Upgrade to core i7 or graphics card?

[skate9345]

i currently have a 4850 and a e5200 which im happy with but i wanna upgrade my pc, and i start between a graphics card or a processor,

im most into gaming and i play on 1680x1050 but i also want to multi task, either a graphics card or a core i7, the graphics card will be a 5870 and the core i7 is a 860 1156

tnx in advance

 

[jerreece]

Were it me personally (I love upgrades) I'd go for both if I could afford it.

The video card upgrade will definitely show you some improvement in FPS. However you don't really need to much more at your resolution. In your case, I'd think a CPU upgrade would give you more breathing room in most of what you do. The 4850 itself isn't a slouch, so it should give you pretty decent performance at your resolution with most games.

 

[SpidersWeb]

I'd do CPU upgrade.
Even moving to a Core2Quad or Core2Duo would do your 4850 a world of wonders.

Changing to i7 is an expensive move, as you'll need new RAM, motherboard, and CPU. Jumping in to a Core2 Quad may be a much more cost effective exercise (depending on current RAM, board).

 

[BadTrip]

I would go with an i5 and save the difference for a new card in the future. The i5 easily hands the 5200 its ass. lol

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/default.aspx?p=66&p2=109

 

[geofelt]

i currently have a 4850 and a e5200 which im happy with but i wanna upgrade my pc, and i start between a graphics card or a processor,

im most into gaming and i play on 1680x1050 but i also want to multi task, either a graphics card or a core i7, the graphics card will be a 5870 and the core i7 is a 860 1156

tnx in advance

The 5870 and 5850 are out of stock everywhere, making for little choice for you now.

Your cpu/vga is reasonably matched now, but you might consider a i5-750 on a crossfire capable motherboard as a first step. It would not cost much more to use dual 4850 if you needed more vga power. 4 cores without hyperthreading seems to be more than enough for games and most other applications.

If you do not have at least 4gb, then that would be my first thing to upgrade.

 

[skate9345]

Were it me personally (I love upgrades) I'd go for both if I could afford it.

The video card upgrade will definitely show you some improvement in FPS. However you don't really need to much more at your resolution. In your case, I'd think a CPU upgrade would give you more breathing room in most of what you do. The 4850 itself isn't a slouch, so it should give you pretty decent performance at your resolution with most games.

ok, tnx, and yea its "enough" at least until next year