best processor for gaming?

[DeusEx]

I was just wondering what the best processor is right now for gaming. I know current Intel i7 920 kills the AMD PII X4 965 in encoding, but from what ive seen its nearly the same for gaming? But the problem is i saw benchmarks for the 4xxx series cards. I read that the new series cards 5xxx are in some cases even limited by the i7 920. Then there is the i5 750 to consider...

So can you guys list which is the best to worst for performance in GAMES?

[goodguy]

I wouldn't say it kills it, you always have to look a the price. It is unfair to compare two diferent cpus with a very different price.

Go for the i7 920, it has very good overclocking potential, but do remember 4 cores are not necessarily better than 2, most programs do not access

all 4 cores. In fact 90% of all programs are happy to run on single core

[Major_A]

The processor is taken out of the equation at anything higher than 1280X1024 with the details turned up. The only place you may notice having a faster CPU is with your minimum framerates.

[goodguy]

Also don't forget, the pc is only as fast as its weakest link/slowest link which is the hdd. Most people make the mistake of buying the fastest ram, fastest processor,

etc, but it is the hdd which can have the slowest data transfer rate. My system increased in speed when i switched to a western digital raptor,

much more than when i increased my ram or updated to the phenom II 945 from a dual core athlon. The hdd is an often overlooked issue.

From my experience of about 5 years: get the fastest hdd and try raid facilities as well. That will give you more speeed than altering any other part of your pc.

The only other thing for speed: i backed up my hdd after freshly installing windows, because after a while the windows installation slows done. I install the back up every

few months and hey presto! i've got a fast fresh windows xp again, so much less hassle than having to go through the long way round.

[Major_A]

Yes sir, that's referred to as "OS rot". Every time you install/uninstall an application there are traces left behind that slows down the computer. Also when you do a fresh install all the data is on the outside of the platters with no fragmentation.