Question maxing out old computer, recommendations please

[Equno]

Hi, new to the forum.

just looking for some recommendations for getting the most out my old pc, im currently using;

windows 7
-asus p5e3 deluxe/wifi
q6600 2.4 1.3vid @ 1.37 for 3.4 OC 35-45* general 45-55* loaded - huge sythe cooler/carbon pad

-8gb(4x2gb) corsair 1600mhz ddr3 @ 1540mhz
-WD 500gb ssd & wd 1000gb raid

two 4870x2 in crossfire



I'm not looking to run the newest games at highest settings, i just don't want to buy a new video card that's more than my whole computer. its served me very well for 10 year since i built it but is showing its age. most of my favorite games are dx10 or lower lol, but i would like to try a couple dx11 games in their series.


i could buy two 6970s for 200 all in, and keep the xfire/win7 but they only work for dx11.

ive put windows 10 on this computer but the some of the motherboard drivers/programs aren't supported properly for windows 10.
don't know if an equally priced single dx12 card would be worth the trouble of switching OS, to loose xfire AFR rendering, mobo support.
i can play crysis 1/1.5 /2 on max settings with current setup..

ive been thinking that a new good laptop and using nvidea's service may be a good full replacement down the road.

 

[velocityg4]

Dual cards will cost more than one card which is better than both cards combined. I'd just get a single GeForce GTX 1060 used. Although it's a bit overkill for that CPU.

Edit: Also being a DX 12 card doesn't mean it can't play older games. It's simply capable of playing DX12 games. DX 9-12 games run fine.

 

[Gerald6049]

Hi, new to the forum.

just looking for some recommendations for getting the most out my old pc, im currently using;

windows 7
-asus p5e3 deluxe/wifi
q6600 2.4 1.3vid @ 1.37 for 3.4 OC 35-45* general 45-55* loaded - huge sythe cooler/carbon pad

-8gb(4x2gb) corsair 1600mhz ddr3 @ 1540mhz
-WD 500gb ssd & wd 1000gb raid

two 4870x2 in crossfire



I'm not looking to run the newest games at highest settings, i just don't want to buy a new video card that's more than my whole computer. its served me very well for 10 year since i built it but is showing its age. most of my favorite games are dx10 or lower lol, but i would like to try a couple dx11 games in their series.


i could buy two 6970s for 200 all in, and keep the xfire/win7 but they only work for dx11.

ive put windows 10 on this computer but the some of the motherboard drivers/programs aren't supported properly for windows 10.
don't know if an equally priced single dx12 card would be worth the trouble of switching OS, to loose xfire AFR rendering, mobo support.
i can play crysis 1/1.5 /2 on max settings with current setup..

ive been thinking that a new good laptop and using nvidea's service may be a good full replacement down the road.

You can change the Q6600 to Q9650, so the CPU already maxed out.
RAM, is already at max capacity compability.
Instead running dual GPU, why don't use 1 good and new GPU like @velocityg4 said. Like GTX 1060 or RX 570 or 580. But the only thing is CPU is too old to handle that GPU. And also the CPU will get suffered in newer games.

 

[kiss-method]

I have a q6600 system sitting around, it's retired from modern games... For a reason. I think I took my q6600 to 3.5ghz (suffering some slightly higher than recommended temps, didn't seem to bother preformance) paired with a 7970OC. It's not worth the power bill at that point. That cpu realistically maxes on usage even around the AMD 5xxx series cards. Your crossfire are probably having a great time not having to work too hard. But, again that's only for crossfire compatible games.

If you do have 200$ to spend then you should take a system upgrade path. You can just reuse other parts of your system and get yourself an independent gpu when possible.


With this you'll be able to play recent titles, enjoy

Edit: use APU until you can get a dedicated card

PCPartPicker Part List

Type|Item|Price
:----|:----|:----
CPU | AMD Ryzen 3 3200G 3.6 GHz Quad-Core Processor | $99.00 @ Amazon
Motherboard | Gigabyte B450M DS3H Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard | $72.99 @ Best Buy
Memory | Corsair Vengeance LPX 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory | $62.99 @ Amazon
| Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts |
| Total | $234.98
| Generated by PCPartPicker 2020-07-30 12:44 EDT-0400 |

 

[Equno]

ok, thanks a lot for the replies.

ill keep looking on kijiji for a cheap 6xxx series and Q9650 for about 100$ total to get me into a couple dx11 games and start saving for a laptop for work and retire this thing to just play my favorite old games occasionally and downloading music/movies.

i don't really have the time anymore to play games/not interested in the newer games, or want to deal with building a pc again/the software & drivers, not that i regret it at all.