PC upgrade help

[jamface]

Hi guys,

I've been using dolphin for a while now and really enjoying it on my pc but a few games run a bit too slow to be playable, even at lower resolutions. I'd really like to be able to play at 1080p and try out the new 3D mode too.

Here's the system I'm using at the moment (running Vista), what would be the best bits to upgrade for better Dolphin performance?
Motherboard - Gigabyte 965P-DS3
Processor - Core2Duo E6400 (overclocked to 2.5GHz)
RAM - 2 x 1GB OCZ Gold
Graphics - Radeon X1800XT 256MB
PSU - Enermax 380W (can't remember what model)

I'm hoping to just be able to upgrade the processor and the graphics and buy a couple more 1 GB sticks of OCZ gold. Maybe get an SSD drive too, would that improve dolphin performance at all?

Thanks guys!
JamFace

[thor124]

Well it would seem that your graphics are a bit out of date Overall if you are looking for your computer to play games faster at better resolutions you need a better graphics cards a couple i can reccomend are the ati 4870 or if you have a bit more money to spend 5850 thats really gona give you the most bang for your buck also upgrade that ram because vista loves to eat that up

[Dynam0]

First of all for a good upgrade u need to change your PSU (if u want mid-high end hardware). Don't buy the SSD and buy a good PSU, check this link:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371026&cm_re=PSU_750_watts-_-17-371-026-_-Product

Now remember, dolphin = 45~50% cpu, 35~40% = GPU and 10~15% = rest of hardware, so u need a good cpu for play ur games at high resolutions(Dolphin only needs 2 cores at this moment, maybe 3 in the future).

I recommend u the next parts:

CPU:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115036&cm_re=e8500-_-19-115-036-_-Product

GPU:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102878&cm_re=ATI_RADEON_5830-_-14-102-878-_-Product

or this if u want oc

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127491&cm_re=ATI_RADEON_5830-_-14-127-491-_-Product

[jamface]

Hiya, ok so I've had a bit of time to do some research and it looks like my board isn't compatible with many of the new chips (it's rev 1.0) so I'm thinking Q6600 - what sort of performance improvement would I see in dolphin coming from E6300? (I know I said I had an E6400 before, I'd forgotten it was actually E6300)

What do you think of this second hand one?
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=200534250172&_trksid=p2759.l1259#ht_740wt_934

Also thinking ATI 4870 1GB graphics card (anyone have any thoughts on this one?
http://overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-093-GW

Plus an extra 2 x 1GB sticks of OCZ gold RAM and a better PSU, hopefully modular but we'll see if I can afford that after the other bits...

I'll save the SSD for my next upgrade.