GPU for dual 3.6 GHz Nocona Xeon

[Iggy]

I'm going to be picking up a decommissioned workstation from an MRI analysis lab with hopes to convert it to an audio production rig and mid-lowend gaming system. It's running dual 3.6 Nocona Xeons on a Tyan EATX motherboard using the Intel E7525 chipset - the board has 8 DDR2 slots and one PCI-E 1.0 16x slot. My plans include upgrading the memory to 4x1 Gb (board has issues with 2 Gb DIMMs) and installing dual Raptor X's in RAID 0 for the boot drive/games. I was looking for some suggestions for a reasonably priced GPU that would not be too bottlenecked by these older netburst CPUs. I was currently thinking one of the following:

 

$90 - Refurb BFG 8800GTS 640 Mb: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16814143212

$130 - XFX HD 4850: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16814150351

$170 - XFX HD5770: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...0-447-_-Product - probably overkill?

 

I'm getting the system itself for $150 and would like to spend $400 or less once all upgrades are said and done. I do realize that this system is vastly inferior to a $500 basic gaming tower utilizing a modern CPU, but my goal is absolute stability on a slim budget. Thanks for any suggestions/input.

Edited February 28, 2010 by Iggy

[Zertz]

You can do better for $550 with modern parts

[Disparaitre]

Honestly, get a used system from someone on the fourm here for $400 shipped and you'll most likely get something with a very good, reliable component set and far superior performance.

 

That aside, I would not put more than a used $40 880GTS 320 or 9600GSO 384 in that system as anything faster is going to be crippled by the poor performance of the CPU's. You also have to keep in mind that the system overall will perform much worse in games than any consumer PC with a Pentium D.

Edited February 28, 2010 by WARDOZERX

[IVIYTH0S]

I agree with the others, at minimum get a 240 x2 athlon II system. It will be much better