Question What would be the best Graphics card for a Intel Core 2 Quad Q9650 In modern times.

[Lunar_Shards]

Howdy
I recently upgraded my PC, and I'm left with an Intel Core 2 Quad, I want to set it up for my older brother since he's a gamer too.
He only would play light games like Assetto Corsa and beamMG,
The system itself has 8gbs of DDR2, I was thinking a GTX 1630 or an Intel Arc A310.
These graphics cards seem to be just modern enough for him to enjoy their luxuries, but just low enough to not cause a bottleneck.
Previously when it was my system, I ran it with a GTX 1650, I had a severe bottleneck and was forced to use Lubuntu. I will not be making the same mistake for him.
I have yet to figure out what PSU I will be using for the system but likely a 300W to 500W PSU.
My budget is 125-150 CAD, I encourage you to generate a discussion regarding the subject, instead of insulting my lack of available hardware.
Thank you for your patience.

Kind regards.

 

[box o rocks]

CPU bottleneck simply means your CPU isn't fast enough to keep up with the GPU. Why spend more money on a weaker GPU just to even things out? I'd keep the 1650 in the machine. Just my opinion, no offense intended.

 

[USAFRet]

Howdy
I recently upgraded my PC, and I'm left with an Intel Core 2 Quad, I want to set it up for my older brother since he's a gamer too.
He only would play light games like Assetto Corsa and beamMG,
The system itself has 8gbs of DDR2, I was thinking a GTX 1630 or an Intel Arc A310.
These graphics cards seem to be just modern enough for him to enjoy their luxuries, but just low enough to not cause a bottleneck.
Previously when it was my system, I ran it with a GTX 1650, I had a severe bottleneck and was forced to use Lubuntu. I will not be making the same mistake for him.
I have yet to figure out what PSU I will be using for the system but likely a 300W to 500W PSU.
My budget is 125-150 CAD, I encourage you to generate a discussion regarding the subject, instead of insulting my lack of available hardware.
Thank you for your patience.

Kind regards.

Lowering "bottleneck" is not the metric to chase.

Increased performance is what you want.

And it is VERY common to have both increased performance, and a higher 'bottleneck' value.

Put in the best GPU that works with the PSU, and fits within the budget.

 

[box o rocks]

^ What he said... You need a faster CPU obviously, but likely the Q9650 is the fastest CPU the legacy motherboard will recognize.

 

[Lunar_Shards]

CPU bottleneck simply means your CPU isn't fast enough to keep up with the GPU. Why spend more money on a weaker GPU just to even things out? I'd keep the 1650 in the machine. Just my opinion, no offense intended.

None taken but unfortunately, the GTX 1650 is in my new system
But I will keep an eye out for another, though I have seen RX-550s and 560s going for cheap in my area

 

[Lunar_Shards]

^ What he said... You need a faster CPU obviously, but likely the Q9650 is the fastest CPU the legacy motherboard will recognize

I agree but money's tight, so I have to work with what I've got

 

[Lunar_Shards]

Lowering "bottleneck" is not the metric to chase.

Increased performance is what you want.

And it is VERY common to have both increased performance, and a higher 'bottleneck' value.

Put in the best GPU that works with the PSU, and fits within the budget.

Thanks for the advice! I just knew that with my GTX 1650 it seemed like everything was unplayable

 

[USAFRet]

Thanks for the advice! I just knew that with my GTX 1650 it seemed like everything was unplayable

Unplayable in what way?

Likely it was/is the CPU.

 

[Lunar_Shards]

Unplayable in what way?

Likely it was/is the CPU.

Well mainly just War thunder, browsing the web could've been made faster with an SSD and probably faster ram. But general use seemed slow. But it's been a while since I used windows 10 on that system so it might've changed. In regard to getting another 1650 the problem comes with price mainly.

 

[box o rocks]

Is your other system that the 1650's in in need of a faster GPU by any chance? Maybe aim for upgrading that platform and then the 1650 will be available for the 9650 platform.

 

[Lunar_Shards]

Is your other system that the 1650's in in need of a faster GPU by any chance? Maybe aim for upgrading that platform and then the 1650 will be available for the 9650 platform.

