SWtoR - update GPU or CPU?

You can look over this article, but it seems the game is tied to clock speed and also # of cores as well as graphics card. I would assume a graphics card would give you a better experience, but it's not guaranteed. It's hard to say. The article mentions a 5770 should do well on low detail so it could be your CPU giving uneven frame rates.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/star-wars-gaming-te...

I'm using a 6770 (which is the same as a 5770) and I can run SWTOR on high details, except for shadows, which are @lowest setting. So I suppose my Quad Core Phenom, even though it's just an old 2.4Ghz, seems to make a good job.  

You are also using very slow RAM, which is very important, too. I'd suggest getting a new Mainboard + CPU + DD3 RAM and keep the 5770. This should make the biggest difference.

Thank you for your input. I read the article but found it hard to say wether to get a new processor or graphics card, just like you mentioned. It's pointing towards a new processor with four cores. When they compared a dual core against a quad core the frame rate was twice as good with the quad.

Why should my RAM be a problem? I don't know much about RAM but would 4GB of DDR3 RAM give better frame rate than 8GB of DDR2 RAM? Just curious  

I don't think RAM speed is an issue, but the # of cores is one of the issues. The hard question is which will you be better off upgrading. My gut is saying a CPU, but my gut also tells me not to invest to much into the old Core2 technology. If you can get a cheap Q9400 or something around there, it might be a worthy upgrade.

I get the feeling a CPU would be a wise choice. I am trying to come across a second hand Q9400 or better. Buying one in a retail store costs almost twice as much. Thanks for your comments! Merry Christmas!

There's an easy way to test if it's the CPU or the GPU that's bottlenecking your system. Try lowering the resolution. If performance improves, the GPU is the bottleneck. If performance stays the same, or nearly the same, it's the CPU.

I wouldn't like to guess which it is in your case as I'm not very familiar with AMD cards. Please note that while some games benefit from more than two cores, by no means all do.

Please take in to consideration the fact that alot of people are experiencing bad frame rates on the Old republic even on computers with top specs. It's Biowares problem that they have to address.