Processors, Graphics Board or Hold

[larryone]

I recently purchased a Mac Pro 1,1 BTO 3.0 Xenon Dual Core 5160 and thus far have upgraded the memory to 10 MB, added a 1 TG HD. a XFX ATI Radeon HD 6870 and installed Lion 10.7.3. For most applications, I find the computer more than adequate, impressive in fact... however gaming is a different situation and would appreciate some advice. I am considering one of the following options, 1) upgrade the processors to X5365's, 2) upgrade the graphics card up a notch or 3) hold, use the computer as is for a year or so and purchase a new, (or newer) Mac Pro down the road.

Current performance indicators:
CINEBENCH 11.5
OPEN GL 29.75 fps
CPU 5160 3.27

GEEKBENCH
6944

This particular machine is excellent shape and runs exceptionally quiet even with the fan of the 6850 being heard more than the others.

Appreciate any comments or suggestions that you may have.

Thanks!

 

[Neodym]

1. There are few games (if any) that make use of more than 1-2 cores, let alone more than 4, so the upgrade would probably not help for _gaming_!

2. You give contradicting information. If you run a 6850, an upgrade may help. If it's a 6870, you don't win awfully much by upgrading to a 5870 as most powerful card available for this computer (unless we talk about windows gaming). Most probably though the limiting factor is the PCIe 1.1 in your MP.

Depending on your specific problem with gaming a SSD could help in case of excessive HD access by the game in question. Overall there are not many more upgrades you could do to improve your gaming experience. So I'd rather hold and wait.

Oh - and you should really upgrade your Ram! 10 MB simply don't cut it anymore nowadays...

 

[larryone]

1. There are few games (if any) that make use of more than 1-2 cores, let alone more than 4, so the upgrade would probably not help for _gaming_!

2. You give contradicting information. If you run a 6850, an upgrade may help. If it's a 6870, you don't win awfully much by upgrading to a 5870 as most powerful card available for this computer (unless we talk about windows gaming). Most probably though the limiting factor is the PCIe 1.1 in your MP.

Depending on your specific problem with gaming a SSD could help in case of excessive HD access by the game in question. Overall there are not many more upgrades you could do to improve your gaming experience. So I'd rather hold and wait.

Oh - and you should really upgrade your Ram! 10 MB simply don't cut it anymore nowadays...

Thanks for your comments. I am running a 6870 and my main concern is the fps are lower than I had expected. I find that many times when due to lag on the grid, my fps is dropping about 10 fps more than other players and I just naturally ascribed that to the card itself. The PCI EXpress Card Utility shows that the card is running at maximum speed. The only drivers I am using are the Apple ATI Radeon HD 6xxx. It could very well be that the card tweaked could be more effective, but I am clueless in this area.