what`s the cheapest cpu that won`t bottleneck a 980 too hard

[David_24]

I was hoping to get something used but new is okay. Canadian dollars estores. maybe ebay.

 

[mrmez]

What resolution?
The higher the rez, the more relative load on the GPU.

I'd say an i3 6100 should do a solid job.

 

[David_24]

What resolution?
The higher the rez, the more relative load on the GPU.

I'd say an i3 6100 should do a solid job.

1080p im waiting for the polaris equivilent.

 

[mrmez]

A good overclock-able CPU is money well spent IMO.
I kept my Q6600 for ~7 years pushing it harder and harder till it eventually held my gfx back too much.
Upgrading gfx cards is easy. CPU, not so much. Almost always involves a new board, sometimes ram, and a lot of buggering around.
If you can wait and spring for a 6600K, it will last for many years.
I'm expecting my 4790k to also last ~7 years.
If you've got no choice, the 6100 should see you through the next 3 years quite well, but maybe not more than that if you're upgrading cards along the way.

 

[JQB45]

I think a dual core i3 is a poor choice when most new games are demanding a quad core or better CPU. At a minimum I'd choose a low end i5.

Such as an Intel Core i5-6400 ideally or the Intel Core i5-4460 not ideal, at a minimum.

 

[mrmez]

Absolutely. But an i5 is not "the cheapest cpu that won`t bottleneck a 980 too hard".