Need to upgrade, or buy new?

[AlpineTiburon04 3]

Wasn't sure how to proceed. I have an older desktop that I think I could upgrade to run SimCity really well, but I haven't done that in a while and want it to be worth-while. I'd like to work with offline mode and build a large enough city to exploit the Project Orion - 3k Extended Boundary and mega towers, etc, but get great graphics performance too. Is that possible, or do I need a whole new desktop??

 

http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/document?docname=c01374052&cc=ca&dlc=en&lc=en&product=3686668

 

Can I just upgrade the RAM and video card?

[Yayie 311]

Wasn't sure how to proceed. I have an older desktop that I think I could upgrade to run SimCity really well, but I haven't done that in a while and want it to be worth-while. I'd like to work with offline mode and build a large enough city to exploit the Project Orion - 3k Extended Boundary and mega towers, etc, but get great graphics performance too. Is that possible, or do I need a whole new desktop??

 

http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/document?docname=c01374052&cc=ca&dlc=en&lc=en&product=3686668

 

Can I just upgrade the RAM and video card?

 

RAM is fine. 

My suggestion is get a new graphic card, something like this (judging from the original case + power supply)

http://www.gigabyte.my/products/product-page.aspx?pid=5245#ov

[AlpineTiburon04 3]

Okay, so that looks awesome. Will my computer run a board designed for pci-e 3.0? Seems a bit advanced for a computer built in 2008... I looked at BestBuy's website and notices high-end gaming machines have 12 gigs of RAM and cpus clocking 3.2ghz. I don't need something like that to use SimCity to its full potential? I don't just want decent graphics, I want the graphics that screenshots make me envious of HA

Thanks for your help so far, I appreciate it!

[Yayie 311]

Okay, so that looks awesome. Will my computer run a board designed for pci-e 3.0? Seems a bit advanced for a computer built in 2008... I looked at BestBuy's website and notices high-end gaming machines have 12 gigs of RAM and cpus clocking 3.2ghz. I don't need something like that to use SimCity to its full potential? I don't just want decent graphics, I want the graphics that screenshots make me envious of HA

Thanks for your help so far, I appreciate it!

 

Should be fine, its the same slot as the previous vga card which also use the same pcie.

 

I'm sure it doesn't takes a lot of RAM to run SimCity smoothly. 8gb RAM is decent, any i5 processors and current vga top of line able to run SimCity.

Depending on your budget, how much you want to spend.

[xoxide 377]

SimCity 2013 like Yayie mentioned is NOT a hog of resources UNLESS your on a mac and you must have a little bit higher of a system unless your using alternative playing methods vs native.

[AlpineTiburon04 3]

I don't really have a budget. Comparable cards at BestBuy are $2-300 and a new box is $800 minimum. I'm prepared to pay that if need be. I wonder if its worth it to buy a $300 card and $60 of RAM and still not have an n-router, blu-ray, or USB3 ports. Along with a 6 year old power supply and a 2.2 ghz processor... I really don't use the computer for anything other than watching torrented movies, Hulu, and SimCity.

[xoxide 377]

nearly none of the stuff mentioned would impact game play.

 

CPU is the only major impacting factor along with 4 gigs ram min / max on a 32 bit os 8 on a 64.. 12 is ideal on 64 for minimum with os and games.

 

a decent video card

 

with those alone even with the BEST of everything else you would get no major improvement without jumping to dual xeon

[Yayie 311]

yeah, what Xoxide said. 

Im not sure how Core 2 Quad performs but it should serve well on normal games like SimCity.

Only that should be upgrade is the VGA.

[AlpineTiburon04 3]

I actually knew what most of that meant. Funny how it comes back so quickly. Thanks so much guys. Was excited to get home tonight and start shopping for one. I like this one: http://www.bestbuy.com/site/nvidia-geforce-gtx-770-2gb-gddr5-pci-express-3-0-graphics-card/1826004.p?id=1219065626957&skuId=1826004&st=categoryid$abcat0507002&cp=1&lp=1

 

On a related note, how about other games that may look better on a PC than on a PS3? If I'm going to spend some money on this one anyway, may as well get the best use out of it. I used play ONLY computer games until i bought the PS3. Now I'm thinking about playing more of them again. When does it become worth buying a new one?

[Yayie 311]

 I like this one: http://www.bestbuy.com/site/nvidia-geforce-gtx-770-2gb-gddr5-pci-express-3-0-graphics-card/1826004.p?id=1219065626957&skuId=1826004&st=categoryid$abcat0507002&cp=1&lp=1

 

 

you might want to check

 

- the length of a card, and make sure its fits your pc casing.

- power supply, I believe 450/500w should do it.

[AlpineTiburon04 3]

How can I tell if the power supply is rated high enough? Original was 300w, but it was replaced... There's what appears to be a red breaker on the back panel with a 115 written on it??

[AlpineTiburon04 3]

nvm. Current power supply is rated at 350w, the $300 card I just bought needs 600w mininum. Now what? Have to go power supply shopping too? This is getting expensive quickly haha

[Yayie 311]

yeah, might want to grab the PSU.

[AlpineTiburon04 3]

Reading everything above, I'm wondering if I'm going overboard here. Can I get a cheaper, $150 video card that will run on the current 350watt PSU and still get max graphics for SimCity? According to the Cities of Tomorrow requirements, a GTX250 card is all that's required. I'm sure there is a 5 or 6 series available that will run on my current PSU and deliver the quality I need ???

