What is the minimum Intel processor that won't bottleneck a NVIDIA EVG

[Sunny_12]

What is the minimum Intel processor that won't bottleneck a NVIDIA EVGA GeForce 9800 GT? I don't need the best processor from Intel, I just need one that won't slow down the graphics card.

 

[cjl]

Pretty much any Core 2 Duo at a decent speed (perhaps 2.5GHz) should do fine.

 

[Sunny_12]

Pretty much any Core 2 Duo at a decent speed (perhaps 2.5GHz) should do fine.

What do you mean by "should"? Yes or no?

 

[masterjaw]

Same thread with the AMD.

Pentium Dual-Core E5200 OCed.

 

[Sunny_12]

Same thread with the AMD.

Pentium Dual-Core E5200 OCed.

I can found one doing Google Search.

 

[masterjaw]

I can't find one, help.

Can't find what? E5200?

Btw, to clear things up, when I mentioned "OCed" i mean you will OC the E5200. There's no pre-OCed E5200.

 

[Sunny_12]

Can't find what? E5200?

Btw, to clear things up, when I mentioned "OCed" i mean you will OC the E5200. There's no pre-OCed E5200.

I can find the Intel Pentium Dual-Core E5200, but would it be okay if it wasn't overclockable?

 

[masterjaw]

You misunderstood me dude. All CPUs are overclockable (including E5200). Some might be good overclockers, some aren't. If you're not up to OCing, then I think go with the Core2Duo offerings (E7400 and up).

 

[Sunny_12]

You misunderstood me dude. All CPUs are overclockable (including E5200). Some might be good overclockers, some aren't. If you're not up to OCing, then I think go with the Core2Duo offerings (E7400 and up).

Is it easy to overclock the E5200?

 

[cjl]

What do you mean by "should"? Yes or no?

Well, it depends on the specific game. FSX will eat up as much CPU power as you can throw at it for example (even with a fairly modest graphics card), while several other games will require far less CPU power. On average, the 2.5GHz C2D should reach the limits of your GPU in most cases, but there are games in which that will not be the case.

 

[masterjaw]

Is it easy to overclock the E5200?

I'm not really that experienced with E5200s. But they say it could reach 4Ghz on air.

 

[Sunny_12]

Well, it depends on the specific game. FSX will eat up as much CPU power as you can throw at it for example (even with a fairly modest graphics card), while several other games will require far less CPU power. On average, the 2.5GHz C2D should reach the limits of your GPU in most cases, but there are games in which that will not be the case.

Does Company of Heroes: Tales of Valor use up more than 2.5GHz?

 

[Sunny_12]

You misunderstood me dude. All CPUs are overclockable (including E5200). Some might be good overclockers, some aren't. If you're not up to OCing, then I think go with the Core2Duo offerings (E7400 and up).

I'm not really that experienced with E5200s. But they say it could reach 4Ghz on air.

What is "air"?

 

[masterjaw]

What is "air"

Try to inhale dude, that's air. Unless your an alien.

I suggest you should read some more articles here about CPUs. And try to check this out for rankings. If you're planning on building a PC, try to research first. Use google.com or the search bar at the top of this page and read.

 

[amnotanoobie]

To make it simple, anything above 3 GHz does little to hamper a mid-range card.

A 2.5GHz E5200 Pentium Dual-Core would do fine and you'd be missing out on probably on just around 3~10fps (or usually less).

You could go as low as a 2.0GHz part, but since an E5200 is already priced dirt-cheap (to most people anyway), I'd say go with an E5200, or wherever your budget could go to.

Since you had to ask what is air-cooling, I think overclocking is not for you, although if you have a lot of time or want to know more, you could start with this: http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/240001-29-howto-overclock-quads-duals-guide

 

[dokk2]

What is the minimum Intel processor that won't bottleneck a NVIDIA EVGA GeForce 9800 GT? I don't need the best processor from Intel, I just need one that won't slow down the graphics card.

Just for perspective ,,for an 8800gt Tom's recommends a minimum of a 2.6 cpu and the 9800 is in about the same class..

 

[Sunny_12]

Will this processor bottleneck my graphics card, EVGA NVIDIA GeForce 9800 GT? Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 2.4 GHz Processor B3 SL9UM 8MB.

 

[masterjaw]

This is getting nowhere. Eventually, he would ask every CPU that exists in this world if it would bottleneck his freaking 9800gt. You said minimum, then your going with a quad? Come on dude. Use your head for a moment and stop asking questions. There are a lot of materials out there that could help you pick your choice.

 

[sanchz]

I believe a Core 2 Duo E7400 would do fine.
And I know you mentioned you wanted Intel, but the phenom II X3 720 is priced around the same as the E7400 and has unlocked multiplier (easy overclock) and an extra core which will help with more CPU intensive games.
A wise choice would also be a quad core, so that you do not have to worry about a CPU bottleneck if you upgrade the GPU in the future.

 

[cjl]

I'm not sure about Company of Heroes to be honest, though it should run just fine. For pure gaming, the quad isn't the way to go unless you're overclocking though, as the lower clock speed will hurt you more than the extra cores will help you in many games. If you're overclocking though, the quad is a great choice (as is the Phenom II tri core mentioned above).