What processor should I get if I want to crossfire a 5850?

[jaylim0512]

What processor would be the best option for crossfiring two hd 5850's and won't create a bottlneck at all?

 

[dma0991]

A quaddie like the Core i5 2500K is suitable for gaming and HD5850 Crossfire. There is no such thing as zero bottlenecks as it exist in any system and it is mostly reduced with more CPU performance but never totally eliminated.

 

[exar333]

Get a decent quad from any company and you are good. The quad is less to bottleneck your cards and more to prevent a bottleneck in most games. A Ph II X4 or any i5/i7 quad would be a great processor and companion to 2 5850s.

 

[Bushwicktrini]

I have a I7 920 in the rig in my sig with two 5850's

 

[OCGuy]

i7

 

[Mopetar]

What motherboard do you currently have and how much are you willing to spend?

Depending on what you have now, you might be able to get a decent CPU without replacing the board.

 

[betasub]

^ This. Advice that is specifically tailored to OP's situation requires more info about current rig & budget. Anything else is just generalisations & assumptions.

 

[jaylim0512]

I was looking to build a new rig, because my mobo only supports 1 pcieX 16 slot, the other is X4

 

[flexcore]

I was looking to build a new rig, because my mobo only supports 1 pcieX 16 slot, the other is X4

Hardocp has some performance scaling benches. x16-x4 doesn't take as big a hit as you may think. Clicky!

I was pretty amazed!

 

[formulav8]

A PII will have no problems pushing those video cards. If your money conscious, then a Phenom II will be just fine. No need to overspend on an i7.

 

[paperwastage]

A quaddie like the Core i5 2500K is suitable for gaming and HD5850 Crossfire. There is no such thing as zero bottlenecks as it exist in any system and it is mostly reduced with more CPU performance but never totally eliminated.

well, the h67/p67 is limited to x8/x8... or pseudo x16/x16 if the mobo has nf200 chip(x16-x16 connections to each other and nf200, but the nf200 chip only has a x16 connection to CPU)

so you lose maybe 1-2% of performance .... wait for LGA2011 if you want SandyBridge performance with more x16 slots

 

[dma0991]

well, the h67/p67 is limited to x8/x8... or pseudo x16/x16 if the mobo has nf200 chip(x16-x16 connections, but the nf200 chip only has a x16 connection to CPU)

so you lose maybe 1-2% of performance .... wait for LGA2011 if you want SandyBridge performance with more x16 slots

I don't think it is really necessary to get a board that is capable of 16x16x. The SB-E boards should be capable of 16x16x and 8x8x8x8x but that would cost way more than I would buy.

I would already be satisfied with a board that is capable of 8x8x as the 1-2% performance drop is not as important as the added cost of a 16x16x capable board.

 

[deathbyburrito2]

It depends on if you are willing to wait for BD. If building a new rig you really can't go wrong with the 2500K. The x8 x8 shouldn't be an issue or cause any noticeable performance problems. Z68 boards should be out in a couple weeks, so if those features interest you at all it might be worth waiting at least that long to see what pricing is on z68 boards.