My insane computer need a little upgrade

[Cyanotical]

rather then poke holes at all the bad posts about video cards, i'll point out that the OP's system is not what i'd call insane, a maxed out SR-2 or 990x system is what i'd call insane

[Cantii]

then I dont know what is the problem with my computer. Why I think my graphic card is the problem its because i must use Catalyst Control Center to make my resolution fit my 23in. screen (LG W2353V)
For exemple when I play wow in ICC 25m my fps down from 120 fps to as low as 5 fps during any boss fight

Well, what's actually the model of your video card? Radeon 4800 is just the series. Is it a 4830, 4850, 4870, 4850 X2, or 4870 X2? That would help a lot.

It also sounds like you're connecting your monitor via HDMI. Older video cards really don't support HDMI too well (you have to resize the image to fit your monitor as it automatically implements overscan and most monitors don't have an option to turn overscan on or off). Try connecting via DVI, you'll find things are a lot better.

WoW is also far more CPU intensive than it is GPU intensive. Since you probably are using an i7-920, I would suggest maybe upgrading that to an i7-950, you'll find performance boosted in raids with that. Grab that i7-950 and combine it with a 6870 or GTX560 and you'll be golden.

Edit: Also, as someone asked before, what power supply are you using? I'm assuming it has at least one 6-pin PCI-E power connector.

[ayako]

Well, what's actually the model of your video card? Radeon 4800 is just the series. Is it a 4830, 4850, 4870, 4850 X2, or 4870 X2? That would help a lot.

It also sounds like you're connecting your monitor via HDMI. Older video cards really don't support HDMI too well (you have to resize the image to fit your monitor as it automatically implements overscan and most monitors don't have an option to turn overscan on or off). Try connecting via DVI, you'll find things are a lot better.

WoW is also far more CPU intensive than it is GPU intensive. Since you probably are using an i7-920, I would suggest maybe upgrading that to an i7-950, you'll find performance boosted in raids with that. Grab that i7-950 and combine it with a 6870 or GTX560 and you'll be golden.

Edit: Also, as someone asked before, what power supply are you using? I'm assuming it has at least one 6-pin PCI-E power connector.

To add to this overclocking your 920 somewhat more aggressively will actually net you some great gains, its a decent overclocker for its generation.

[Deleted]

a maxed out SR-2 or 990x system is what i'd call insane

Insane would be correct for what you'd call insane, especially for a gaming rig as no game on the market out there would benefit from hexacores. Sure it'd be nice for modeling work or video editing, but seriously, 1000 euros for the CPU, gee... OP's CPU is fine, though I'd say a bit on the insane side on the price vs gain standpoint for gaming rig as intel tends to be on the pricier side, compared to the pretty much equivalent Phenom II X4 955 that I have. But the GFX card is an undeniable bottleneck. Mayhaps not for WoW, which as noted before is more CPU intensive, but for Crysis2 and such.

[Couturexoxo]

Nividia geforce 580 gfx

[Deleted]

my 570 runs crysis 2 at hardcore so you can go down a few i guess

[dicertification]

I'm seeing 6950's coming to just over $200 on sale at places.

That's what I'd get personally. If it's within your budget.

[Cantii]

To add to this overclocking your 920 somewhat more aggressively will actually net you some great gains, its a decent overclocker for its generation.

Hrm... OCing an i7-920 would be nothing more than increasing the BLCK and/or multiplier... could get it around 3.4GHz without a voltage increase pretty easily, would just have to downclock the memory to keep it within specs. It could work well and not have to buy a new CPU, good go.

[ayako]

Hrm... OCing an i7-920 would be nothing more than increasing the BLCK and/or multiplier... could get it around 3.4GHz without a voltage increase pretty easily, would just have to downclock the memory to keep it within specs. It could work well and not have to buy a new CPU, good go.

http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/cpu..._11.html#sect0

Yep he could probably follow one of the many guides out by now for the 920.

[Cantii]

http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/cpu..._11.html#sect0

Yep he could probably follow one of the many guides out by now for the 920.

Here's another great article on overclocking Nehalem processors:

http://www.maximumpc.com/article/fea...lem_its_limits

Though, I would still recommend getting a new CPU overall, as the i7-920 is a bit aged. But if the OP feels comfortable with learning to OC, why not, eh?

[Chickensoup23]

Depends entirely on your budget. Radeon 6950 and GTX560ti are good choices for lower high-end cards that are pretty well in line with the budget of your other computer parts. If money allows it, go for R6970 or GTX570.

On the other hand 2.67GHz i7 probably means i7-920 which is getting really aged and slow by today's standards when you compare it to current i5-2500K, and the CPU will slow you down big time in WoW's 25-man raids for example even with new graphics card. Overclocking might not be that bad idea for another speed boost after getting the graphics card.

My buddy is still rocking an i7 920 @ 4.0 GHz w/ a R6950 and it runs everything at max, 1920x1200 with good FPS, except maybe Metro 2033 or something VERY demandant. Still a capable processor for a good price.

[franczy]

I got a nvidia 4850 X2 and and my power supply just exploded yesterday i had a 450 watt any suggestion with that too?

[Xuvial]

That's why it's not on the list.

HAHA I lol'd!

Also, isn't "Gamer" the lowest setting for Crysis2?

New names for settings. In beta "Hardcore" was the highest, now it's "Extreme". I wish they would stick to one bloody naming convention. But by far the biggest slap in the face is how we can no longer tweak individual settings in-game and have to resort to console commands.

[vesseblah]

My buddy is still rocking an i7 920 @ 4.0 GHz w/ a R6950 and it runs everything at max, 1920x1200 with good FPS, except maybe Metro 2033 or something VERY demandant. Still a capable processor for a good price.

At 4GHz it's decent, at original clocks it sucks by today's standards. That's why I told to upgrade or OC it.

[ayako]

HAHA I lol'd!


New names for settings. In beta "Hardcore" was the highest, now it's "Extreme". I wish they would stick to one bloody naming convention. But by far the biggest slap in the face is how we can no longer tweak individual settings in-game and have to resort to console commands.

They know the people who know what they're doing will be able to edit the config files/console, and let the casuals just use the presets.

[bryanmathis]

gtx 460x 2 or hd 6850 x2, 300$ for either setup gets you more performance than a gtx 480 by quite a bit. the 6850's preform a bit better than the 460's but cost a tad more. tomshardware has some good benchmarks for both set-ups