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help me to upgrade my PC

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  • CPUs
  • Graphics
Last response: in Graphics & Displays
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April 15, 2014 8:46:09 AM

Hey guys I thought of upgrading my PC.Currently I am stuck whether to upgrade my GPU or my CPU.I normally like to play games like BF4,COD ghosts etc.

My PC specs are:

G1.Sniper B5 motherboard
Intel(R) Pentium(R) CPU G3220 @ 3.00GHz (2 CPUs)
Gskill Ripjaws 4096MB RAM
Sapphire AMD Radeon HD 7770 1GB

My choices are to upgrage my GPU to Gigabyte GTX 770 or Upgrade my CPU to i5 4670K processor...
I can afford to buy only one out of these two.So which one do I have to upgrade(most important) first to increase my PC's gaming performance?


More about : upgrade

a b à CPUs
April 15, 2014 8:55:44 AM

The best to do is to get an i5-4430, and a GTX 750 Ti. OR you could go over your budget, maybe $50-70, and get the GTX 760 instead.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-4430 3.0GHz Quad-Core Processor ($180.49 @ Amazon)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 750 Ti 2GB Video Card ($169.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $350.48
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-04-15 11:55 EDT-0400)
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April 15, 2014 9:01:05 AM

TechCIDLC said:
The best to do is to get an i5-4430, and a GTX 750 Ti. OR you could go over your budget, maybe $50-70, and get the GTX 760 instead.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-4430 3.0GHz Quad-Core Processor ($180.49 @ Amazon)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 750 Ti 2GB Video Card ($169.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $350.48
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-04-15 11:55 EDT-0400)


The thing is i have collected $400 right now so according to my PC specs which one do u think i should upgrade first inorder to prevent lags when playing these games! by next year i will be able to collect another $350-$400 so i can buy the other component!
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a b à CPUs
April 15, 2014 9:03:10 AM

There's no perfect option here, but I think that getting the CPU now and holding off on the GPU will serve you best.

For the CPU, games use between 2 and 4 cores in almost all cases (a small handful can use 5 or 6). Your current CPU is at the lower end of the range. For new games like BF4 and COD Ghost, you'll benefit greatly from having more cores. If you pair the best GPU with your dual core CPU, new titles will slow down because of the CPU. As for GPU, a GTX 770 is several times faster than the HD 7770. If you pair it on your G3220, you'll get a performance boost, but you won't get the full performance boost. In short, your CPU won't be able to feed it information fast enough.

I think you'll have to approach this in a long-term mindset. Get whatever will provide the best long-term benefit. I think that will be the CPU. And i5-4670k is a very fast CPU that will power the fastest GPUs for several years to come. If there is a chance that you will save the money to buy a nice GPU in a few months to a year, then you can rest assured that the 4670k will be able to take whatever GPU you want to throw at it (even if you put two high-end cards on it).

Getting a GTX 770 now won't provide nearly as much value. Other than being able to use only part of its potential on account of your CPU holding it back, the card will also become outdated by the time you can afford a new CPU. That is because the longevity of GPUs results in a much shorter usable lifespan than CPUs. That is to say if you get the GTX 770 now, by the time you get a CPU that will unleash its full power, the GTX 770's full power won't be as useful. Best to save money and then spend the same amount on a more powerful GPU later - one that you will be able to fully utilize.
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a b à CPUs
April 15, 2014 9:03:37 AM

Ok. Look around for $5 more dollars, and get this. You don't have to wait another YEAR, by that time these components will be outdated.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-4430 3.0GHz Quad-Core Processor ($180.49 @ Amazon)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 760 2GB Video Card ($224.99 @ Micro Center)
Total: $405.48
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-04-15 12:02 EDT-0400)
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a b à CPUs
April 15, 2014 11:11:20 AM

It's up to you:
For the long haul go for the 'K' i5 and hold off on the GPU, the 7770 isn't a powerhouse but still capable enough, even at 1080 res, provided you get realistic about the eye candy (it HATES-I mean really HATES-Anti Aliasing for example).
For a quick fix with slightly less long term potential the lesser i5 4430+GTX760 is a potent combination at 1080 res.
Me, I'm patient as a rock, so I'd go for the i5 4670K (and a better cooler I didn't already have one) and aim at something like the GTX760/R9 280 in a few months time to round off the upgrade.
Final points: Make sure the installed PSU can handle the GPU upgrade, it'll be fine with a new CPU, but can it handle a more powerful GPU?
Some of the more demanding games out there would like 8Gb of RAM, consider this an optional, as-it-can-be-done upgrade (assuming a 64 bit OS, if you're using a 32 bit OS 4Gb is the max it can handle).
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