Will my 3 year old system be able to support dual 1920 monitors?

[Moosehuffer]

After 3.5 years of enjoying my 1280x1024 resolution monitor, I'm considering an update. I'm considering getting two of these. The dual monitors are mostly for productivity in dev/programming activities, and the larger res is for gaming with better graphics. This is where I get worried. My current system is 3.5 years old. I haven't found a game it can't handle at 1280, but the higher resolution has me worried. I mostly play Skyrim and BadCompany2.

Stats are as follows :

Mobo : GIGABYTE AMD 790X ATX AMD Motherboard
CPU : AMD Phenom II X3 720 2.8GHz
Graphics : XFX GeForce GTX 260
PSU : CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX 750W
Memory : Crucial Ballistix 4GB (2 x 2GB)
Case : Antec P182 Gun Metal Black ATX Mid Tower

I don't plan on having this system too much longer, maybe replacing it after Christmas or next spring (mostly I'm waiting for Windows 8 to be released and getting a feel for its pluses/minuses). However, I'd really like to get the new monitors sooner.

Can I realistically play games released within the last year on the above system at 1920 resolution? If not, would it be possible to do with a simple graphics card update? That way, I could get the GFX card with the monitors, and then when I completely replace the system in the future I already have the GFX card dealt with.

 

[riversend]

For what its worth, you are looking at a GTX 670 equivalent to play Skyrim on two monitors as near as I can tell (on three monitors it is running at about 30fps avg on a review I looked at). Turn down settings and you could probably go lower, but someone else can certainly chime in. However, you will be CPU limited at that resolution.

My recommendation would be to get the two monitors now in order to take advantage of the productivity aspects, and just game on one at a lower resolution until you are ready to upgrade.

Keep the P182 (I have one and just upgraded, very happy with it for several years now) unless storage requirements don't allow a longer video card to fit.

PSU will be plenty, power requirements are decreasing generation over generation right now.

The rest you can replace once you get to that point. You can upgrade the video card now if you want, but with your current CPU/RAM I don't know if it will get you to the dual monitor you want.

 

[VirtualLarry]

get a 7850 or 7870, and a phenom II X6 1045T.

 

[Moosehuffer]

For what its worth, you are looking at a GTX 670 equivalent to play Skyrim on two monitors as near as I can tell...

My recommendation would be to get the two monitors now in order to take advantage of the productivity aspects, and just game on one at a lower resolution until you are ready to upgrade.

Ah - I should have clarified. I only plan to game on 1 monitor at a time, 2 at a time is for productivity only. Anyways, thanks for the tip. The GTX 670 was exactly what I had my eye on. My biggest worry was whether my mobo will be able to support it - not sure if the technology has changed so much that the cards these days require different slots.

Do you think even with the GTX 670 (and my antique 3 year old PC), I'd be playing games at lower settings/lower resolution? Would it just be CPU constrained at this point ?

 

[mfenn]

Yes, the GTX 670 should work fine in your PC. How much benefit you get from it depends on the game.

Something like Skyrim is going to be massively CPU bottlenecked. You will probably be able to maintain the same level of performance as you had with the GTX 260 at 1280x1024, but you won't really see any gains.

BF:BC2 is more forgiving, the GTX 670 will certainly eat the GPU side of that for breakfast. I don't know if your Phenom II X3 will get you to 60FPS, but it should be very playable.