Is HD 5670 good for this setup?

[cody4721]

Hello forum,

My specs are :

Pentium D 925 @ 3.6GHz
Asrock G31 M-VS2
2 GB Kingston DDR2 800 MHz
250 GB HDD
8500 GT
500 Watt PSU
15" inch monitor with 1024x768 max resolution

I recently build a new gaming computer but i want to keep my old rig so that me and my brother could do some LAN fun in this together.I bought this motherboard recently as my old one died.

I know 5670 wont do BF3 any good,and i dont wanna spend any more on this old machine more than $100.So buying a new cpu is not an option for me.

My questions are :

1.Will my cpu be able to handle HD 5670?,will there be bottlenecking?

2.How will it handle games like AC Brotherhood,COD4,SKYRIM etc(low med high)?

3.will it be worth spending the money,no big deal on saving it as i built a monster already.

4.How well will it handle AC Brotherhood and revelations?

5.My 8500gt idles at 72*C and maxes at 106*C under load,which is very very hot,so how will the 5670 do?

Thanks

 

[capt_taco]

If you stick with the Pentium D, you're going to spend $100 and still end up with a frustrating, obsolete machine that is questionable at best for today's games. I think the following would be a WAY better upgrade for $40 more - that machine would literally be twice as good, and you could continue gaming on it respectably for years:

Intel Core 2 Quad q6600 - $90
http://www.ebay.com/itm/230778440179

ASUS Radeon HD 4870 512MB - $50
http://www.ebay.com/itm/310395312328

You could probably then turn around and sell the old Pentium D for $15-$20, making the cost almost equal.

If you must keep the Pentium D, I'd say the 5670 is about the right match for the rest of your system. There might be a bottleneck, but it won't be too bad. But seriously, read the beginning of my post and do that instead. And with an old machine, don't worry about parts from ebay, since let's face it - at this point, your machine is basically made up of ebay-quality used parts anyway.

In my opinion, this upgrade is well worth the $120 net cost given what you want to do with it. If you didn't have a use for a second gaming computer of OK quality without breaking the bank, I'd just say forget about that machine. But you do have a use for it, so this ought to make you happy.

Oh, one last thing - I would keep your old video card around in a box no matter what, since when you're troubleshooting something later with either machine, it never fails that you'll wish you had a spare video card to test something with.

 

[cody4721]

Best answer selected by cody4721.