It's just a Xeon E3 1245 V2, I couldn't afford a upgrade anyways as I said 125-150 CAD is my budget

 

[CompuTronix]

Back in the day I built several Q9650 rigs, all overclocked, and owned one that was overclocked to 4.2GHz. I passed down to my nephew, who ran it till 2021 paired with a GTX 1060 6GB. This combination always seemed like it was a good gaming balance. Ebay has a 6GB dual fan for $80 USD.

The Q9650 was always one of my favorite CPUs because at 4.2 GHz (40% overclock), it's on par with a Core i 2nd Gen Sandy Bridge i5 2500K at stock. Today's modern CPUs are not capable of such an overclock.

Overclocking the Q9650, which, depending on what RAM you have, is relatively easy and I encourage you to look into this option, plus it's a free performance boost of at least 20%. There should still be several good overclocking guides available for this best and final 9xxx Generation of Core 2 Quad processors.

The Q9650 is 95 Watts TDP @ 3.0GHz; locked 9 multiplier, x 333MHz FSB (Front Side Bus). Overclocking it in BIOS to 4.0GHz is easy, even for a novice.

All motherboards can increase FSB from 333MHz to 400MHz, which gives you 3.6GHz or 20% without increasing Vcore or upgrading the cooler.

Many motherboards can increase FSB to 450MHz which gives you 4.0GHz or 33% and might require a modest increase in Vcore. 1.4 Volts and 80°C should never exceeded.

Some motherboards can increase FSB to 467MHz which gives you 4.2GHz or 40%, but achieving 4.2 or even 4.5GHz (9 x 500MHz FSB) depends on your particular CPU, motherboard, RAM and cooling combinations, plus ample patience and good overclocking skills.

So while you're pondering over a graphics card, give the 3.6GHz OC a try; it's a piece of cake. Just keep in mind that as the RAM is coupled to the FSB, as the FSB is increased, the RAM ratio must be decreased to compensate so the RAM remains as close as possible to it's native frequency, which will affect it's stability and performance. Overclocking guides explain how it's done.

CT

 

[Lunar_Shards]

Back in the day I built several Q9650 rigs, all overclocked, and owned one that was overclocked to 4.2GHz. I passed down to my nephew, who ran it till 2021 paired with a GTX 1060 6GB. This combination always seemed like it was a good gaming balance. Ebay has a 6GB dual fan for $80 USD.

The Q9650 was always one of my favorite CPUs because at 4.2 GHz (40% overclock), it's on par with a Core i 2nd Gen Sandy Bridge i5 2500K at stock. Today's modern CPUs are not capable of such an overclock.

Overclocking the Q9650, which, depending on what RAM you have, is relatively easy and I encourage you to look into this option, plus it's a free performance boost of at least 20%. There should still be several good overclocking guides available for this best and final 9xxx Generation of Core 2 Quad processors.

The Q9650 is 95 Watts TDP @ 3.0GHz; locked 9 multiplier, x 333MHz FSB (Front Side Bus). Overclocking it in BIOS to 4.0GHz is easy, even for a novice.

All motherboards can increase FSB from 333MHz to 400MHz, which gives you 3.6GHz or 20% without increasing Vcore or upgrading the cooler.

Many motherboards can increase FSB to 450MHz which gives you 4.0GHz or 33% and might require a modest increase in Vcore. 1.4 Volts and 80°C should never exceeded.

Some motherboards can increase FSB to 467MHz which gives you 4.2GHz or 40%, but achieving 4.2 or even 4.5GHz (9 x 500MHz FSB) depends on your particular CPU, motherboard, RAM and cooling combinations, plus ample patience and good overclocking skills.

So while you're pondering over a graphics card, give the 3.6GHz OC a try; it's a piece of cake. Just keep in mind that as the RAM is coupled to the FSB, as the FSB is increased, the RAM ratio must be decreased to compensate so the RAM remains as close as possible to it's native frequency, which will affect it's stability and performance. Overclocking guides explain how it's done.

CT

I will keep this in mind; however, It's just an OEM motherboard from a prebuilt I have seen the tape method and tried it, but it didn't work, If I get a new mobo for it I would just get him an Ivy bridge or an AM4 since the cost of them is not much different