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    Why won't my computer play games well? what upgrade?

    Discussion in 'Gaming (Software and Graphics Cards)' started by cheebamaster, Mar 21, 2009.

  1. cheebamaster

    cheebamaster Notebook Guru

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    I bought a HP pavillion a couple years back and am running it on:

    Geforce 7900 GS
    AMD Athlon 64X Dual Processor 5200(2cpus) 2.6ghz
    2046 MG Ram
    1440 x 900 Display
    Vista Home Premium 32 bit

    I was thinking maybe to upgrade the graphics card but thats expensive and I thought the 7900GS performed at least decently. I mostly play World of Warcraft and get between 18-20 frames in all places on the lowest setting. I dont really play any other game so all i'm looking for is another 20-50fps on the game which doesn't require much to begin with.

    Where should I start?

    Thank you
     
    cheebamaster, Mar 21, 2009
    #1
  2. Tinselworm

    Tinselworm Notebook Deity

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    i dont think you can upgrade the graphics card, but the components are quite good :/
     
    Tinselworm, Mar 21, 2009
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  3. CA36GTP

    CA36GTP Notebook Evangelist

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    The rest of your system looks fine, you really want a new GPU. Assuming you're American, you can find a 9600 GT for less than $100 if you look around, and that's a great deal.
     
    CA36GTP, Mar 21, 2009
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  4. Ghold

    Ghold Notebook Evangelist

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    ...a new notebook is the only thing you could do if you wanted a better performance. You can't change your graphics card.
     
    Ghold, Mar 21, 2009
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  5. tianxia

    tianxia kitty!!!

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    it should do better than that, the 7900gs is pretty capable, better than a 8600m gt.
    is the card over heating?
     
    tianxia, Mar 21, 2009
    #5
  6. HyBry

    HyBry Notebook Enthusiast

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    what drivers are you using?
    the ones coming with laptop are usually crap, so u need to update them...
     
    HyBry, Mar 21, 2009
    #6
  7. WintersFury

    WintersFury Notebook Geek

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    I was thinking the same thing when I read the OP's post. I updated the drivers on my laptop and the performance went up a fair bit.
     
    WintersFury, Mar 21, 2009
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  8. HTWingNut

    HTWingNut Potato

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    Is this a notebook or desktop?
     
    HTWingNut, Mar 21, 2009
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  9. terminus123

    terminus123 Notebook Deity

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    yea...weird. You should be able to play WOW at max settings.
     
    terminus123, Mar 21, 2009
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  10. Ayle

    Ayle Trailblazer

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    It a dual cpu so I think it's a desktop.
     
    Ayle, Mar 21, 2009
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  11. HTWingNut

    HTWingNut Potato

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    I think the OP is confused. I believe it's a dual core Athlon 64 X2 5200+ with a GeForce 7900m GS.

    Either way it should slice through WoW with no difficulty especially at 1440x900.

    I would start by going here to get latest drivers:

    http://www.nvidia.com/object/notebook_drivers.html
     
    HTWingNut, Mar 21, 2009
    #11
  12. spradhan01

    spradhan01 Notebook Virtuoso

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    Just get 7950 gtx. Thats the best upgrade I think.
     
    spradhan01, Mar 22, 2009
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  13. Tinselworm

    Tinselworm Notebook Deity

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    apart from new graphics cards like the 8 or 9 series

    It is a Desktop PC
     
    Tinselworm, Mar 22, 2009
    #13
  14. Mag07

    Mag07 Notebook Geek

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    I get an average 50fps in most places, and easily 35 in 25men raids on ATI x1600 on medium/high settings, on the lappy in my signature so obviously it's not the spec that's causing your problems. Try cleaning the computer, run some antivirus, check performance in different games and tasks, run a benchmark etc to narrow the issue.
     
    Mag07, Mar 22, 2009
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  15. Signal2Noise

    Signal2Noise Über-geek.

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    For desktop computers go here.
     
    Signal2Noise, Mar 22, 2009
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  16. HTWingNut

    HTWingNut Potato

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    Go directly to jail. Do not pass Go. Do not collect $200.
     
    HTWingNut, Mar 22, 2009
    #16