Will my Q6600 CPU bottleneck a GFX 285?

[blotkis]

Team,

I have a Dell Inspiron 530 Intel Core2 processor Q6600 (2.40Ghz 1066FSB) and 4GB DDR2 SDRAM at 667MHz.

I currently have a EVGA 8800GT 512MB video card and want to upgrade to run games at max settings.

If I purchase a GFX 285 will my current system bottleneck it? I have a Dell system which CANNOT be overclocked so that is not an option.

Do I just need to build a new system or can I make this work? What are my other options?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[invisik]

Yes it will cause a decent bottleneck 2.4ghz isn't going to be enough to push a gtx285 to its full potential. In my opinion don't waste money on a new system keep your current system and just add a gtx275 it wont be bottlenecked as much and wont cost you a lot, not to mention give great performance slightly less then gtx285. What resolution do you play at? at higher resolution your graphic card tends to do more work so if your play at high resolution you wont have much of a bottleneck.

 

[blotkis]

I play on a 24" monitor which runs at 1900x1200.

I mainly just want a system that can max out settings in SCII and Diablo III (if either are ever released).

I really wish I could overclock = (

 

[invisik]

If your okay with ati cards i would recommend a 4890. It performs usually 10% slower but cost a whole lot less.
4890: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127427


review: http://www.driverheaven.net/reviews.php?reviewid=797

 

[michaelmk86]

If you OC you q6600 to 3GHz you will be fine.

Here is some benchmarks with my system
I have q6600 3200GHz & GTX295 and in farcry2 benchmark I get:
81fps 1920x1200 4xAA ultrahigh setting -- with 3200GHz
81fps 1920x1200 4xAA ultrahigh setting -- with 3420GHz
exactly the same fps!!!

 

[belial2k]

+1 for strangestranger. you asked for other options....have you considered upgrading your MB? If you swap out for a MB you can OC (you can find decent deals on newegg for about $100), you could get at least a gtx 260 or 4870 for a total of about what you would spend on the gtx 285 alone. This would give you the best of both worlds, a faster processor speed, and faster graphics. If in the future you decide you need more power you'll have cheap upgrade paths by adding a faster 775 processor and/or sli/crossfire for the graphics after prices have fallen even farther.