To the Computer Guru's

Im updating my graphics card price range is $150-200. System is a few years old and I was wondering do I need to upgrade everything or will the new card work fine with this motherboard. Graphics card I have now is a Radeon 6850.

Current system specs
OS Name Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium
Version 6.1.7601 Service Pack 1 Build 7601
OS Manufacturer Microsoft Corporation
System Manufacturer Gigabyte Technology Co., Ltd.
System Model GA-MA790XT-UD4P
System Type x64-based PC
Processor AMD Phenom(tm) II X4 925 Processor, 2800 Mhz, 4 Core(s), 4 Logical Processor(s)
BIOS Version/Date Award Software International, Inc. F8, 9/8/2011
Installed Physical Memory (RAM) 8.00 GB
Total Physical Memory 8.00 GB
Available Physical Memory 6.36 GB
Total Virtual Memory 16.0 GB
Available Virtual Memory 13.9 GB
Page File Space 8.00 GB
Page File C:\pagefile.sys

Its getting harder to find good AM3 processors so if you are going to upgrade anything other then the video card you basically have to upgrade everything.

A new card should do just fine with that set up. You'll likely need more RAM at some point if you want to kick the game up a notch. But if i recall, 8 is pretty good for what PS2 demands from your machine.

I run a Phenom X6 1100t, 16GB of RAM and a 570 Superclocked. I would recommend an NVIDIA card for PS2, but untill they fix the borked Drivers, a Radeon is just as nice. It just wont be able to do dedicated Physx processing, whenever that is finally finished.

Just forget that and buy an alienware, cant go wrong with that.

Honestly just make sure you have the right slots on your MOBO to match the graphics card you choose. $150-200 should be good enough to get you the 'best' graphics card from about a year ago easy.

I've been running the game on an Nvidia GTX 550TI and I get 50 fps usually. I've been recording w/o impacting my FPS, pretty much the rest of my specs are identical to what you posted, 8gb ram, page file, even the phenon II processor, etc. The only thing that may be different is I run PS2 off of a solid state drive while recording video to a regular HDD.

I'm dissapointed that the SLI support is so poor for PS2. I suspect that my processor just doesn't handle it well (the bottleneck seems to be the processor when I try running SLI with my other Nvidia GTX 550TI). Other factors that I may be having issues with is my monitor only goes up to 60 hz, which I suspect limits it to 60 frames per second maximum.

edit: forgot to mention I do not overclock anything ever. Its not that I don't think I could figure it out, but I plan to keep using my computer for years to come and I don't want to jeopardize a good thing.

My ingame fps meter switches between gpu and cpu as bottleneck. (it shows it as text)
I have a similar cpu but a 965 amd. (you have a 925)
I have a 120 dollar amd HD 7770.

My QUESS is my system is fairly optimized for this game (aka bottleneck switches between cpu and gpu)
a 100 dollar gpu should be your sweet spot. (this is a guess)

except spending twice as much as the hardware itself costs. But it comes in a nice box.

It's what idiots with to much money do.

An Alienware system is a highly-overclocked midrange computer with a $600 alien sticker on it.

Buying more ram for PS2 will literally do nothing, I went from 4gb to 8gb the other day because 64-bit came out and was nixed in a matter of hours. There is lietrally no change on the 32-bit client from 4gb of 1866 to 8gb. I think it will make a minor difference even with 64.

OP your CPU is you biggest limiting factor right now, but you could always buy a better GPU and plan on transfering that to your new rig later.

Your 2.8Ghz quad w/8GB of ram is fine. I have an HP P7-1587. AMD A8 Quad at 3.2Ghz w/8GB ram and I use an R7-260x Over Clocked w/2GB GDDR5 ram. I have not utilized any of the overclocked capabilities of the card. It runs superbly with everything on High. Benchmark is at 2977 for the R7-260xoc. Your 6850 benches at 2270. I paid 123 for my card at Micro Center as an open box. Your card benches better than the HD7770 so I wouldn't consider that as an option. I realize benchmarks aren't the final say but they are a fair representation of the performance you would get under moderate load conditions.

It looks like your motherboard should be fine. If your getting a decent card it will likely take up 2 slots on your case so just be aware of that as well.

hmm. I noticed a difference between 4 and 8 gb when I upgraded my ram 6 months ago.

Yeah i mean I run razer game booster so most my background programs are off when I play. The 32 bit client can't address over 4gb so any extra you have is basically for other stuff or will help you with streaming. 64-bit is another story because it would open up some ram for the game if it could use it with your settings. With my setup this is how it goes 100 frames at warpgate 100 people in the battle 60 frames, 200 people in the battle 30. FX-4100@4.0ghz 4gb 1866 ram, ssd, 560ti@925/2000 extra 4gb didn't give me any increase. Textures ultra, grpahic quality high, render quality(?) 100% everything else low or off whatever is lower.

People always act as if you need a super computer for this game but I get similar performance to people with i7's and the latest Nvidia cards from what I read on the forum. My CPU cost me $90 and I got a free motherboard with it at microcenter.

The Phenom II processors are really showing their age and can't handle this game very well. I just upgraded from an OC'd Phenom II 720 to an Intel i5 and the difference is night and day. I'm still running my old Radeon 4890 and I can play on high at 60fps.

This game is CPU heavy. Though a new processor and motherboard is gonna run you over budget...

https://www.google.com/#q=phenom ii x6 1100t for sale&tbm=shop&spd=17244720544731681258

Im thinking about getting this, it is supported by my motherboard and falls within the price range, cpu does look like the bottle neck

Ok, im going to look into this.

No! Don't buy another Phenom II!!

It doesn't matter that it's a higher tier Phenom it's still the same architecture. You can overclock your current CPU and effectively have the same thing.

For your price range I'm sure you can find a 560 TI or something similar. Yesteryear's top GPUs will still eat most anything you throw at it. If you save enough for a new processor than get a modern AMD rig or an Intel i5. You'll also need a new motherboard too.

Seriously, another Phenom II is not worth the money.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819113287

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128627

There ya go, a new quad core AMD rig for $200. Re-use your old RAM and GPU. I don't know much about their FX processors but I garuntee you it's better than a Phenom II. Don't buy a Phenom II.

Planetside 2 Gameplay Discussion.

Tweaking your PC is half the gameplay is it not!