Older CPU matched with good GPU

[TekTrixter]

The Hardware Guide bases CPU on Intel processors, but not everyone has one. What are the minimum recommended AMD CPUs for each S.T.E.P. level? More specifically, how will a Phenom II x4 940 AM2+ preform when matched with a good GPU (GTX 660ti 3GB)? I doubt that I'm the only one with an aging gaming computer with a good GPU, so this would be great information.

 

It seems that several of the patches for Skyrim have improved CPU performance greatly, allowing for more to be done with a older CPU. I'd love to be able to push my new GPU by using the extreme version of S.T.E.P. but don't want to go back and need to re-do everything to the core setup. There is some good advice in the "Performance Hunting" topic, but if anyone can provide experience with the CPU I have (or one close) it could save me a lot of time.

[Aiyen]

Skyrim is mainly a CPU heavy game, so having a better CPU will give higher performance obviously.

However the performance difference between a phenom II and a core i5 is not super large if I recall correctly.

Before I got this rig I had an an older AMD model (Phenom I model if I recall correctly) and the CPU was still good enough that it was not the main bottleneck.