Ok, i got a lil problem......9800GTX+.....

[oqsajec]

Ok, i got my new evga 9800GTX+ 512mb DDR3 kick a$$ gpu BUT, my cpu is not up to par. (my board also runs the pci-e slots at X8, X16 in sli) Its a amd athlon X2 5200+ @2.71 ghz. What is ya'lls recommended cpu speed for this particular gpu? I would switch to intel but it'll cost me too much. Check out my system specs and you'll see that the mobo i got (MSI MS-7325 K9N4 SLI) only supports the 89watt 3.1ghz athlon X2 6000+ (its the fastest cpu it can handle and its kinda hard to find). you think i should just switch the board and cpu or just the cpu? I don't overclock, don't really know how so i won't bother trying. Any suggestions?

[InTeL-iNsIdE]

Best bet would be grab an am2+/am3 board and a cheap athlon II or phenom dual/tri core

You got a budget ?

[oqsajec]

Yeah, i'm looking at a combined number of about 250 bucks. After about another month though. I wanted to get a new power supply as well, i'm kinda worried about that apevia psu. I liked the specs on that phenom 2 X4 3.2 ghz deneb quad core but i would need a newer mobo that would be compatable with my current cpu so i can keep my rig going while i save up. I was thinking of the NVIDIA nForce® 750a SLI mobo
http://www.nvidia.com/object/product...0a_sli_us.html
to go along with that cpu.

[InTeL-iNsIdE]

Yea, Your PSU isnt the best but seems fine enough for that rig and single gpu, I wouldnt have any notions of SLI with it though

[oqsajec]

Hell no, i bought it for 36 bucks brand new (the thing runs for $100+) BUT after a few more bad reviews.....i'm nervous but i don't overclock so i think i'm safe for now. I want to run sli later but i'll get the corsair 750TX to run that. When i put this gpu in, i expected a kick a$$ experience (it replaced a pny nvidia geforce 8600GT DDR3 256mb gpu) but it still has quick pauses in the screen rendering (when gaming the screen will "stutter" when serious fighting goes on, and sometimes it'll happen just when i rotate the view in the game). For the money i payed (i got this one at a steal for 86 bucks brand new with warranty) i expected alot more but it seems my rig needs a lil more "umph" to keep up with it.

[InnocentCriminal]

I'd recommend backing up all your important stuff and then try out 64bit Windows 7 - you'll be able to use your 4GB of RAM instead of 3.25GB (or less) your CPU should feel nippier and once you've removed some of the bloat from 7 you'll be able to give your rig a good ol' stress and see how it handles things compared to XP.

I really wouldn't bother spending any money on new components just yet, if you find 7 not to your tastes then a new CPU & mobo might be advantageous. Highly recommend you try out 7 though.

[xBruce88x]

Here's some parts you might want to consider...

up to 3-way SLI $140
Phenom II X3 2.6ghz $109
Phenom II X2 BE 3.1ghz $102
Athlon II X4 2.6ghz $99

either combo will be just under $250

one other thing, is there a lot of hard drive activity going on while your gaming? that can hurt performance sometimes too

[oqsajec]

I kept an eye on my hd activity while gaming and i noticed that my norton internet security startes to do a full system scan. I changed the settings on it and i haven't noticed any considerable improvement. I'm looking into those recommendations in the last post, it seems that that mobo is just what i'm looking for. Thanks xBruce88x.