Low FPS in game. Rate my comp specs and tell me what I need to upgrade. Tech pro pls

[Princey]

I'm not good with computers, I'm horrible at this whole tech-y thing, and I know FF is very graphically demanding. I'd like to play FF with the best graphics possible but currently I'm at 15-30 FPS since I started. (Lowest for crowded cities/sanctuaries/fates). I want a computer that can run FF well. It's about time I upgraded my computer anyways.

Windows 7 32 Bit
Pentium(R) Dual-Core CPU E5300 @ 2.60GHz
Video: Nvida GeForce 9800 GT
RAM: 4GB, 2 sticks of 2GB, 3.50 at max. Though I don't think I'm running on 3.50 GB ram. Does RAM get depleted over time? My comp seems slower lately.
Motherboard: Asus P5KPL SE

While I run final fantasy, I open up task manager and go to performance, the "CPU usage" meter isn't very high, it's pretty normal, sometimes spiking up to 80-90% but it mostly stays on 50%, Same thing for the "memory" meter, it rises up while running final fantasy, leaving only 1.3GB of memory usage left. Tho for some reason when I ran the benchmark thing and checked the cpu usage it was like at the limit.

Idk what's going on with my computer but some insight would be nice so I could forward it to the tech place, most likely gonna have to buy a lot of new parts. This comp is about 4 years old (2009). And I don't think JUST buying a new video card, the one recommended on the FF page will help.

Money isn't a problem but I don't think I'm gonna spend a lot on state of the end parts JUST for FF, when I can run games that I usually play a lot like League of Legends on 60 fps perfectly fine.

[Faelart]

New motherboard, cpu graphics card and memory.
Graphics card is your best upgrade but your mainboard is old as is your processor being severely outdated

[DF1985]

Yeah buddy start again.

Considering the pricing on 3rd gen i5's now. 3570k / z77 board / 16gig ddr3 / maybe a 660 or equivalent Nvidia card.

You cant really update without doing everything. Socket 775 is dead, DDR2 is dead. 64bit. GO!

[Gonzothegreat198]

Yeah buddy start again.

Considering the pricing on 3rd gen i5's now. 3570k / z77 board / 16gig ddr3 / maybe a 660 or equivalent Nvidia card.

You cant really update without doing everything. Socket 775 is dead, DDR2 is dead. 64bit. GO!

Wish i had your kind of budget. I'm running on a Core 2 Duo myself, the 6600 conroe, gnna be upgrading to the Q9450 next pay hopefully, and adding in a Sounblaster titanium. Past that, don't really got the money for a full upgrade to i5/7 architecture at this time.

[Gonzothegreat198]

It also depends on what your budget is. If you dont have a big budget i'd look at upgrading the processor to a Core 2 quad, possibly the OS to the 64 bit version, then increase the memory to 6GB. Update your graphics card to 560 or higher, and also look into getting a sound card. I know it may not sound important, but the sound card can actually help take some of the load off your cpu when it comes to the sound output.

[Lotuslo]

It also depends on what your budget is. If you dont have a big budget i'd look at upgrading the processor to a Core 2 quad, possibly the OS to the 64 bit version, then increase the memory to 6GB. Update your graphics card to 560 or higher, and also look into getting a sound card. I know it may not sound important, but the sound card can actually help take some of the load off your cpu when it comes to the sound output.

I didn't read all the comments till now, And don't listen to this guy!! No offense but if you don't know what your talking about please keep it to yourself.

[Mugen_Vtec]

I didn't read all the comments till now, And don't listen to this guy!! No offense but if you don't know what your talking about please keep it to yourself.

Yeah, right? Upgrading to a Core 2 quad?? That's severely outdated. 6bg? who does that? And sound card? lol

[Esme]

I'm not good with computers, I'm horrible at this whole tech-y thing, and I know FF is very graphically demanding. I'd like to play FF with the best graphics possible but currently I'm at 15-30 FPS since I started. (Lowest for crowded cities/sanctuaries/fates). I want a computer that can run FF well. It's about time I upgraded my computer anyways.

