best gpu for a core 2 duo 1.86ghz

[neonfire19]

Hey everyone,
I've got a core 2 duo 1.86ghz. Unfortunately I'm unable to overclock it as it's an HP Box with a bios that won't let me adjust Anything. Aside from setting up a brand new system, in which case I would just be better using a more modern platform, what GPU should I pair up with the 1.86ghz cpu ?

I've been told that all new games are GPU bound, meaning that provided the same gpu is used, an athlon x2 will mirror the results of a core i7 6 core. Therefore, the bottleneck is almost always gpu, rarely cpu. So i've been told. But yet, I don't see how pairing up a GTX 480 with my 1.86ghz cpu isn't going to cause a massive cpu bottleneck.

I've been told also, that a Radeon 5770 is a good DirectX 11 gpu balance for my 1.86ghz cpu. Sort of the DirectX 11 equivilent of a 4850. I want the best I can get without creating a CPU bottleneck. Any suggestions ? Thanks !

 

[blanketyblank]

Depends heavily on the games you play, but for almost any heavy game where you'd want a beefy gpu that cpu will probably be a bottleneck at that clock. I'd say 5770 is probably the fastest card you can get that won't be held back immensely. Even with the 5770 I've noticed I can still get more fps in Dragon Age (one of the less demanding games) overclocking my core 2 duo from 3.0 Ghz to 3.6 Ghz. 5770 is the equivalent of a 4870 not a 4850 (5750 equivalent).

Also the other option is maybe replacing the CPU. Faster Core 2 duos are pretty cheap nowadays and you may even be able to get a decent quad that works with your mobo.
Q6600 is like $100 or so used.

 

[happy medium]

5750 for about 114$ AR is the best you can do for a HP box and psu.