Hello all, I just got my paycheck and I think my PC should deserve a little upgrade. I'm trying to figure out which to upgrade or fix up first.

Here are my system specs:

Windows 7 64 bit
Ram 2.0
AMD Athlon II x3 440 Processor
Rating 5.5 (If that matters...)
GeForce 9800 GT (Using 3D Vision: Yes)

Why I'm trying to decide between a ram upgrade over a cooling system is, because more games these days are going to require ram of 4.0 or higher and although most of my games run perfectly fine it seems like my computer over heats at times. I even got a new fan in my computer to create circulation, but it only seems to work a little bit.

My computer only seems to over heat when playing games such as Battle Field Bad Company 2. I'm thinking if I get a cooling system I can have my CPU and my GPU run twice as fast, but if I do a ram upgrade I could get the same results a little bit, but its aether one or the other, but anyways if I do decide to get a cooling system should I get water cooling or air cooling?

I'm a bit nervous if I get water cooling, so I was wondering if results where twice as better then air.

Thanks, Andrew.

Quote: Original post by ajm113
I'm thinking if I get a cooling system I can have my CPU and my GPU run twice as fast

Cooling does not affect speed. If either CPU or GPU overheat, they'll either break or system will shutdown.

There are some edge cases where various chipsets might be throttled, but that is a fairly extreme case, mostly with overclocking or similar. Usually overheating simply causes a shutdown.

Quote: seems to over heat

Does it shutdown or reset? Does graphics become corrupted? Does it randomly crash? After 3-5 minutes?

If not, then it's not overheating.

Before you go throwing in a new cooling system is to actually look at how the existing one is working. Check things like your radiator fins and be sure they're not clogged with dust. Consider a cheap upgrade of replacing older fans, new ties to better sort your wires. (Ditch old ribbon connector ATA drives for SATA drives.)

Look at the case and where you have it. Spending the money for a better case with superior air flow can be better, as you have to remember that your CPU and GPU aren't the only hot spots in your system.

It does restart on it's own at times when I play a game and I'm not sure if a blue screen of death has anything to do with it, but it did happen at times when I play a high end game.

I also looked at Speed Fan and see my GPU temp going more then 140 degrees when playing high end 3D games and I've noticed at times one of the fans sound like they are running like crazy even when I play Battle Field Bad Company. 0.o I have installed the video card myself in the computer and I don't think the case gives good circulation for the video card above it. This is still kind of a new computer keep in mind, I just did the upgrading to it all 5-7 months ago. I put in a new CPU, video card, ram and thats about it. Everything seems clean too.

How hot is your computer running? (You can use Real Temp to find out.) I recently replaced 2 fans in my computer, one in the CPU cooler to replace the crappy one I put in after the original died, and one to replace the rear exhaust fan that was starting to rattle. That dropped my CPU temp from the mid to low 60s down to mid to low 40s.

Quote: I even got a new fan in my computer to create circulation, but it only seems to work a little bit.

Was it a decent fan? The higher the fans CFM (cubic feet per minute) the better. Of course higher CFM fans tend to be louder as well but that's just the price you pay ;) It sounds like you installed your fan to blow air into the case, did you try using it as exhaust and having it pull hot air out of the case? That made a huge difference for me when I wasn't paying attention and installed my exhaust fan backwards :) Just for the record, it was 2 of these that I bought. They work great and aren't prohibitively loud.

Now having said all that, if you check out Real Temp and find that your temps aren't out of control I would recommend getting more RAM. A) It's cheap, B) 2GB just isn't much these days.

Of course, you could always try overclocking your CPU (I'm not sure how well your make/model overclocks) but then you would need a better cooling system (assuming you're using the default one right now.) I have my Core i7 920 overclocked from 2.6ghz to 3.6ghz and it's nice and cool now just with air cooling.

Ok, I'll stop rambling now...