Ok, you guys are a great help, but frankly if he's not good with computers, do you really think that you should be suggesting he build one from scratch? There's a lot that can go wrong, components can DOA and he might not have a clue and spend more money and frustration going that route, I don't know you but if you're not good with this kind of thing, it's best to avoid it or start small with easy to replace components. If there's a good reputable computer service store or custom builder around that will build the computer for you, that's the best bet.

Otherwise, my suggestion, if budget is not an issue is shop around on sites like NewEgg, Microcenter, TigerDirect, etc and focus on computers that are spec'd for gaming. NewEgg is nice because you can put in what you want to do, and how much you want to spend in range of money, and then it will let you see what other people have said about the machine.

You could also go with a custom build from the big gaming rig makers out there, Alienware (which is owned by Dell), Dell themselves, iBuyPower, CyberPower, Velocity Micro, etc.

Things to look for - type of graphics card is key, so look for the best bang on whichever builds you get, DDR5, 2GB at minimum. The graphics card is also generally easy to upgrade, assuming the power supply is adequate to support it.
RAM is the easiest thing for a non-tech person to upgrade generally but try and make sure to get 16 GB.
Quad core processor is a must, but more processor cores will help you in the future most likely

[Loii]

Ok, you guys are a great help, but frankly if he's not good with computers, do you really think that you should be suggesting he build one from scratch? There's a lot that can go wrong, components can DOA and he might not have a clue and spend more money and frustration going that route, I don't know you but if you're not good with this kind of thing, it's best to avoid it or start small with easy to replace components. If there's a good reputable computer service store or custom builder around that will build the computer for you, that's the best bet.

Otherwise, my suggestion, if budget is not an issue is shop around on sites like NewEgg, Microcenter, TigerDirect, etc and focus on computers that are spec'd for gaming. NewEgg is nice because you can put in what you want to do, and how much you want to spend in range of money, and then it will let you see what other people have said about the machine.

You could also go with a custom build from the big gaming rig makers out there, Alienware (which is owned by Dell), Dell themselves, iBuyPower, CyberPower, Velocity Micro, etc.

Things to look for - type of graphics card is key, so look for the best bang on whichever builds you get, DDR5, 2GB at minimum. The graphics card is also generally easy to upgrade, assuming the power supply is adequate to support it.
RAM is the easiest thing for a non-tech person to upgrade generally but try and make sure to get 16 GB.
Quad core processor is a must, but more processor cores will help you in the future most likely

I built my own computer a few months ago I didn't know anything about it. But it is really an easy process once you buy the hardware. I heavily recommend newegg.com. Plus there are a lot of resources out there to help someone build a computer. Newegg makes videos and has them on youtube on how to build them and they are very detailed and helpful. Plus building from scratch makes it way easier to upgrade in the future.

That being said I would recommend an i5 processor because in my opinion and research they are great for gaming and are very quick. I like amd videocards so go with one in the 7000 series if you can I run with a 7870 on 1080 and I have 60 FPS. Try for at least 8 gigs of ram. A power supply you want something reliable anything in the $80-$150 would work well, try to get over 600 watts. If you do build one an decide to go with an i5 find a motherboard that has a 1155 socket set.

There is a lot I am missing but hopefully this helps you out.

[Mugen_Vtec]

Well, I can give you a general price of a decent mid-end gaming build:

CPU approx $300 depending on which one you get i5, i7 vs. i5, i7 haswell
Motherboard: approx $100 depending on the model
Ram: 8gb approx $50-60
Graphics card: a nice decent one will run you approx $250-300
PSU (assuming you need to upgrade) approx $50

And if you want to add a bigger CPU cooler than the stock ones, or a new case(to have enough room for the graphics card)..fans, etc. That can add up.