Basis of PC

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nav_dcfc

nav_dcfc

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Joined
30 Sep 2017
Posts
49
Hi.

Could you guys let me know if the following is a good starting point for a gaming PC and whether with a few additions it could be good enough or should i just go for a full build. I'd like it to last for quite some time. I had my last PC over 12 years and it was a Q9450 with two 8800GT in sli (hardly setting the world alight). The motherboard which was a P5N-D has given up the ghost.

I have access to a PC with the following spec for pretty much nothing and am led to believe with a good GPU it would be comparable albeit down on frames to a newer dearer build.

Intel Xeon E5 2690 (16*3.8Ghz) Hyperthreading and smart cache
240GB SSD for OS
2*2TB in Raid
96 GB DDR3
Intel C602 Chipset socket 2011
Coolermaster S Case - Water Cooled
Win 10 Pro 64 bit

I was thinking of adding a 1080 to the above. Would the PC hold the card back ?

Whilst i don't have an endless budget and I haven't set myself one if a full rebuild is better I would like to use the PC for work and play. I tend to mostly play strategy games but would still like to be able to play newer games too albeit down compared to high end rigs.

Any thoughts greatly appreciated ?
 
If you can get it for pretty much nothing, definitely get it as you've got nothing to lose. Add a 1080 and give it a try, if it looks like your CPU is holding you back, sell it on and put the money towards a new motherboard/CPU/RAM - Win/win in my book.

The CPU is a Sandy Bridge Extreme family one, so it's from 2012 and runs 8 cores at 2.9GHz, with a maximum boost to 3.8GHz. This should mean it's very good in multi-threaded programs, but the low speed means it may suffer in poorly-threaded programs, unless you can keep the CPU cool enough to ensure it's boosting when on single and dual threaded games.

Based on absolutely no actual knowledge, reviews or personal experience, I think you'll be fine gaming on that paired with a decent GPU. If you're running a low resolution (1080p60 or below) then I'd expect you to easily be hitting your screen limits in nearly all games, and if you're running a higher resolution (1440p or high refresh) then there's more workload on the GPU so the CPU is less likely to be limiting factor.

If you're chasing benchmark high scores, I think you'll be disappointed, but if you're just gaming then I think that setup will be a good basis provided you're not paying much for it.
 
@orbitalwalsh The pc will be free. It was being user as a server of sorts from when me and some friend had gaming days.

I thought I'd risk getting a 1080 and try that on the rig. At worst if its no good then I'll use the 1080 in any new rig. Was just hoping somebody might have experience of the Xeon so i knew i wasn't wasting time.
 
Could i ask. On pretty much most of the builds that you GITK post there rarely seems to be a PCIE SSD's listed. I've scoured through the storage section of this forum but none tend to get listed for builids in this forum section. I appreciate the price difference in terms of $£/GB but are they not worth it as boot devices or general use ? there seriously quick drives. Is there a reason you chaps don't select them.
 
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