Can my CPU run any recent games properly?

[Sheepy_28]

Well, I'm kind of in a rut now. With college starting in a few months, I'll be getting very busy, so during the holiday I'm planning to play as many games as possible. Thing is, right now, I have the budget to only buy a good graphics card and nothing else. Don't think I'll be able to save up a lot in the coming months either.

My current CPU has these specs -

Intel Pentium D 820, 2.80 GHz
2 GB DDR2


If I install, let's say Radeon 5670 as the graphics card, can I run any recent games at all, or will it be bottlenecking the whole CPU?

 

[gam0reily]

U might consider getting a 5750, it's not much expensive and gives a better performance. And no, 5670 won't be bottlenecking anything.

 

[Sheepy_28]

Aah, I'll probably go for that one. I'm worried about lag and bad fps though, not expecting much out of a 5 year old PC.

 

[Lutfij]

@ op - if you plan to go for a new build sometime later say 6 months from now, than get the best card in your wallets range, so you can recycle it and move it into your...new system.

with the radeon 7xxx series coming out soon, the 5xxx are looking like rubber ducks now. Settle for something within the 68xx series or the 6770(this is actually a 5770 with an overclock+a 6xxx badge)

btw, whats your budget?

* the bottleneck is in your CPU - so no matter what *new* GPU you'll get it'll churn out grafix at full blat blast but your cpu's glass is short so all the extra umph will go to waste.

** we also need full system specs for your rig - if you have an old PCI-e x16 v1.0a slot than you're in trouble.

 

[Onus]

I agree with Lutfij on all points. Your CPU is very weak, but a card to match it would be too. If you're going to rebuild, figure out what card will play everything you'd like now, then go a notch or two higher if you can afford it.
The only thing I'll add to that is a cautionary note about your PSU. Make sure it is up to the job of powering whatever GPU you buy. What brand and model (not just wattage) is it?
If it is in your money and power budget, here's a HD6770 for <$100 if you play the rebate game and win: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150540
There's a similarly priced Sapphire model, but many of the negative comments about it are recent, which suggests to me a possible quality issue with the current batch. All Newegg reviews should be taken with a sack of salt, but consistency and timing are often decent clues.

 

[Lutfij]

^ + 3. ah! i forgot the PSU bit a nice point nevertheless...

All Newegg reviews should be taken with a sack of salt, but consistency and timing are often decent clues.

+ 50k :lol: