Advice on how to improve performance on a semi custom rig

Shadyf0o

Solid State Member
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So I bought a DX4300 with the intention of upgrading the GPU. So far I've upgraded to a Radeon HD 5770 Cucore and a 600 watt power supply. The card gets loud, so I'm hesitant to overclock it. I was looking at some cheap cards to crossfire with my 5770, but then I realized that the 5770 is completely covering the adjacent PCI-E port. I've seen some negative reviews about the longevity and durability of the DX4300's motherboard so the idea of moving it into a different case worries me.

What would the simplest, cheapest way of improving the performance of this computer be. Recently I've been using this computer for Starcraft II. The game runs great, except when there are many things going on on the screen at once. This is the specific issue I'm trying to fix.
 
Welcome to CF!

I actually have the DX4200 with an upgraded PSU/GPU.

I haven't personally had any problems with mine except for the lag when there's umpteen million units in play. This comes down to several things that aren't going to cheap to upgrade as you're looking at a massive overhaul of the system. You would need a more robust chip, better motherboard ( Bus speed ) and possibly faster RAM. That's not going to be a cure all either. StarCraft II on higher settings can be a very demanding program. I would expect it to lag some of the even more powerful systems out today on certain maps where the supply cap is greater than 300 as it's processing the 100+ workers you have traveling back and forth... that's the main the reason I've found mine to slow, too many probes. This shouldn't happen though on Regular Blizzard maps and Melee games, only custom 'fastest' or 'instant' build games. Hope this helps

Edit: I upgraded my case without issue, just don't use the hammer on the motherboard screws and you should be ok.
 
if your card id really loud it is spinning up to cool down that means you don't have sufficient cooling in your case. these big cards require lots of airflow. I suggest buying a full sized case with good cooling the HAF932 is a nice case. untill then crossfire is out of the question
 
Welcome to CF!

I actually have the DX4200 with an upgraded PSU/GPU.

I haven't personally had any problems with mine except for the lag when there's umpteen million units in play. This comes down to several things that aren't going to cheap to upgrade as you're looking at a massive overhaul of the system. You would need a more robust chip, better motherboard ( Bus speed ) and possibly faster RAM. That's not going to be a cure all either. StarCraft II on higher settings can be a very demanding program. I would expect it to lag some of the even more powerful systems out today on certain maps where the supply cap is greater than 300 as it's processing the 100+ workers you have traveling back and forth... that's the main the reason I've found mine to slow, too many probes. This shouldn't happen though on Regular Blizzard maps and Melee games, only custom 'fastest' or 'instant' build games. Hope this helps

Edit: I upgraded my case without issue, just don't use the hammer on the motherboard screws and you should be ok.

It's good to know I'm not the only one that chose this computer to buy and upgrade. The reviews that came out after I got it weren't great. The only thing that holds me back from buying a new case, and it may sound silly, is that I'm not sure how to get the power button working after I reconnect the motherboard, haha. I haven't been able to find where that little button on the top of the case connects to the motherboard. In all seriousness I may be looking at a case upgrade if I want to kill two birds with one stone: airflow and space for two cards. Maybe even a water cooling system

I've never done a complete case overhaul before. Should be fun. So far my expertise only stretches to changing GPUs/PSUs/CPUs and RAM
 
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