Upgrading cpu or gpu

[scorpio89]

Hello, I need help urgently, do I upgrade cpu or gpu. I have; AMD Athlon 64 x2 5000 Geforce 9600GT I want to upgrade to a AMD Phenom II x6 1055T or Geforce 460GTX

 

[Lewis57]

There was a lack of information on your part but I'm going to go ahead and presume you intend on gaming. Therefore I advise you upgrade to a 460GTX 1GB.

 

[popatim]

You need an upgrade to both IMO for gaming.
Just upgrading the GPU will leave the GTX460 bottlenecked by the CPU.
Upgrading the CPU leaves the 9600 as the bottleneck.

I would definitely start with upgrading the GPU first if you cannot afford both at the same time.

 

[enzo matrix]

The GPU upgrade will still perform better than the CPU upgrade for gaming though. But after the GTX460, your next upgrade should be the CPU.

 

[fatedcloud]

I would just upgrade the CPU then GPU later. I just think this is the order it should go when neither atm are bottlenecking each other.

 

[4745454b]

x2 5000 is much to weak for a GTX460. Buy one, but make sure you OC the snot out of your x2. Make sure you buy a new CPU as soon as you can.

 

[reccy]

GPU upgrade will do wonders rather than a CPU upgrade at this time.

Most games are GPU based and throttling on a GPU will result in bad frame rates and poor gameplay. The CPU you have is Average/OK for gaming and would see you out for a few months untill you have the money to upgrade to either a new CPU/Mobo combo or if you go all out for a New CPU/Mobo/Ram combo - Where as the new CPU wont and your pretty much near the top line of CPU's of that era

 

[mosox]

1. I think your budget is enough for an Athlon II X3 440/445 (great budget CPU) and a HD 5770.

2. Can you wait a few weeks for the ATI 6 series to show up, that will drive the prices down.

 

[Onus]

Your CPU will bottleneck anything stronger than a HD4850. With Bulldozer and Sandy Bridge due out soon, investing too much into a new CPU would be be a waste. If you PLAN on a future rebuild for a new mobo, CPU, and RAM, get a GTX460 now. Yes, it will be bottlenecked for now, but you'll be able to move it into the new build later.
Make sure your PSU can handle it. Considering future upgrades (keeping the single GTX460), you'll want a quality 500W PSU. It should have full range active PFC (no little voltage switch) and be 80+ certified. Antec, Seasonic, Corsair, and Enermax are among the better brands.

 

[scorpio89]

Thanks for the advice, so it looks like im getting the GPU. To answer a previous reply, yes it is purely for gaming and is GeForce just because im a fan. The card is a MSI GeForce GTX 460 Cyclone Edition. The CPU will come in about 2-3 months.

I think my 950W power suply should handle it.

Will the bottlenecking cause a lot of problems for the time being, or will it be fine for now?

 

[reccy]

You will be fine for now mate, dont worry about the bottleneck, it wont be HUGE anyways.. Good Luck and Have fun