Xeon 5450 - what VGA should I choose?

[ROMUZ]

Hello ALL,

I'd like to resurrect my way old PC. Just for fun. Now it is running Gigabyte P35-DS3R + Xeon 5450 @ 3600.
What graphics card will fit the CPU the most?
Monitor is LG 1280x1024 DVI.

Thanks in advance!

 

[hat]

If you're willing to go used, you can find 8800GTS, or even GTX pretty cheap on eBay. 9800GT is also an option. Or even a GTX260.

I had a 9800GT for a brief period of time. It ran games like S.T.A.L.K.E.R. and Battlefield 2/2142 flawlessly. Unfortunately, it died when I stupidly tried to overclock and overvolt a Phenom x4 9500 in a budget motherboard. It was eventually replaced by a 9600GSO, which at the time was heralded as the folding@home card to have (from a price/performance perspective). I didn't know the 9800GT long enough to make a solid comparison, but it didn't let me down.

So, yeah, I would suggest taking a look at any of the models I mentioned. They can all be had for pretty cheap. I remember my uncle playing even Crysis with, if I'm not mistaken, an AMD Athlon64 x2 6000+, and two 320 (or maybe 640) 8800GTS in SLI. He had SLI disabled most of the time because it caused more problems than it was worth, and the single card handled everything just fine anyway.

If you demand new, the RX570 is the best buy today for price/performance. In a modern high end gaming rig it would be lacking, but it would be more than powerful enough for that Xeon system.

 

[ROMUZ]

hat
Thank you!
There is pretty old Foxconn 8800GTS 320Mb board in my setup.
Sure thing I am ready to go used. I am thinking about GTX 770, 660 (Ti) or other board up to $50, not more.
Also, I checked my PSU recently (AcBel 550W) and it is still strong enough to feed dated VGAs + current Xeon oc'ed.

 

[hat]

If the 8800GTS isn't cutting it for you, take a look at a GTX580 maybe? That'll run you a bit more than $50. Or you can get a GTX260 for roughly $20. GTX260 is probably the best bet for such an old system if you're looking for an upgrade over that 8800GTS. The GTX260 is already miles ahead of the rest of the system, anything newer would make that old system really lopsided.

 

[agent_x007]

Why so old ?
Wouldn't GTX 750 (Ti) or GTX 960 be better long term ?
What you plan to play on it ?
8GB of RAM ?

 

[lexluthermiester]

Hello ALL,

I'd like to resurrect my way old PC. Just for fun. Now it is running Gigabyte P35-DS3R + Xeon 5450 @ 3600.
What graphics card will fit the CPU the most?
Monitor is LG 1280x1024 DVI.

Thanks in advance!

First, welcome to TPU's forums!

Given your display, I would say that a GTX1070/RX580 would be the upper ceiling before a serious amount of CPU bottlenecking will limit your GFX performance. A GTX1060-6GB or RX570-8GB would likely be your most cost effective choices.

 

[hat]

Why so old ?
Wouldn't GTX 750 (Ti) or GTX 960 be better long term ?
What you plan to play on it ?
8GB of RAM ?

First, welcome to TPU's forums!

Given your display that a GTX1070/RX580 would be the upper ceiling before a serious amount of CPU bottlenecking will limit your GFX performance. A GTX1060-6GB or RX570-8GB would likely be your most cost effective choices.

Well, he says he's reviving an old system for fun and doesn't want to spend a lot of money. GTX260 seems more than sufficient for that system.

Lex, you're aware the x5450 is essentially the Q9650 equivalent? I'm sure bottlenecking will occur long before you get anywhere near a card like the GTX1070... I say this only in case you may have mistaken it for one of the 1366 Xeons, which if it were and overclocking were involved it would be a different story (but I still believe bottlenecking would occur anyway)

 

[lexluthermiester]

Lex, you're aware the x5450 is essentially the Q9650 equivalent?

Yes

I'm sure bottlenecking will occur long before you get anywhere near a card like the GTX1070...

This is something I've put to the test. A GTX 1070 would push that Xeon to it's limits but would still be an effective GPU for such a system. The bottlenecking effect would greatly depend on many factors such as the game rendering engine, resolution and GFX settings.

 

[Toothless]

Yes

This is something I've put to the test. A GTX 1070 would push that Xeon to it's limits but would still be an effective GPU for such a system. The bottlenecking effect would greatly depend on many factors such as the game rendering engine, resolution and GFX settings.

Well.. My girlfriend's 4690k is at a pretty high amount of usage in quite a few games with her 1070, and the quad cores from that era are plenty behind a Haswell. I'd say at most a 1060 for OPs build. Gotta remember he's running below 1080p.

 

[lexluthermiester]

I'd say at most a 1060 for OPs build. Gotta remember he's running below 1080p.

This is true, however the OP may decide to upgrade their display to 1080p. Remember, I did say the GTX1070 should be considered the ceiling for that CPU.

 

[hat]

This is something I've put to the test. A GTX 1070 would push that Xeon to it's limits but would still be an effective GPU for such a system. The bottlenecking effect would greatly depend on many factors such as the game rendering engine, resolution and GFX settings.

