Are you 100% sure you wiped out all the old drivers from your Program Files, the registry, and AppData—and maybe even ran a deep clean with something like Driver Sweeper?
And after all that, did you actually install these drivers?
Look, that power supply is total junk. You don't want to pair something that cheap with high-end components unless you’re actively looking for a hardware meltdown. If you had an MS FSP 400 w, we could actually talk, but this thing is honestly pathetic. If you're dead set on staying under $133 and not spending a single extra cent, then here you go. Or maybe even a cheaper LC model.
You can pull off the same thing with an HD 7850—it’ll be rock solid, too. Plus, you're actually getting more bang for your buck since it runs cooler and won't eat through your power supply like the Nvidia GeForce GTX 560 Ti does.
Honestly, the HD 7850 is the absolute best buy here. You're going to have a way better experience with it than that GTX 560 Ti—mainly because of what I mentioned before, but also because that extra VRAM makes a massive difference in beefier titles like Battlefield 3.
That card is a solid pick, honestly—but it really comes down to what resolution you're running. If you aren't planning on upgrading your monitor anytime soon, the Sapphire HD 6870 might be worth a look... Check this out—found a listing for a Sapphire HD 6870 1GB over at an online retailer. Looks like a solid little card if you can snag it. It'll run everything on high or ultra settings too—you'll definitely save yourself some trouble that way. $183 What else can you swap out if you're trying to offload the CPU, RAM, and motherboard just to squeeze out some extra cash for more upgrades? $183 Once you make the jump to the newer SB platform, you're gonna have a much better overall setup—seriously.
Samuel Brooks said:Come on, hit me with some more suggestions. I was leaning towards grabbing the MSI Nvidia GeForce GTX 560 Hawk, but then I read online that there might be some issues with that specific card...
Also, what resolution are you playing at—what kind of monitor are we talking about here?
First off, we're talking about a budget scavenger hunt here—you can probably snag even more $17 if you know how to haggle, mostly because this thing is running on ancient DDR2.
Secondly, if he’d actually put in a little effort, he would’ve posted his full specs and asked which RAM we’d recommend. Then we could actually tell him—he’s likely rocking some old e2xxx Intel, a Celeron, or maybe a Pentium. Instead of blowing $133 on 4GB of RAM, he’d be better off selling the CPU, the motherboard, and that measly 1GB of leftover RAM, then taking that cash plus the $133 he would've spent and putting it toward a new G530 + H61 combo with 4GB of DDR3 instead. Thirdly—do you honestly think he’s gonna be stuck on this exact same setup for another three years?
It’s way too much $133 to drop on DDR2 when you can grab newer DDR3 $50—honestly, just save your cash and pick up some used DDR2 instead. As for whether it'll actually speed things up, that really depends on your whole setup... but once you get that RAM installed, definitely go with 64-bit Windows.