Gaming processors?

[Evil Top Hat]

I'm looking to upgrade my computer sometime soon, which entails replacing my graphics card. Currently I have a raedon HD 6850, and I'm going to replace it with an Nvidia GTX 560 ti. It occured to me that I'll also need to upgrade my processor (currently an i3 550 @ 3.20 Ghz), otherwise the extra power of the nvidia card is a bit useless. However, when it comes to processors, I have no idea what I'm talking about.

What kind of processor would be a good purchase to go along side a Nvidia GTX 560 ti (or equivalent graphics card, if you want to suggest a better alternative)?

Thanks.

 

[mikecoulter]

You may have to change your motherboard but an Intel i5 2500k would be ideal. Others may suggest the i7 2600k, but it isn't necessarily that much better for games yet. The i5 strikes a great balance between cost and performance.

 

[intheweeds]

Well first thing to consider is that your graphics card will work with pretty much any motherboard with a PCI-E slot, but the chip you buy will be dependent on the motherboard. So you need to find out which kind of chip your motherboard takes. Mine is an 1156 for instance.

Ah fair enough you have the i3. Yeah the i5 will be nice. No need for the i7 in my opinion. I have the older i5 760 and its great. I don't think the older i5s will work though, they take an 1155 motherboard whereas the Sandy Bridge ones take 1156.

 

[AnarchistAbe]

You may have to change your motherboard but an Intel i5 2500k would be ideal. Others may suggest the i7 2600k, but it isn't necessarily that much better for games yet. The i5 strikes a great balance between cost and performance.

This. Personally, for the money, I think that anything in the SandyBridge line is perfect (when paired with a decent P67-based motherboard)

 

[octafish]

If you want to upgrade your CPU then look at the i5 or i7 CPUs in the 1156 range. Note the 1156, not the 1155 range and definitely not the 1366 range. Really what you are looking at is the i5 750 or the i5 760. The i7 1156 chips offer hyper-threading, but you don't need it for gaming a good solid quad will be fine.