How much GPU muscle to drop into an old system?

[DreadBelch]

TL;DR Is it worth getting the GTX 560 for my old system? If not, what model would you consider?

So I posted a while back about upgrading from an ancient 8600 GTS. Since then, I've saved enough to get something like this EVGA GTX 560 1GB 256-bit GDDR5.

But here's my uninformed question: Is it worth going as high in performance as a GTX 560 when you have an old PCIe 1.0 motherboard (LGA 775) and CPU (Intel Core 2 Duo @2.8 GHz)? If not, where do you draw the line? Thanks.



System Specifications:

Processor/CPU:
Intel Core 2 Duo E6550 Conroe 2.33GHz LGA 775 OC'd to 2.8 GHz

Current Graphics Card:
GeForce 8600 GTS 256MB 128-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16

Display Resolution:
1680x1050 (native)

PSU:
Rosewill 600 W ATX12V v2.2 / EPS12V SLI Ready Power Supply

Case Specifications:
COOLER MASTER Centurion 5 CAC-T05-UW SECC, Chassis ATX Mid Tower

System memory:
CORSAIR 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400)

Motherboard:
ABIT IP35 LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX



Purchase Details:

Budget?
~$200

Any particular preferences (Manufacturer[nV or AMD], Brand[XFX, Sapphire, EVGA, etc], Cooling Solutions)?
No preference

Do you plan to have any Multi-GPU solutions such as Crossfire or SLI?
No

What are your needs for this GPU? Which games(If any)do you intend to play? If you have this information at hand, what are the desired detail levels?
Adobe InDesign, Planetside 2, Mechwarrior Online. Not picky about detail levels.

Do you plan on overclocking the card you intend to purchase?
Maybe a little. Nothing crazy.

edit: added sys mem and mobo specs

 

[toyota]

system ram?

a gtx560 will certainly be held back but its not a terrible choice. you will barely meet cpu minimum requirements for some games so dont expect to always have smooth gameplay.

 

[DreadBelch]

system ram?

a gtx560 will certainly be held back but its not a terrible choice. you will barely meet cpu minimum requirements so dont expect to have smooth gameplay in all cases.

Thanks.

CORSAIR 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400)

Also, here's the mobo: ABIT IP35 LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX

edit: added to the OP.

 

[myocardia]

LMAO @ noobs, never, EVER being able to find good deals. This is the same card, made by the same company, with faster clocks for close to 20% less moola: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814130664 BTW, going from an 8600GTS to that 560 is going to be like going from a Pinto to a Porsche!

 

[DreadBelch]

Yeah, that one came up in the search I did on newegg. I've read that factory OC'd cards can die a little sooner. I might keep this card for 4+ years, so I erred on the side of caution. Guess I could just lower the OC though.

And yeah, I'm a big noob. Haven't had the free time to read up on vid cards in years.

 

[myocardia]

Well, then send me the $25 extra dollars you were gonna spend on a slower card, and I'll show you how to run that card as slowly as you want to run it. Seriously though, at only 40 Mhz higher clock speeds, they couldn't have raised the voltage any (or by more than a percent or so).

I've never heard of a factory overclocked card dying sooner, although I HAVE heard of a few of the highest-clocked cards needing to be returned to stock clocks/lower clocks after a few years.

*edit: And EVGA comes with very nice overclocking software, that will allow you to overclock your card every time you boot to Windows. That same software can be used to underclock it as well.

 

[Blitzvogel]

I think the CPU is going to hold back a higher level GPU like a GTX 560. I think it would be wiser to save up some money for a new machine altogether, or get something cheaper like a 7750 or 7770 and use the saved money towards a new set up.

 

[Shmee]

I would think he would be more CPU limited anyways due to low resolution, though a GTX 560 would be a good upgrade just the same. Also consider something like a used 5870 or 6950 or GTX 460. All would be good upgrades and cheaper, but I would upgrade whole machine and possibly monitor when possible.

 

[moonbogg]

A used 460 or 5870 might make more sense. You are going to be CPU limited like crazy, so don't waste money on GPU power you can't use.

 

[xapo99]

Why not drop in a used Q6600 or E8400 they go on ebay very inexpensively.

Both CPU's stock would be a lot better than what you have and that Abit board would support them...you can even still get Bios updates on the Abit site if need be.

Then a GTX460 might be cheaper than a 560 whilst being similar once overclocked a bit.

 

[coffeejunkee]

For the games you list I think your cpu will be fine. They're both mmo games, usually those don't require the latest greatest. You could oc a bit further too, 3GHz should be possible. Pci-e 1.0 x16 shouldn't be a problem either, it's like pci-e 2.0 x8 and that has been shown to only barely bottleneck much faster cards than the GTX560.

And you can always buy graphics card now and upgrade rest later.

 

[toyota]

For the games you list I think your cpu will be fine. They're both mmo games, usually those don't require the latest greatest. You could oc a bit further too, 3GHz should be possible. Pci-e 1.0 x16 shouldn't be a problem either, it's like pci-e 2.0 x8 and that has been shown to only barely bottleneck much faster cards than the GTX560.

And you can always buy graphics card now and upgrade rest later.

he barely meets minimum requirements for Mechwarrior Online. they even say expect low details with the Core 2 duo unless they have optimized the game more.


