FX-60 and GTX 260 is good!

[bviperz]

This is for people like me, who wanted to know if it's possible to still use old school tech with new school shizzle. I've been debating for some time if I should upgrade my rig as a whole or just some components. Since the rise of gas prices and milk, upgrading the whole rig was shot out the window. Now it was a matter of which component (or components) should I upgrade. I've consulted friends, colleagues, co-workers, and the internet. I happened to come across dmlk's thread on this site http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/252500-28-best-nvidia-fx60-system (<not sure if that worked) and after reading it (and checking my bankroll) decided to actually see if old school tech CAN play with the new school kids. The basics of what I got in my current rig:

Motherboard: A832-SLi Deluxe
Memory: 3GB Corsair 3500LLPRO
CPU: AMD FX-60
GPU: BFG 8800GTS (640MB version) OCE (in SLi)/BFG GTX 260 OCX x1
HDD: 320GB Western Digital WD3200KS
OS: XP Pro
PSU: 850W Cooler Master Real Power Pro
Monitor: Dell 2707WFP

CONCLUSION:
Performance wise, the FX-60 at stock speeds will cap out when SLi is applied (no major difference between running 1 card or 2). As shown by myself, gerard, and soon dmlk, the AMD FX-60 can and does run well with the new school kids, even though it's 3 years old. As pointed out with the link bf2gameplaya been spreading thoughout the threads, older CPU's are still worth the investment.

 

[Kraynor]

If cash is an issue I'd say you'd have been better off hitting an ATI 4850 or 4870. Much more bang for your buck.

Can't go wrong with more RAM... next upgrade I'd recommend: Motherboard + CPU. Provided your PSU is enough for what you have at the moment.

 

[Conumdrum]

When did that processor get released? And when did the Q6600 get released? And the Q6600 easily OC to 3.3, very much more powerful in capabilty than that old chip.

I think that will tell you. Benchmarks that no one will care about..... Did you see the price of that chip currently...if you can even find it? When MUCH faster ones are $150+ cheaper.

Have fun.

 

[Craxbax]

Well, nice experiment but an overkill for the FX60. I have an FX60 OC'd to 3 ghz and it is a 'pooch' compared to my Q6600 at 3.4ghz using same video card ( also a 8800GTS 640mb) Not to be a spoiler but for the same money you could have done a lot better!

 

[ragsters]

I hope you are overclocking your cpu to about 3.0 ghz. Even with an overclock there will definitely be a bottleneck. I had the exact same set up except with an opteron 185 overclocked to 3.0 ghz and I noticed a bottle neck with anything more powerful than a 8800gt. I'm curious, where did you find another set of the 3500ll pro. That set is the best ram I have ever owned.

 

[bviperz]

Dang FX-60, what have you done to deserve all the HATE? Oh, that's right, you're from the AMD family. Hee-hee, exactly what you would expect in a forum. Well, like I stated, times are hard, so I couldn't upgrade the whole rig (I refuse to go middle Intel, specially since I don't think they'll fit in a 939 board Conundrum), and for <$600 bones, I don't think I could have gotten far, even if I used my current vid cards Craxbax. Well, that's my theory after doin my homework. I've edited the O.G. post and added my monitor and PSU. Anyone else think that I won't get any better results? Anybody believe the the FX-60 can still hang?

 

[B-Unit]

When did that processor get released? And when did the Q6600 get released? And the Q6600 easily OC to 3.3, very much more powerful in capabilty than that old chip.

I think that will tell you. Benchmarks that no one will care about..... Did you see the price of that chip currently...if you can even find it? When MUCH faster ones are $150+ cheaper.

Have fun.

Wow, you think he went out and bought this FX-60 new? Its his exsiting system. Hes dropping shiney new vid cards into it.

Cant wait to see the results, got an Opty165@2.9 and I have an itch to upgrade. (running SLI 8800GT) Be nice to see if its really necessary.

 

[themyrmidon]

Now how you feel, didn't get my Pentium D out 'til a month ago. Your system might be decent, if your card is to bottlenecked I could always use the upgrade

 

[bviperz]

Hey ragsters, I was gonna get em on e-bay, but CRAP, all sold up. Is okay, cuz I have 2 512 sticks in standby mode. 3GB > 2GB is what I say!

 

[ragsters]

I was in the same position you were and this is what I did. I sold my ram on ebay for over $250.00 and my opteron 185 on craigslist for $175.00. That was more than enough money to buy a new motherboard and processor. I'm sure you can sell your system separately and get enough money to buy a brand new system. That fx-60 should sell for $200.00 easy.

