run most shit on Ultra it's not that at all. he just has a super shitty GPU

Ok a 5 year old midrange machine, whatever. The point is that his shit is old and wasn't particularly great when it came out.

[FallenEmber]

On that note, then, here's another question since I know next-to-nothing about hardware.
Can I upgrade my GPU and install it myself? Is that doable with a pre-built computer...?
If I can, are there any good options that you can recommend?
Does any of my other hardware need upgrading?

[JestersShadow]

Ok a 5 year old midrange machine, whatever. The point is that his shit is old and wasn't particularly great when it came out.

A 3930k Is still a crazy good CPU especially when overclocked to 4ghz range. His GPU is just so bad I mean really so very very bad.

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On that note, then, here's another question since I know next-to-nothing about hardware.
Can I upgrade my GPU and install it myself? Is that doable with a pre-built computer...?
If I can, are there any good options that you can recommend?
Does any of my other hardware need upgrading?

Yes you can and it is a great time to do so, There's quite a few options, if you wanna go super snazzy get a new GTX 1080, or even a gtx 1070, But if you are on a buget go for a new AMD Polaris if you can wait a little. is not then a r9 390.

they are honestly as easy as open case remove GPU plug new GPU in. Youtube has got your back there if you need Video instructions.

[FallenEmber]

A 3930k Is still a crazy good CPU especially when overclocked to 4ghz range. His GPU is just so bad I mean really so very very bad.

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Yes you can and it is a great time to do so, There's quite a few options, if you wanna go super snazzy get a new GTX 1080, or even a gtx 1070, But if you are on a buget go for a new AMD Polaris if you can wait a little. is not then a r9 390.

they are honestly as easy as open case remove GPU plug new GPU in. Youtube has got your back there if you need Video instructions.

Thanks for the suggestions. I am definitely on a (college) budget now.

Did a quick Google search, are you referring to the RX 480 releasing later this month? $200 seems like a damn good price. What sort of performance increase could I expect? (trying to see if it's worth upgrading)

[c0rnel]

Hello, new account, looking for some help. I have a pretty nice computer that I got two years ago at Christmas, an Alienware Aurora (yeah it's overpriced and all that).

Anyway, recently, I've been having difficulty with games, including Minecraft and WoW. WoW will not run above 'good' settings. Anything above that and it becomes a completely unplayable mess. Here are my specs:

Processor - Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-3930K CPU @ 3.20GHz
Video Card - AMD Radeon HD 6800 Series
RAM - 16 GB
Operating System - Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium Edition Service Pack 1 (build 7601), 64-bit

I don't know much about computer hardware, but I believe I should be expecting much better performance. Could anyone give me some guidance? Should my computer be running games better? Is there anything I can do to find the issue, if there is one?

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Bump... Can anyone help me?

It's your gpu holding you back. If your budget allows go for a newer nvidia video card (I have a similar intel cpu paired with a nvidia gtx 770 and I can handle ultra settings with quiet decent frames even though the 770 is not top of the line - was released in mid 2013) or amd if you decide to stick with the AMD brand.

The AMD 6000 series is about 6 years old. You have a great cpu and lots of ram. The only component holding back your frames is your video card.

[JestersShadow]

Thanks for the suggestions. I am definitely on a (college) budget now.

Did a quick Google search, are you referring to the RX 480 releasing later this month? seems like a damn good price. What sort of performance increase could I expect? (trying to see if it's worth upgrading)

I think the 490x was compared to the GTX 980 I would put that around 6-7 times better if not more to be honest. the thing is GPUS started to scale a hell of a lot after the 6 k series. Especially for 1080p gaming, now youd be at a hard stretch to get a newer card that cant do 1440p gaming smoothly, Also a lot of new games using DX12 move a lot of stress from the CPU into the GPU. So the technology overall got better a lot better.

[FallenEmber]

I think the 490x was compared to the GTX 980 I would put that around 6-7 times better if not more to be honest.

Thanks loads dude. I'll put it on my radar and see about upgrading sometime this Summer.

Thanks for the advice and help guys, cheers!

[JestersShadow]

Thanks loads dude. I'll put it on my radar and see about upgrading sometime this Summer.

Thanks for the advice and help guys, cheers!

Anytime friend ! Enjoy your games.