"Right now, a duo Core system is our minimum spec machine, but it is also our main focus of concern," he said. "It is playable on those specifications and I have tested it myself, but it is currently very much a minimum spec type of experience running on low-detail settings. It’s obvious that a Quad Core system is the key as even the earliest Core 2 Quad systems run the game very well and it is our goal (since there are still so many out there), to optimize the Core 2 Duo systems to run much faster."

 

[Majcric]

The GTX 560 is too much for that processor even OC'd. Grab a lessor card. Maybe a 7750/7770. To be honest a GTX 260/HD 4870 (unless you want Direct X11 ) would be a good match for that processor without any wasted performance.

Example, I had an e7200 paired with a 9800GTX+ decided to upgrade to the GTX 560ti and gained no performance literally. the bottleneck was so bad I thought my GTX 560 was malfunctioning.

 

[coffeejunkee]

he barely meets minimum requirements for Mechwarrior Online. they even say expect low details with the Core 2 duo unless they have optimized the game more.


"Right now, a duo Core system is our minimum spec machine, but it is also our main focus of concern," he said. "It is playable on those specifications and I have tested it myself, but it is currently very much a minimum spec type of experience running on low-detail settings. It’s obvious that a Quad Core system is the key as even the earliest Core 2 Quad systems run the game very well and it is our goal (since there are still so many out there), to optimize the Core 2 Duo systems to run much faster."

Ok, but like they say, it's their goal to make it run well on dual core as well... Either way, TS needs new vidcard for sure. But why waste money on low-end card for now? Ok, lets say GTX560 gets bottlenecked a bit, but it will still be miles better than 8600GTS. Then when you upgrade cpu it will be in line again.

 

[DominionSeraph]

Used GTX 460.

 

[DreadBelch]

Thanks everyone for your input.

Saw some used GTX 460s on Amazon last night. Just trying to find out more about the eVGA card's lifetime warranty and whether those used/resold Amazon video cards would still qualify for that warranty. Otherwise, I might get the 560 and slowly buy parts for a new system.

 

[myocardia]

eVGA's warranty does not carry over. It is only valid for the original buyer, and only then if they register it within 30 days. You'll either have to settle for a ~$100 GTX 460 with no warranty, or buy that GTX 560 I linked for $165 with cheap shipping and a lifetime warranty. Do realize that a GTX460 is a DirectX 10 card, not a DirectX 11 card, like the GTX 560. With the amount of time you seem to keep your video cards, I would definitely recommend you spend the extra few bucks on the faster card that will be able to do DX11. Good luck either way.

 

[toyota]

eVGA's warranty does not carry over. It is only valid for the original buyer, and only then if they register it within 30 days. You'll either have to settle for a ~$100 GTX 460 with no warranty, or buy that GTX 560 I linked for $165 with cheap shipping and a lifetime warranty. Do realize that a GTX460 is a DirectX 10 card, not a DirectX 11 card, like the GTX 560. With the amount of time you seem to keep your video cards, I would definitely recommend you spend the extra few bucks on the faster card that will be able to do DX11. Good luck either way.

gtx460 is DX11.

 

[myocardia]

gtx460 is DX11.

Hmmm, not sure why I was so convinced that it was DX 10-only that I didn't even check! Thanks for pointing it out, it may very well make a difference to the OP.

 

[DreadBelch]

eVGA's warranty does not carry over. It is only valid for the original buyer, and only then if they register it within 30 days. You'll either have to settle for a ~$100 GTX 460 with no warranty, or buy that GTX 560 I linked for $165 with cheap shipping and a lifetime warranty. Do realize that a GTX460 is a DirectX 10 card, not a DirectX 11 card, like the GTX 560. With the amount of time you seem to keep your video cards, I would definitely recommend you spend the extra few bucks on the faster card that will be able to do DX11. Good luck either way.

Same GTX 560 SC card on Amazon for $134 (after rebate). I've got an Amazon gift card, or I'd go with newegg.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...=ATVPDKIKX0DER

I'm thinking that it's better to buy a GPU I won't necessarily have to upgrade again so soon while saving for the other parts. And I'd gladly pay a little extra for the warranty, which I'll likely need. At $134, it's not that far from the used GTX 460s anyway.

 

[myocardia]

I'm thinking that it's better to buy a GPU I won't necessarily have to upgrade again so soon while saving for the other parts. And I'd gladly pay a little extra for the warranty, which I'll likely need. At $134, it's not that far from the used GTX 460s anyway.

I agree completely. While you could probably save yourself $25-30 by buying a slower card, you'd then need to upgrade the card when you upgrade everything else. And while the GTX 560 will be the slowest thing (bottleneck) after you upgrade everything else, it honestly won't be half as much of a bottleneck as your current card, compared to your current processor.

 

[tweakboy]

hmmmmmm, grab a 8800 GT for literally pennies . gl

 

[frozentundra123456]

hmmmmmm, grab a 8800 GT for literally pennies . gl

Yea, I am running a 9800GT with an E4500 and they seem to be a pretty good match. I think in most games I am cpu limited now, so the ops overclocked cpu would probably pair well with the 8800GT. However, as others said, if he intends to upgrade the CPU he might as well get a stronger GPU now.

 

[DreadBelch]

Yeah, I went with the GTX 560. After the rebate, tax and gift card, I'm paying $125 for what is really a $200 card at some places. It's putting a Ferrari engine in an old Volkswagon, but not for long hopefully. Thanks everyone for your suggestions.