Upgrade Memory Or Processor? (Specs. Inside!)?
Hey, I'm building a gaming laptop...
I just want the most bang for my buck...I have a choice between upgrading the memory or processor...
Memory:
Is now:
1GB Dual Channel DDR2 SO-DIMM at 667MHz – 2 x 512MB
Can be:
2GB Dual Channel DDR2 SO-DIMM at 667MHz – 2 x 1024MB
Processor:
Is now:
Intel® Core™ 2 Duo T8300 2.4GHz (3MB Cache 800MHz FSB)
Can be:
Intel® Core™ 2 Duo T9300 2.5GHz (6MB Cache 800MHz FSB)
Both upgrades will cost 100-150 (each)...but I can only choose one.....SOOO I need help deciding which is better =3
Comments
Processing power comes in handing for things that require a lot of "thought." Most people that go all out on the CPU's are looking to edit videos, convert a lot of files, and work with a lot of stuff.
Video games however do not typically require much processing power, especially one's such as World of Warcraft. If you are playing single player, or hosting a multiplayer, processing power will become more important, as your computer will have to handle AI and manage a lot of events going on at once.
Newer PC games are looking to capitalize on processing power and the introduction of multi-core cpu's. Many games are hitting the market are optimized for multi-threaded processing. Game's such as Supreme Commander or Crysis will require a decent processor.
For you, going from 2.4ghz to 2.5 really won't make a difference, however doubling your ram will dramatically improve performance.
It depends what he is doing with the computer: A new Graphics Card will allow his to get better frame rates with games but not much else of a difference. More Ram will allow for better multitasking and speed up the computer a bit in general Also for games the CPU doesn't actually do too much work as it is more of the GPU. I think that in general the best upgrade would be the Graphics Card allowing him to get better performance in games a the one in there now isn't very fast and likely will not allow for an enjoyable time playing games. I would recommend the Radeon HD 6850 or if you want to spend a bit more maybe the Radeon HD 6950. Cheers
boost your RAM the 0.1Ghz increase in clock speed will not make a huge difference in speed even with the increased cache
increased RAM will allow the system more space to run and will make a difference
using http://www.crucial.com/ check if the memory you are going to install is the largest supported (could be upto 4GB) and also the fastest supported (your motherboard could support 800Mhz memory or higher) a faster memory can improve speed of the system greatly
I would get the memory because the processors are almost the same and 0.1GHz does not matter that much. Also 2GBs of memory is alot better than just 1GB
Upgrade your memory, it'll speed up your system a lot, where CPU won't make big difference.
Go for the memory. Your processor is more than adequate.
memory, your processor is quite nice