# Lag @ highest settings



## broken flyer

Hey everybody. I just joined the forum as i recently built my first computer from scratch. I built this computer with the intentions of using it for gaming/mixed media. Anyway the specs are, AMD FX-4100 3.6ghz, 8gb of ram, and im running windows 7 home premium 64bit. The mobo is a gigabyte ga-880gm, and for graphics iv got a AMD Radeon 6850. The monitor im using currently is a dell e207wfp lcd. So far the only "game" i have installed is Microsoft flight sim-x gold edition. When i set everything to the highest performance settings im getting some bad screen lag. Im finding it kinda hard to believe its the computers hardware as its pretty hefty performance wise. I have all the current updates/drivers so Im guessing its the old screen. What do you all think? Id appreciate any help/advice on the subject. If it is the monitor could someone suggest a reasonably priced one that will fix the issue? Id like to stay under the $150 dollar range, but i dont want anything smaller then a 20". That being said a 20" would be acceptable as thats what im currently using. Thanks...


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## claptonman

A monitor would not be causing lag, even if it is defective.

It could just be the system. A 6850 isn't that high end of a video card. FSX is a pretty intensive game, though.


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## Fooozball

If you have another pci express slot.... throw another 6850 in there and you should be set.


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## jonnyp11

i remember someone saying that fsx is a very cpu intensive and gpu intensive game i think, and the fx-4100 isn't the best cpu, so that might be part of the problem. also, what is your power supply, so we know that the card is getting enough power. but a second 6850 or going to a 6100 might be the best options for that game.


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## broken flyer

Thanks for the help guys. Right now I'm using a 500watt cooler master for a power supply. I don't have enough to funds to be putting different/more hardware in the computer as i just built it and im on a rather limited budget. I guess ill just be playing fsx on a lower settings in some areas. Right now for sure i know im going to get halo 2 for pc, x plane v9, and battlefield 3. How can i expect those to run on my system? Am i going to be having the same lag issue?


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## broken flyer

I was ready to spend like 160 on a new monitor but seeing as that wont help the problem i could see putting another 6850 in but my motherboard unfortunetly it doesnt have another pci express slot. Its got one pci express and two regular pci's


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## Fooozball

I'm not sure how good that Bulldozer CPU is but if you don't plan on changing the CPU.... I'd sell the 6850 and pick up a 570 or 560ti.


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## jonnyp11

i think halo 2 should easily be maxed on that, idk anything bout the plan game, and for bf3, i'd think high settings at 1080p if the monitor supports it, anything lower should be maxed about


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## broken flyer

Alright. Iv got my monitor set at 1680 x 1050 right now and thats the max my monitor will support. Is that too high? If i switch it to anything lower than that everything gets blurry. or am i miss understanding and 1080p is the setting in the game? Im very new at this and am constantly learning so all info is appreciated. The monitor is dell e207wfp.


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## broken flyer

I saw in an earlier post someone asked what my power supply was to make sure my graphics card was getting enough power. Could someone tell me if my 500watt isnt providing enough power for my 6850?


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## broken flyer

I know this is the graphics/monitor section of the forum but i dont think people appretiate multiple threads for the same issue so ill ask my question here. Iv got two questions i believe.
*1st* I have a amd fx-4100 with no overclocking. If its possible my cpu isnt performing good enough to handle some games what would be my best options short of buying a different cpu? Am i getting screen lag because the processor isnt fast enough or because it doesnt have enough cores? If it just needs more speed could i turn on the amd turbo feature without needing to upgrade cooling fans?"if thats the case how does one go about doing that" or would i have to get some form of aftermarket cooling fan and just overclock it?"if thats the case how does one go about doing that"
*2nd* With the graphic card iv got a gigabyte amd radeon 6850. iv had it for three days so if the computer will be able to utilize a more powerfull graphics card what should i upgrade too? like upgrade to gigabyte radeon 6950 or? If im going to upgrade to something bigger and better im going to send back my 6850 for a refund from new egg. I have everysingle thing it came with except the bag the card was in "i think it was in a bag but not sure". Is it safe to send that back with all the plastic guards on the connectors and it sitting in the foam packaging it came in or will i need to find that type of bag so it can be bagged before i ship it back? Id really appretiate some help/advice on this and i would like to thank everyone thats already pitched in their two cents worths. Thanks...


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## jonnyp11

as far as the cpu fsx is the only game that the cpu might be struggling on. for the gpu 1680x1050 should be easily maxable on any game or right there at maxed. and if you wanted to upgrade to a 6950 or something then your 500w would probably be a little too low for comfort. i would say just play with the settings in fsx to find what works best.


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## broken flyer

Alright. thank you... ill get a few other games and see what kind of performance it will run at and then see if i need to upgrade anything. The reason im kinda worried is because if im gonna need something better in the near future id rather upgrade right now so i dont need to try selling my card as i think i could still return it. i dug around and found the bag it came in so i should be able to send it back if i want.


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## broken flyer

If i decide to upgrade i will have to upgrade my powers supply to like a 700 watt because further down the road i want to be able to put a 8 core processor in it as well. Whats the best value for a 700watt psu? I see you can get rosewill 700 for like 49.99 on new egg. Are those any good? How about a raidmax? those are 64.99 and a cooler master is like 79.99. Which of those three would be the best for the price? It looks like i could return my psu as well while im at it so it would be relatively cheap to upgrade that while im at it.