 

[bf2gameplaya]

Get the facts of CPU scaling in games:

http://www.guru3d.com/article/cpu-scaling-in-games-with-quad-core-processors/1

 

[ovaltineplease]

Generally true, however the testing is done on an 8800 Ultra - an admittedly powerful GPU, however the HD4870/GTX280 are nearly twice as fast

The article is getting a little dated, but its still factual

 

[dmlk]

Hi bviperz,

So you are getting 2x 260GTX.. Nice. I will like to see the outcome of your findings are. I deciede to get 2x 9800 GTX+ to run in SLI as I wanted to stick with my SLI mboard.

I think it roughly works out at:
£300 - 2x 9800 GTX
£400 - 2x 260 GTX

Thought I would save £100 for my next rig.

Whats your experience with the BFG cards any problems? I might be getting BFGs for 9800.
I reckon the FX-60 will last me for another 1 1/2 year at least!?

 

[bviperz]

Hey dmlk, fortunately for me BFG has been good. I want to say only because I've taken into account the cooling factor for my rig/components. I'm using a Silverstone TJ05 which is big enough (understatement) to house the 2 BFG's, and a good airflow scheme. I air cool everything and haven't run into any problems, aside from dust, that would cause components to crash. I was looking at getting the 9800 GTX SLi, but saw that 1 GTX 260 performed less than 5% off of what the 9800's could do in most cases. I was thinking about the 4870 too but currently the 260 is about the same in price and in a lot of cases is on-par or out performs the 4870, especially at higher resolutions. Plus the A832 can't do cross-fire. In the end, it came down to future proofing. Like my 8800GTS, when I do change out my CPU/Mobo in about a year, they'll still be able to push out high frame rates with the future games. By then AMD will be back with a faster CPU and a bigger FSB. Hell, we'll probably see 3.5 to 4.0 GHz stock!

 

[bviperz]

Nice to see the article posted by bf2gameplaya (thanks) relate to real world user results. As shown in the updates (check the first post) my FX-60 rig is not ready for retirement.

 

[gerardfraser]

Thought
I would post Crysis benchmark

FX 60 AMD
8800 GT SLI
ASN32 SLI Deluxe
2GB-Corsair XMS-3500LL at 2-3-2 -6-1T
Logitech Z-5500 Speakers Hooked up to 4x200 watt (front&rear)1 100 watt center channel
2x 160 GB WD Raptors Raid 0

So It is possible to play half decent, on older gear.

 

[dmlk]

Hi bviperz,

Looking good so far for the FX60. It will be interesting to see by how much your 260 SLI beats my SLI 9800 GTX+ by.

I'm using the same casing too. Good to know that you are not having heating issues. I know what you mean as the case is huge! Whats the fan noise like from those cards of yours?

Where did you get your 260s from?

 

[bviperz]

Actually, due to the great airflow scheme I got going (I put an adjustable 120mm fan between the hdd and vid card area and removed the hdd cage) I don't even hear the vid card fans. As for where I picked up the cards, got em from NewEgg on sale for $289 each ($314 on sale w/$25 rebate). Whats the your 3D Marks with your SLi 9800 GTX?

 

[gerardfraser]

Hey guys with the 9800 sli gtx and the gtx 260sli CAN you post your scores for a crysis benchmark ,and compare to mine.
3D marks not worth anything.

Crysis is the benchmark to run,I bet either one of your set ups CAN NOT beat my 1920x1080 benchmark,lol.

The only reason you can not is because of my hard drives and cooling.Fanless on one card only,stock pic of 8800 GT

Here is a reminder of post above

 

[bviperz]

Ohhhh snaps! Downloading demo now! BTW, what settings ya using there gerard?

 

[gerardfraser]

LOL thats funny,cool I love to see what ya get.
Just read the last pic,tells you all the information.
Awaiting you benchmark.I love it.

EDIT:Click on pic twice to show 1920x1080 to read it

 

[cjl]

Gerard: the hard drive will make no difference at all in the in game framerates. Just loading time. Your benchmark will be FLATTENED by GTX 260s in SLI, and handily beaten by 9800GTXs in SLI, unless there is a significant CPU difference.

 

[gerardfraser]

This is my rig,all I can say is beat it,thats all,Prove me wrong


FX 60 AMD
8800 GT SLI http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scalable_Link_Interface
ASN32 SLI Deluxe
2GB-Corsair XMS-3500LL at 2-3-2 -6-1T
Logitech Z-5500 Speakers Hooked up to 4x200 watt (front&rear)1 100 watt center channel
2x 160 GB WD Raptors Raid 0

 

[cjl]

Your rig is quite nice, no doubt. I'm just saying that the Raptors make no difference in game framerates, just loading times.

 

[gerardfraser]

Yes I do know,I just put them there since noone ever heard of the kind of raptors I have.I am just having some fun.
This is not my main computer ,its just a folding computer,but still plays games ok on almost 3 year old CPU