[ausmayor 7]

SimCity 2013 like Yayie mentioned is NOT a hog of resources UNLESS your on a mac and you must have a little bit higher of a system unless your using alternative playing methods vs native.

i beg to differ,

my pc started running hot, when i was playing simcity, it actually got hot on the case as well. so i had to take the lid off to let it cool down some...i need an internal fan but not shelling out more money for this bloody thing. cost me enough for the upgrade,

 

i upgraded to 8 gig of ram, ati radeon 2gb and bigger power supply, simcity was freezing so i decided to upgrade,,no more freezes.

[xoxide 377]

rule of thumb for PC's with good video cards ram and cpu

 

nothing less than a 600 if a current motherboard socket 11 or 21 format

 

with PCI video

[Yayie 311]

Reading everything above, I'm wondering if I'm going overboard here. Can I get a cheaper, $150 video card that will run on the current 350watt PSU and still get max graphics for SimCity? According to the Cities of Tomorrow requirements, a GTX250 card is all that's required. I'm sure there is a 5 or 6 series available that will run on my current PSU and deliver the quality I need ???

 

That's why I suggest a smaller card. If you decided not to upgrade your power supply than your best bet is to get the VGA. 

GTX250 seems fine, it'll run well on SimCity. 

[AlpineTiburon04 3]

But will I get great graphics?

If I keep the GTX770 and upgrade my RAM and PSU, what are some good games to play on my upgraded box that will exploit its newfound power? I used to love playing Deus Ex and Infamous...

[rmjohnson144 39]

Wasn't sure how to proceed. I have an older desktop that I think I could upgrade to run SimCity really well, but I haven't done that in a while and want it to be worth-while. I'd like to work with offline mode and build a large enough city to exploit the Project Orion - 3k Extended Boundary and mega towers, etc, but get great graphics performance too. Is that possible, or do I need a whole new desktop??

 

http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/document?docname=c01374052&cc=ca&dlc=en&lc=en&product=3686668

 

Can I just upgrade the RAM and video card?

 

If you want to use the Orion mod you'll need a faster processor.  Simcity if very CPU intensive and you'll need the fastest CPU you can find.  Q6600 is just too slow to be effective at larger maps.  Don't worry if it is only a dual core, as Simcity is a single core game.  although you may want a quad core or better if you plan on playing other games.

 

 

 

 

Sorry for all the bad advice you've been getting, but a bigger video card is only going to make it look pretty and put even more of a load on the CPU and get even slower.  Not to mention you'll need a bigger power supply for the bigger video card.

 

In the future if you're going to upgrade a computer, please visit tech support sites or overclocking sites as they specialize in building computers.  not game forums who specialize in software.

 

I was looking at CPUs and see they have a 4GHz for $340, sadly it's integrated HD 4600 graphics is about as powerful as your 8500GT.  lol  and you'd need a new motherboard/memory for another $200+.  You could save about a couple hundred and get a dual core 3.6GHz.  You'll be stuck on low quality graphics for a while until you upgrade to a more powerful video card.

 

You may also need a new computer case as OEM sites like Dell/HP/etc have special made (proprietary) motherboards and other parts.  This way you are stuck upgrading through them and paying their high prices.

 

Sorry for the better news, but in the long run, you'd need a new computer to get the most out of your system.

[cdnmlcdnml0 1]

Reading everything above, I'm wondering if I'm going overboard here. Can I get a cheaper, $150 video card that will run on the current 350watt PSU and still get max graphics for SimCity? According to the Cities of Tomorrow requirements, a GTX250 card is all that's required. I'm sure there is a 5 or 6 series available that will run on my current PSU and deliver the quality I need ???

 

It depends , Are you ok with 720p gameplay or need 1080p ? if you need 1080p or greater , then forget about that range of graphic cards.

 

My PC configuration is this : (its from 2009 and the only thing I upgraded is graphic card)

 

Core 2 Quad 2.6 Ghz

4GB DDR3 RAM

Sapphire HD 7770 1GB GDDR5 card and it consumes ~80-90w

425w PSU

LG 42 inch 3DTV as monitor for the PC

 

7770 card costs less than $100 in many places , its a decent card for casual users.

 

As far as other cards are concerned , Most of them consume more than 100w power supply.

 

 

I recorded a game using a camera : 

 

 

 

As you can see that , its a big city and night time. Even when I moved the mouse very fast , game didn't take performance hit

[cdnmlcdnml0 1]

 

SimCity 2013 like Yayie mentioned is NOT a hog of resources UNLESS your on a mac and you must have a little bit higher of a system unless your using alternative playing methods vs native.

i beg to differ,

my pc started running hot, when i was playing simcity, it actually got hot on the case as well. so i had to take the lid off to let it cool down some...i need an internal fan but not shelling out more money for this bloody thing. cost me enough for the upgrade,

 

i upgraded to 8 gig of ram, ati radeon 2gb and bigger power supply, simcity was freezing so i decided to upgrade,,no more freezes.

 

 

Are you trying to get 1080p @ 60fps performance ?

[AlpineTiburon04 3]

So many answers, so many questions! I use a 52" 1080p TV as my monitor, so that's the main reason I want a better card. But after all the back and forth with CPU vs VGA, I'm not sure what to do. Thinking maybe I should just spend the money on a PS4 and stop caring =/

 

cdnmlcdnml0 (what a name, huh!?) If you ran your game on 1080p and use Orion 3k, you'd notice a big difference, right?

[cdnmlcdnml0 1]

 

No , 1080p isn't running very well on this card , you must either lower graphics from ultra to high or play at full settings in 720p.

What I have seen is , Simcity is just blowing up 720p into 1080p i.e you see the same amount of city whether you are in 720p or 1080p but sharpness increases. However , buttons on the game became very small to a point where I found it difficult to navigate compared to 720p.

 

--------

 

So you have hooked PC to 52 inch 1080p TV , Nice !  What speakers did you hook up to the system ?