Intel Core i7 950
It’s tough to say which is more important in a gaming computer, the CPU or the Video Card. In my opinion they are both about equal. You can have the best CPU on the market but if you skimp on your video card your gaming computer will perform like crap. The same is true of the reverse. Needless to say, your CPU is very important, so choose wisely my friend.
To help you get started today we’re going to discuss my top three choices for a CPU. I always build my own computers. You don’t have to build your own computer, but you should select each of your components just like you were going to, and then find a computer to purchase that is using those components. I usually put my computers into categories by prices. The higher priced builds have correspondingly higher performance. I have Budget ($500), Midrange ($800), Enthusiast ($1,000), and Ultimate ($1,200+). I’ll show you what CPU I would use for each build.
Ultimate Gaming Computer CPU
For a top of the line computer build you don’t need to spend an obscene amount on your CPU. There isn’t much need to spend over $200. With the right components and a little overclocking you can get the same performance as the highest price models. I really like the Intel Core i5 750 and 760 processors. However, for a high end build we need to step up to the LGA 1366 platform.
You see, with the LGA 1156 platform we are limited to 16 PCIe lanes. For a computer using a single video card this is not an issue. If we run multiple video cards on the LGA 1156 platform we get reduced performance with each additional video card. For two cards they would run at 8x 8x. Over three cards it goes down even more. If we’re going to spend over $1,000 on a gaming computer you better believe we want multiple graphics cards. With the LGA 1366 platform every video card runs at 16x. You can fill every open 16x slot with a video card and they all will run at 16x. My top choice is the Core i7 950.
The Core i7 950 is a little under $300 right now. The performance you will get from a system built around this video card will be unparalleled. Fill it up with multiple video cards in SLI or Crossfire mode, take advantage of the triple channel memory, overclock it to get screaming fast speeds, and you will smoke everyone. Here are some good places to buy one.
 Intel Core i7 950 | Buy From Amazon.com Price $294.99 | Buy From TigerDirect Price 299.99 | Buy from Newegg Price $294.99 |
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Enthusiast Gaming Computer CPU
For enthusiast gaming computer we need a CPU that will give us screaming fast clock speeds and will not bottleneck our video card. We also need to stick with a reasonable budget. I always preach building a balanced computer. Everything runs a little smoother when your components can support each other. The Intel Core i5 line of processors fits the bill nicely. My favorite for months has been the Core i5 750. This is the processor I use in my personal computer at the moment.
Unless you are looking to run multiple video cards in SLI or Crossfire mode there is absolutely no reason to spend more on a CPU. The core i5 750 or 760 can easily be overclocked to match the performance of the stock Core i7-980X Extreme Edition at a fraction of the cost. Either CPU will work nicely. Currently the Core i5 760 is only $5 more than the Core i5 750 so you might as well take the small speed boost for the money.
 Intel Core i5 760 | Buy From Amazon Price $204.99 | Buy From Tiger Direct Price $199.99 | Buy From Newegg Price $204.99 |
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Midrange Gaming Computer CPU
For a midrange gaming computer we need to squeeze as much performance as possible on a very tight budget. To do so we are going to look to the AMD platform. AMD hasn’t quite been able to narrow the performance gap to catch up to Intel’s top of the line CPU’s. They simply cannot compete with the performance of the Core i7 and Core i5 processors, however when you are on a tight budget they do offer incredible price for performance ratios.
The perfect match here is the Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition. It has an unlocked multiplier which means we can go crazy overclocking this bad boy. It is quite possible to overlcock it and match the stock performance of a Core i5 750 processor. Below are where you can get some excellent prices on the Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition.
 Phenom II X4 955 BE | Buy From Amazon Price $144.99 | Buy from TigerDirect Price $149.99 | Buy From Newegg Price $144.99 |
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Budget Computer CPU
Oh, the budget computer. We really need to watch our pennies for a budget build. We want to squeeze every ounce of performance out of our CPU while spending the least amount of money. The Athlon II X4 640 is less than $100 and will give us admirable performance at this price point.
I try to stick to quad core processors when possible. There are many reports that games just aren’t taking full advantage of multiple cores. Programmers have started to utilize more cores with games and the trends will continue. Very few games take full advantage of more than 3 cores though. So what’s the point of getting a quad core processor then? How often do you have programs running in the background while you are gaming? I do it all the time. I also use my computer for more than just gaming. I suspect that very few people have a computer dedicated to just gaming. Even on a budget build like this I recommend using a quad core processor. You can find some great deals on this processor below.
 AMD Athlon II X4 640 | Not Available From Amazon. | Buy From TigerDirect Price $99.99 | Buy From NewEgg Price $99.99 |
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This is exactly what I was thinking and i’m looking for more at google
Why not use the i3 series intel chips? they seem to have decent performance.
The i3 does have good performance for price. The only reason I went with the AMD Phenom over an i3 for a budget build is that it is only dual core. In game performance likely wouldn’t take a hit (some games are still working on better utilizing multiple cores). However, if you are anything like me I usually have at least one program running in the background while I’m gaming. It’s nice to have a quad core in those scenarios.