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## jonnyp11

cooler master is the best of those, but truly the best thing would be the xfx core edition pro650w for 90, but it rebates down to 60, but it has as much or more power than any of those really and is better quality too. and a 650w is plenty even for the future, it could run the fx-8150 and an hd 6970 or maybe even 6990 with no problems.


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## broken flyer

Okay thanks for the suggestion. If i upgrade to an amd 6950 and a 700w power supply will my amd fx-4100 processor be enough to take advantage of that graphics card or will i just be wasting my money on a card that wont help my performance?


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## jonnyp11

it will help and work perfectly fine, it's just that one game that suffers from the quad core, nearly no other games can even use over 4 cores, and fsx is the only i know of that actually will benefit from more cores. if you want then you could buy a cooler master hyper 212 plus from newegg for 30 bucks and probably get that fx-4100 up around 4.5ghz stable.


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## broken flyer

Alright. thanks... after i did a crap load of figuring and talking to people at new egg it looks like after i send everything back its going to be like 130 more ill have to spend to get a 700w power supply and a gigabyte 6950 so when im all finished this computer will have cost me around 940 "it was originally 810" plus a lil more if shipping on the return items turns out to be more than 20 dollars. So when im done then the specs of this machine is gonna be like 8gb ram, 700w psu, 3.6ghz 4 core "before overclocking", and radeon 6950. im guessing im gonna have too much into this thing for the performance im gonna have. Is the extra 130 gonna be worth the performance increase?:/ But then again i get a free dirt 3 game with the 6950.lol hm wonder if its worth it for that.


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## broken flyer

How high could i overclock my cpu without getting a different fan? Could i turn on that amd turbo mode deal and get it to 3.8ghz without needing a new cooling fan/how would i go about doing that?


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## Spesh

You'll need an after market cooler to get an overclock that's worth having.


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## broken flyer

Alright. I also read somewhere that i could take and over clock my 6950 to 6970 speeds when i get it. Is it safe to do that?/what kind of aftermarket is required to do that? and one more thing... If i overclock my cpu and put a better fan on it how much is that going to shorten the life of it?


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## broken flyer

Im almost ready to return my 6850 and 500w so i can swap them for a 6950 and 700w plus get cooler master hyper 212+ for my cpu so i can overclock it. My finall concern before ordering is will the fan fit in my computer because my case doesnt have a pocket or anything behind the motherboard so will it still fit or won't it work?


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## claptonman

broken flyer said:


> Alright. I also read somewhere that i could take and over clock my 6950 to 6970 speeds when i get it. Is it safe to do that?/what kind of aftermarket is required to do that? and one more thing... If i overclock my cpu and put a better fan on it how much is that going to shorten the life of it?


You'll have to flash the BIOS in order to unlock the shaders that will get it to a 6970, but you have the potential to ruin the card. It would shorten the CPU's lifespan, but not significantly. You'll upgrade before it would die, most likely. Just be sure to watch your temps, but that shouldn't be a problem with a 212+. I would also recommend getting some arctic silver 5 thermal compound instead of the stuff that comes with the 212+.



broken flyer said:


> Im almost ready to return my 6850 and 500w so i can swap them for a 6950 and 700w plus get cooler master hyper 212+ for my cpu so i can overclock it. My finall concern before ordering is will the fan fit in my computer because my case doesnt have a pocket or anything behind the motherboard so will it still fit or won't it work?



Yes, but you'll have to take the motherboard out to install it. What power supply are you looking at?


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## broken flyer

claptonman said:


> Yes, but you'll have to take the motherboard out to install it. What power supply are you looking at?


Raidmax 700w with the blue led's in the fan. My case is a raidmax skyline so it should go with that/its a good price as long as it holds up. i was going to get a xfx 650w that someone recommended but as is iv spent way to much on this already and if the raidmax will work i can't justify anything more.


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## jonnyp11

don't get raidmax, i recomended the xfx because it is the cheapest that is worth the money and of quality, the raidmax and most other psu's will fail soon and there is a chance it will take other parts with it, and if not soon it will eventually.


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## broken flyer

Alright... i have now reluctantly changed my psu in my cart to a xfx 650w as i wave good by to my money. By the time im done with this act of musical chairs this machine will have cost me $930 after mail in rebates. is that completely outrageous for the performance ill get out of it or is that actually not too bad?


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## broken flyer

I see that xfx makes a 6950 graphics card as well thats $10 cheaper then the gigabyte version with the same specs plus with the mail in rebate for it that would cut my total 40 dollars more. is xfx good for graphics cards too?


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## claptonman

Good move on the power supply. Yes, its expensive, but would you rather skimp on it now or have your entire system fry later?

XFX is good for video cards, as long as it doesn't break. Their customer service is horrid.


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## broken flyer

Ya. I was all set to do this parts swap and then i thought for good measure id check with the guy that helped me build my computer/helped me pick out the original components and he pretty much told me im off my rocker and that id just be throwing my money away because what i have will work and that the performance increase isnt going to be worth all the extra money. Now i just dont  know. I trust his judgement but if im gonna have to upgrade this stuff within the next year id definitively rather do it now while i can still return everything to newegg. Ugg... It would be so easy to just leave it as it is and not worry about it but at the same time its like why not just do it now and be set for a longer time before i have to upgrade. I just don't know.


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