We'll have to agree to disagree on that one:

Intel Core i9-9900KS Review - Impressive 5 GHz

The Core i9-9900KS is Intel's new consumer flagship processor. It runs at 5 GHz boost no matter how many cores are active, which translates into 10% application performance gained over the 9900K. Gaming performance is improved too, but pricing is high, especially compared to what AMD is offering.

www.techpowerup.com

This page pits the 9900KS, currently the fasting gaming CPU on the market, against other modern processors. Sure, it's a GTX2080Ti running at 720p, but this awkward configuration forces the bottleneck on the CPU. In other words, the liming factor here is the CPU. Imagine where the x5450 would be on this list... with such a large distance between the x5450 and even the slowest CPU in that review, the GTX1070 would be sitting there twiddling its thumbs. He's also playing at a resolution of 1280x1024, which is a fair bit lower than 1920x1080. That said, playing at a larger resolution only serves to put more work on the GPU, it doesn't take away from the CPU.

I'm also assuming since he just wants to revive an old PC just for fun, and not spend more than $50 on a graphics card, it's probably going to be a throwback oldschool gaming system or something. He probably isn't looking for the best performance in the latest games. So, while the GTX1070 is certainly bottlenecked, at least in my opinion, by that x5450, it's also far above and beyond the requirements anyway.

What kind of testing did you do to determine a card like a GTX1070 would match up well with a chip like the x5450?

 

[Felipe Toledo G Andrade]

I used to have a Q9650@3.8ghz rig paired with a GTX 760 4Gb, it was pretty well balanced! Anything in that range, like a radeon 7870 or R7260x, or team green GTX 750ti or maybe a GTX 960...

 

[EarthDog]

What kind of testing did you do to determine a card like a GTX1070 would match up well with a chip like the x5450?

Butt dyno...

Being serious, I'd bet my life it is extrapolation (read: not actually tested). People seem to forget that while games may be playable, the CPU and that low res is still causing a bottleneck on almost any card you put with it. The CPU is going to hold things back there.

Well.. My girlfriend's 4690k is at a pretty high amount of usage in quite a few games with her 1070, and the quad cores from that era are plenty behind a Haswell. I'd say at most a 1060 for OPs build. Gotta remember he's running below 1080p.

The bottlneck there is the core count... not that it is holding back the GPU.

 

[ROMUZ]

RAM is 4Gb currently, but no problem to add 4Gb more.
To be honest I even can't imagine what games I'd like to play. I don't like online games, prefer games like Tomb Raider. My last gameplay on PC was in 2008, btw ))
As for our regional second hand market, there are a lot of VGAs such GTX 660, 770, R9 280X, etc up to $50. I don't speak for suggested GTX 260 which can be obtained for near $20, hat is correct.

 

[EarthDog]

It really depends on the games you are looking to play. Are you looking to play retro titles from around the time of that system, or play modern(ish) titles on it?

 

[FreedomEclipse]

Are you in the UK?? I have a 7800GT that could do with a home lol. it hasnt been powered on for years though so i dont know if it works - Alternatively i also have a 660Ti

 

[Keullo-e]

I'd say that get an used GTX 750 Ti, most models don't even need a power connector, and for its age, it's still a pretty capable card. Even when thinking that it was meant as a mid-end card back in 2014.

 

[ROMUZ]

It really depends on the games you are looking to play. Are you looking to play retro titles from around the time of that system, or play modern(ish) titles on it?

I'd like to play METRO series (try to play at least)

 

[EarthDog]

I'd like to play METRO series (try to play at least)

Good luck with that... the modern ones will choke.

 

[Aaron_Henderson]

I am using a older Intel quad core...if I set my W3570 to stock, your 3.6GHz X5450 is likely faster than it...it feeds my 290X just fine at 1080P, and I think a 290X if roughly an equivalent to GTX 1060, give or take. So I would probably agree with that level of card...GTX 1060 or similar. I do believe the GTX 1070 would also give you even more performance yet, but I believe you'd be paying a lot for the jump to 1070 from 1060 level card, and probably gaining a very small percentage in performance over the 1060. Also...I played through Metro series with my setup as well...ran great, pretty sure everything maxed...anyway...I ramble and ramble, so yeah...

TLDR - get a GTX 1060 or similar.

EDIT - just noticed you are looking at $50 limit on the card...GTX 770/GTX 680 is a great buy if you can get one for that price. I've owned several of both cards (essentially the same car)...and the only thing really limiting is the 2GB of RAM on a lot of them...that will definitely hold you back in some games.

 

[potato580+]

i sugest rx470/570, or gtx 1650/1060 3gb, you can get those for cheap now adays, except 1650 since it was new card

 

[ROMUZ]

Thanks a lot for the help and ideas, guys!
Ended up with $45 Sapphire Dual-X R9 280X OC 3GB.
Will see how will it work then..

 

[lexluthermiester]

Thanks a lot for the help and ideas, guys!
Ended up with $45 Sapphire Dual-X R9 280X OC 3GB.
Will see how will it work then..

That's a good card for that price! Do let us know how it turns out for you.

 

[Aaron_Henderson]

I think you got a solid deal there, I'm sure you'll enjoy the card!

 

[Keullo-e]

Not bad, AMD's GCN cards have aged well and they have still great driver support.