Best graphics card for C2D E8200

[Fugen]

My graphics card 8800 GT 512MB (256-bit) stopped working few days ago, and i want to replace it with something that won't bottleneck my system -

Asus P5K
Core 2 Duo E8200 (2.66 GHZ)
Cooler Master 520W
Cooler Master Centurion 534
3 GB DDR2 800 MHZ
Samsung 931 BF 19"

I've searched this and some other forums, and came with the conclusion that maybe the best card for my five years old setup is GT 640 or GTS 450 1GB GDDR5. Other cards like GTX 560 / GTX 650 / HD 7750 will be to much for my CPU and eventualy cause a bottleneck. I don't want to overclock my CPU. I've played most games with my old 8800 GT at 1280x1024, 2xAA/4xAF, etc... What are your thoughts?

 

[smeezekitty]

The GT640 will work.

Although AMD is generally better for low end cards. I would suggest the 7750 is your best option.

 

[Fugen]

Thanks for the answer... Will that Radeon HD 7750 cause lags/frame drops/bottleneck in some games ? Also, what do you think about GTS 450 ? It's a little better for games than GT 640... Btw, i want to play games with my old setup at least one year or so. I'm Nvidia fan, and i didn't have experience with Radeons at all.

 

[smeezekitty]

GTS450 is old

I can understand. Honestly I am an AMD fan so I cannot be completely unbiased.

Yes the 7750 will lag in some games, but any $100 GPU will.
Your CPU might bottleneck alittle (my C2D E6700 does sometimes) but it should still give you 30+ FPS in most games.

 

[bjaminnyc]

No offense intended with this comment. Your throwing good money after bad. Save a little more cash and upgrade the CPU MB and Ram. For $200 you could improve than just the vid card. Just as an example, Newegg has an AD10-5600k and MB for $160.

 

[smeezekitty]

Core 2 duo is still a decent CPU - especially if you OC it.

 

[bjaminnyc]

I think the C2D E8600 is the fastest C2D Intel made, currently equivalent to a <$60 processor. You are correct though, it can run games.

 

[chriss000]

The c2d 8200 o/c's like a demon and will run most games .
I would put a refurbed gtx460 in there and upgrade the rest when the motherboard
snuffs it, or when you have a windfall.

 

[Fugen]

Thanks for the replies. I will see what is the best option for me.