Am I going to be bottlenecked by this CPU?

[megahmad]

I have recently purchased a 6870 and I have the Intel Quad q9650 running at 3.5GHz, my friend told me that this cpu is an old technology compared to my Video Card and I have to buy an i7 to get full potential of my 6870, do I really have to change it? (which means that I will have to buy a Sandy Bridge 2600k with mobo) or is it OK to keep it with the 6870 for the next 1-2 years or so.
Will my CPU really bottleneck my Graphics Card?
My friend confused me

Thnx.

 

[Twoboxer]

As you can see in this chart (please read the text preceding it):

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-sandy-bridge-cpu,3030-5.html

there is nothing wrong with your 9650/6870 combination. Switching to a 2600k would not give you a worthwhile performance increase.

 

[AbdullahG]

Your friend doesn't know what he is talking about
There will not be a bottleneck, and if there is, it will probably be barely noticeable. I used to have an HD 6970 with a Phenom II At 3.2GHz. It ran my games great and without any issues. Your setup has a better CPU than mine and a good GPU. You should have no issue.

 

[ilysaml]

Even if you get 2 of the 6870s in CF, you wouldn't be bottlenecked.

 

[megahmad]

Thnx guys!
well then, am gonna show this thread to my friend

 

[iam2thecrowe]

+1 to all the above. you dont need a high end cpu like a 2500/2600k until you really get into the high end gfx cards. you will see improvement, but not enough to justify buying one unless you have money to throw away.

 

[geofelt]

It depends on your game.

But, it is a moot point.

See how your games run with your new card, then decide if you need to change anything.

Bottleneck is probably not the right term. You will always do better with better components. The question is, how much better you will do, and at what cost.

If the 6870 represents a big graphics jump, I predict you will be pleased.

 

[spentshells]

9550 is way more than enough for that card. At 3.5 it's more than enough for two. I wouldn't look at upgrading it for the same 1-2 years you wanted out of that card.
*** im keeping my Q6600 nothing more is needed except more GPU.

 

[jyjjy]

Yeah, especially at 3.5ghz it really shouldn't be an issue.