Computer help forum: What Upgrades Do I Need? (Noobie)

Answer Best answer as chosen by user BomerDX15

Processor, video card

by jeeves86 - 5/14/12 10:24 PM

In Reply to: What Upgrades Do I Need? (Noobie) by BomerDX15

Upgrading a processor isn't for the faint of heart. At 4 gigs, your RAM seems like it should be suitable for the job, but an upgrade never hurt anyone. I'm thinking more along the lines of your processor that needs to be upgraded, but upgrade the processor and you might find yourself upgrading your whole computer.

What kind of video card do you have on the system? Are the drivers up to date?

Make sure needless services aren't running in the background. You'd be surprised how much resources seemingly small programs can use up. Adjust the settings on Minecraft so that your computer will actually run it. You may just not be able to play it at the highest quality settings for the best performance. For those of us who don't have the cash to afford all of the latest components, it's a delicate balancing act.

Good luck!

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Processor...

by BomerDX15 - 5/14/12 10:39 PM

In Reply to: Processor, video card by jeeves86

My video card is a ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3400 and I'm like 70% sure all my drivers are up to date, but I'll check that tomorrow. As for background services running, I made sure at start up my computer runs only bare bone minimum what I need (No iTunes, Spotify, etc.) and I frequently open the task manager and close everything that I don't need minus the program I'm using. As for minecraft settings, I've gone as far as downloading mods to lower the quality of the game beyond what is initially allowed, and it still turns my computer into a ball of fire that lags every once in a while (And no multitasking allowed while playing, needless to say...)

So I feel like my best bet is to upgrade my processor.... Why do you say that I might find myself upgrading my whole computer?

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Processor

by jeeves86 - 5/14/12 10:54 PM

In Reply to: Processor... by BomerDX15

You need to make sure any processor that you choose will be compatible with your motherboard. You might be in a spot where you've got the best processor that you can for your motherboard. They're pretty expensive to replace (unless you can find a bargain) too. So if you replace the processor, replace the motherboard, you might find that you'd need to replace the RAM too.

I probably should have asked this before - is this a desktop or a laptop you're running? When I search for the ATI Radeon HD 3400, I'm getting laptop results.

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Laptop

by BomerDX15 - 5/15/12 4:16 AM

In Reply to: Processor by jeeves86

Yeah it's a Dell Studio 1535 laptop. How would I find out what processors are compatible? I know not all are, based on the plug on the mother board, but I'm not sure how to find out...

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Re: compatible

by Kees_B - 5/15/12 4:37 AM

In Reply to: Laptop by BomerDX15

The best way to get a reliable answer: ask Dell Customer support.

Kees

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