upgrade gpu or cpu

lazaruskeen

Honorable
Dec 14, 2013
18
0
10,510
i currently have

fx6300
asus m5a97 r2.0
12gb ddr3 1600
gigabyte r9 280x oc 3
chaser mk-1 case

my question is should i upgrade my gpu to say a rx 480x or 1070
or should i keep my gpu and upgrade to a i5 6600k and a z170 board?
this is for gaming.
 
Solution
On CPU bound games, any FX (or APU for that matter) is a bottleneck. ~90% of the games out there the FX CPUs are fine. But even OC'd the FX line simply can't handle the more CPU dependent games.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/fx-8350-core-i7-3770k-gaming-bottleneck,3407-5.html

F1 can barely keep above 60FPS, while Skyrim with ultra details can fall below 60FPS. And has only 50% of the speed of the 3770K.

This is a bit of a tough one. If the games you play already do well, then I'd stay with what you have. If your 280X scores are below what you thought you'd get, the CPU is probably holding you back and a CPU upgrade would be best.

EchohcE

Respectable
Sep 7, 2016
374
0
1,960
Technically, both should be upgraded. I would hold off on upgrading your cpu until CES in January, as you may waste your money without seeing Zen/Kaby Lake. There's no such thing as a 480x yet, but the 480/gtx 1060 6gb are pretty much equivalent and are considered the sweet spot.
 

4745454b

Titan
Moderator
On CPU bound games, any FX (or APU for that matter) is a bottleneck. ~90% of the games out there the FX CPUs are fine. But even OC'd the FX line simply can't handle the more CPU dependent games.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/fx-8350-core-i7-3770k-gaming-bottleneck,3407-5.html

F1 can barely keep above 60FPS, while Skyrim with ultra details can fall below 60FPS. And has only 50% of the speed of the 3770K.

This is a bit of a tough one. If the games you play already do well, then I'd stay with what you have. If your 280X scores are below what you thought you'd get, the CPU is probably holding you back and a CPU upgrade would be best.
 
Solution