This is what I have.

Mobo: Asus p5qc

GPU: ATI Radeon 4500 HD

CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E8500 @3.16GHz

RAM: 4GB

OS: 64b win7 hp

 

1. Would upgrading the ram to 8gb ddr3 and adding a ssd to boot the os give enough of a boost to warrant opening the box? If so, would a 60GB SSD be enough?

 

2. Do I need to upgrade the processor and video card?

 

3. Unrelated: Why are there multiple chrome[Caution: Executable File]'s in processes?

I'll leave the first 2 for someone who knows what they're talking about. But for the 3rd question, chrome does it tabs as all separate processes to improve performance.

Thanks, Ezee, been wondering about that for a long time.

Without knowing what you're using your computer for it's hard to recommend anything.

 

Based on what you've posted, if you're having trouble gaming I'd say the biggest bottleneck is your graphics card, but again it depends entirely what you're wanting to do with your computer.

 

You should also be able to overclock your CPU to get a bit more performance out of it for no extra cost. I'm not entirely sure how well the 8500 Overclocks but with an E8400 I had 3.6GHz without having to change anything else.

Runescape and LotR are the most graphic intensive games i play. Other than that, everything else I do can be done on a chromebook or even an android tablet. Havn't tried overclocking..I'm using the stock cooler. I am having a lot of lag. Can barely move in crowded places. The pc is clean and runs great. I guess it's server lag>

I don't have problems with RS personally, and my specs are similar to yours (only difference is that my cpu is slightly slower). Not too sure about LotR, haven't played it in over a year. Could DirectX be a problem? Not sure if an older version of it will affect how games run.

Thanks, I updated directx. I had no idea that it was not updated by windows update. I also ran the rs graphics auto set-up again. That seems to have helped some.

 

Re:overclocking. Not really sure I need to or that it will help with how rs runs, but I did attempt it. When I tried to change the cpu ratios, the bios program would not let me move it off of auto. Does asus have some auto lock that I am missing? I'm also not really sure how much digging I want to do into oc this without at least getting another cooler. So for now my upgrades will be:

 

New RAM

SSD, demoting the HDD to storage

after market cooler

To be honest upgrading your RAM and your Hard Drive to an SSD isn't going to give you much if any increase in performance for RuneScape. Your weakest component is your graphics card which would probably give you a decent performance boost but is generally more expensive. If your issue is with lag in crowded placed then CPU and GPU are going to be what the games rely on the most.

Admittedly, I don't know what I'm doing, but it seems a little strange to me that hd video and a game like wow runs lag free while I have trouble with rs. And if I need to buy a cpu and gpu, I might as well go on ben's bargains and buy a whole new prebuilt. Back to shopping..

Before you decide to do step 1 and 2, make sure your motherboard can handle the new CPU and video card.

Same counts for upgrading your ddr3.. At the moment i have seen ddr bars to make a total of 16GB, and when you look at the CPU you got, you will often find out the CPU doesnt support the 16GB

 

4Gb for windows 7 should be enough btw. And what Darkdude said is true btw. Specially your CPU is playing a huge role in this.

 

So my advice.. Find out what your motherboard can handle. Take a look to the cost of making the possible upgrades and decide if it is worth it or not. When you decide to upgrade.. Make sure your cooler can handle the graphic card aswell or else you might end up with power drops on your computer.

 

Going for a new computer, might not be an bad idea if i see what cost you will make by upgrading your current one

Thanks, DK, I did check and to do any substantial upgrade to the cpu/gpu, I would need a new motherboard.

Oo salty frog it is you! :D I missed the signature yesterday lol. But that seems a bit messed up. New motherboard with the upgrades will be expensive :(

:P

 

Ik I didtched the whole plan

Admittedly, I don't know what I'm doing, but it seems a little strange to me that hd video and a game like wow runs lag free while I have trouble with rs. And if I need to buy a cpu and gpu, I might as well go on ben's bargains and buy a whole new prebuilt. Back to shopping..

 

I wouldn't worry about it. Performance wise, RS has turned into an absolute monstrosity over the last few years. I'm getting better framerates in Skyrim's cities than I am in RuneScape's for crying out loud.

 

As for Chrome, if you hit shift+esc while inside Chrome you can see what each process is doing exactly. I thought that the mean reason behind having multiple processes was that if one process crashes, you don't have to shut down the entire browser, just the one part that is causing issues for you. I'm no expert though, so don't take this for a fact.

Well I'm not sure, Rs is a java based game afterall so it's bound to take a bit more processor power, although I don't seem to get the issue you posted All_Bogs, I don't have low framerate in Rs with everything maxed graphics wise.