Increasing Graphics

[Kodakk]

Hey guys,
I was wondering if any of you techies knows a way to increase your performance - primarily in the graphics department. I'm currently looking to overclock my processor, but was interested in finding other solutions to help my performance in the graphics department (if I can tweak any settings, if there are 3rd party programs, etc.) - Or at least make it look better without taking a large performance hit.

I currently run a single 7800 GTX card and an AMD 3500+ Processor. I'd go out and purchase new parts but I'm running low on funds. (I also run XP Home if that is of any help)

All help is appreciated. Thanks :salute:

[=98=]

You could overclock the graphics card, but that CPU is going to bottleneck it so, so much.

[jake_]

You could overclock the graphics card, but that CPU is going to bottleneck it so, so much.

:nod:

You're not going to get really any really noticeable difference right now. You just about have to upgrade the CPU before you do anything else.

Anyway, the only two ways you can really get better performance is OC'ing and upgrading.

[Death Merchant]

You could overclock the graphics card, but that CPU is going to bottleneck it so, so much.

I remember three years back saying anandtech saying that an 3500+ is a good combination with a 7800gtx when the 7800gtx was released the fastest processor for gaming was a 2.6ghz single core Athlon (FX-55)

Yeh you can overclock but it wont give you a massive boost and youll still be stuck on the lower settings on newer games with maybe a 5%-10% increase in performance

if your planning on an upgrade reccomend it as you will almost certainly have a socket 939 motherboard which AMD dont sell processors for anymore so the only option is use ebay and youll likely pay over the odds for an older processor (best you will get is something like an amd 4800+ 2.4ghz dual core) which is really low end nowadays its better to save some money and build new if your planning on going down that route

[looqas]

You can try your hand OCing the video card. It's easier than CPU.

Use google to search info about OCing a 7800GTX. Things like what core and memory speeds are reasonable along at what temperatures. Do some research before jumping to the actual thing.

Porgrams like RivaTuner can be used to overclock both ATi's and nvidia's cards.

[=98=]

Use ATItool to stress test it. It works for both Nvidia/AMD cards.

[sava700]

agree...his CPU is bottlenecking the system... don't even fool with screwing up the card overclocking with that CPU.

Make sure its cool when running and dust free, also might look at simple control panel settings for a few increases.