Minimum processor for high end gaming

Hey, I was wondering what you guys would recomend for some high end gaming like UT3 on max settings. Is a 2.0 ghz Quad with 6 mb cache and 1066mhz fsb good enough?

 

It depends is there is another bottle neck, what is the rest of the set up and price point?

 

The quad will do fine in ut3. The GPU will probably be your bottleneck.

 

A 2.0Ghz Quad is fine for gaming, but remember most games are not coded for Quad Cores, and many still don't take advantage of two cores. So a 2.4Ghz Dual Core will outperform a 2.0Ghz Quad Core in many, if not most games. But the most important thing is to make sure you have a great GPU and at least 4GB of fast DDR2/DDR3 memory (DDR2-800 or faster I'd recommend) if your running Vista/7. On XP, 2GB is fine. GPU is most important for games by a longshot though. Your better of getting a lowerend CPU with a higherend GPU for a gaming computer. Just don't go too cheap on the CPU (no Celerons). I'd say make sure it is at least a Core 2 Duo running @ 2.0Ghz +.

 

UT3 runs perfectly on a 2.0GHz Core 2 Duo. A quad will blow it away.

 

most games are, espencially on laptops, gpu limited. so there isn't a big difference, if at all, for those games. for the games where cpu matters, thats for the newest games, quadcore support is in.

quadcore is better now, and definitely in the future.

 

@a high resolution the game IS ALWAYS GPU bottlenecked

 

2ghz as everyone says but still get the best you can afford after getting the very best GPU if it is gaming you are primarily interested in. These days it is more can you afford a quad over a duo rather than a fast core 2 duo over a slow one. Worth getting a quad if it is in your budget.

 

Personally, I think only the Q9000 is worth it. The rest are too expensive for minimal gains. Also, most companies overcharge for a quad. The Q9000 should cost the same as a P9500/9600/9700 or T9400/9550 and definitely cheaper than T9600/9800/9900. It's amazing how much companies charge for CPU upgrades. I would buy it aftermarket and install it yourself (though if you need the warranty, then you might be forced to pay the premium and pay the ODM).

 

I want to toss in my vote for a minimum of 2.0Ghz CPU (either Duo or Quad), and that it's just as crucial to get as powerful a GPU as you can afford.

 

don't forget to stuff the lappy with as much low-latency ram as you can.

And a decently fast hard drive if the mobo and chipset supports it.

The point is that a computer is the sum of it's parts. If you spend all your $$$ on a flashy quad core with all the sexy speed numbers and fail to back it up with fast ram, gpu, and disk, you've just bought a paperweight.

 

The Q9000 is a fine choice for any single GPU setup. Certainly better price/performance than the T9800 or T9900.