Help with budget gaming computer...possible CPU bottleneck?

[spaniel53]

I have an old d975xbx lying around and I was hoping to get it up and running with a few components.

The mobo is an older revision, so it supports only older dual-cores. My plan was to get:

-An E1400 CPU (I could get an e4700, but it is 100$ more...)
-An XFX Radeon HD 4870 1GB DDR5 PCI Express 2.0 Video Card
-4GB DDR2 667 ram

I am worried there will be severe CPU bottlenecking...what is the best GPU I can put in to max out the gaming performance I can pull out of this old mobo?

Thanks for the help in advance.

 

[The_Lurker]

What resolution will the games be played at. I don't think there will be "Severe" Bottlenecking. A HD4870-5770 might be the max for that cpu depending on the resolution. Also you could overclock that cpu a bit which would help.

 

[spaniel53]

Thanks for the reply!

I was hoping to fill out my 23" 1080p monitor [1920x1080]

Also, I must tell you I am a total overclocking noob. Never done/attempted it. So that may not be an option unless I get a friend to do it.

So you don't think there will be too much bottlenecking?

 

[spaniel53]

Is there any tool I can use to estimate how a specified machine will perform in certain games? Something where I can define the mobo,proc,gpu,ram,etc, and it gives me an estimation of the fps I would get? Sort of like Can You Run It, but allow me to define the specs of the computer.

Also, if I wanted to run a game like L4D2 or SC2 at 1920x1080 resolution, would I see slow down? According to the latest gpu charts, the gpu I am thinking of purchasing gets about 75fps in left 4 dead 2 at "1920x1200, 8AA, 16AF, Very High Quality, DX9". But, with the slow e1400 cpu, what do you think I will realistically get?

 

[geofelt]

To give you some idea of what kind of gameplay you can get with a old E8400 dual core @3.0, read this article:
http://www.guru3d.com/article/vga-charts-december-2008/ It is not bad, and the graphics card is much more important.

That said, I don't think it is a great idea if all you can reuse is the motherboard.

Even the cheapest G6950 dual core will be much better and not cost more. You can get a 1156 motherboard for $80,
and ddr3 ram is actually cheaper than DDR2 today. Sell the old motherboard if you can and plan on something current.

"The bitterness of the product is remembered long after the sweetness of the price is forgotten"

 

[The_Lurker]

geofelt has a good point, depending on how much your willing to spend on parts for your board might be better to get a new mobo cpu and have a decent gaming rig so your cpu ain't running at 99%

mobo + cpu just something you might want to take a look at
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.524270