The E8500 blows the 9950 in gaming.

Honestly don't buy either, just buy a customized barebone kit.

A good site I know is www.ecollegepc.com

Then buy videocard, ram from newegg.

Will a 550W psu and E8500 bottleneck a HD 4870 1GB?

A_9

No it should not bottleneck a HD 4870 1gb assuming the PSU is efficient and not a cheap one.

Provide us the brandname etc.

As for the CPU, no way that will bottleneck the video card. The E8500 won't bottleneck any video card that comes out in the next 2-3 years.

Hell even if E5200 should be able to run the HD 4870 1gb without bottlenecking or if it did it would barely.

For the love of God do not buy a gateway to crap computer.

http://www.resellerratings.com/store/eCollegePC
Those are the reviews for ecollegep.com

Get an Alienware or a Dell or HP or anything before you get a gateway. My friend spent 2,000 on a gateway gaming pc. He regretted it.

try ecollegepc.com

I originally ordered a cyberpower desktop then when checking out their reviews I immediately cancelled. They have a crappy customer service. Thanks to a friend I found ecollegepc.com The good thing about ecollegepc is that you can just order the main parts like harddrive, case, mobo,cpu,optical drives etc. and you can buy the memory,gpu, OS yourself. If you do that you'll save a lot of money.

www.ecollegepc.com

2.93Ghz Intel Core i7-940 8MB Cache FSB 1333 Quad-Core
Artic Cooling XTREMERev 2 Cooler Extremely Quiet
GIGABYTE GA-EX58-UD3R (Intel X58, 2xPCIEx, 8-Channel Audio, LAN, 8xSATA2, 4xDDR3, 1394, 1333FSB)
12GB (2GBx6) PC3 12800 DDR3 1600Mhz Memory Lifetime Warranty
750GB 7200RPM 32MB Cache Serial ATA300
22X LG Dual Layer DVD+/-RW/CDRW w/Nero
1.792GB nVidia GeForce GTX 295 GDDR3 PCI Express DVI/Tvout
Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium 64bit SP1
NZXT Black/Silver Zero Aluminum (5 5.25, 7 3.5 bays) 8 Fans, Window, Front Audio/USB/1394
1000watt Antec TruePower Quattro TPQ-1000
Onboard LAN included
Onboard Sound included
One year hassle free pickup and return

Total USD $ 2,446.00

I have been looking to buy a gaming computer for some time now, and finally feel as though the time is right to do so. However I hear piss poor reviews about almost all the sites I looked at. These include Dell, CyberPower PC, and Ibuypower. Even though Dell appears to be the best of these three companies, I know I can get more choices and much more for my money by going with CP PC or IBP. However I have heard horror stories about their customer service and people who receive computers that crash in just minutes after taking them out of the box. To let you know I am in the $1400-$1700 dollar range, and hope to get my moneys worth. This means i7, 4870 x2 and everything else required to run those components. Now I made that build on CP PC for $1603, but cant do it on dell for under $2000. Should I buy from one of these sites, or is there another one that you guys trust and know is reliable?Manibou

ecollegepc.com Don't buy GPU/Memory from there. Buy it off newegg or tigerdirect since ecollegepc seems to over price them.

If you want a really nice one that isn't i7 but is a really good deal.

3.33Ghz Intel Core 2 Duo E8600 6MB Cache FSB 1333
Artic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro 92mm CPU Cooler Extremely Quiet
GIGABYTE GA-EP45-UD3P (Intel P45, 2xPCIEx, 8-Channel Audio, 1394, LAN, 8xSATA2, 1333FSB)
500GB 7200RPM 16MB Cache Serial ATA300
22X LG Dual Layer DVD+/-RW/CDRW w/Nero
Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium 64bit SP1
Thermaltake Black Armor VA8003BWS 25cm Fan (8 5.25, 5 3.5 bays) 5 Fans, Window, Front Audio/USB/1394
850watt Antec TruePower Quattro TPQ-850
Onboard LAN included
Onboard Sound included
Standard 1 year parts and labor

Total USD $ 1,068.00

SAPPHIRE 100251SR Radeon HD 4870 X2

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102768

400 USD

CORSAIR 4GB (2 x 2GB)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145184

30 USD

Grand total 1498 USD

I completely agree. I thought i was the only one who noticed......

I wanted to see what Gamespot had to say on Hellgate London and the Witcher......And now with COD IV out......