Upgrade CPU or GPU?

[skaughtz]

My buddy is looking to upgrade his computer to play Diablo 3 and WOW on high settings. He is currently running the following:

Athlon X2 7750 2.7Ghz
6GB RAM
Nvidia GT 520 (I believe 1GB DDR3)

He only has enough money to upgrade one part. My suggestion was to upgrade the video card to a GTX 550Ti. I play neither of those games but assume they are both more GPU-dependent than CPU. If he sticks with the current processor, will it bottleneck his system even with the GTX 550Ti, or should they both run fine?

Thanks for the input. I don't want to give him bad advice.

 

[akxpckwb]

I'd also get a new GPU. The CPU will bottleneck any decent card but you will notice an improvement in performance

 

[GI_JONES]

The gt520 is terrible for gaming, so the GTX550To will be a great upgrade. Make sure his power supply is adequate. He will need a decent 400 watt psu with 1, 6 pin pci express power connector.
If he needs one here is a good unit for a decent price

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139026

 

[mikes1992]

You could always get a slight upgrade in a CPU for a lower price E.g. >http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/AMD-Athlon-64-X4-640-/230792578766?pt=UK_Computing_CPUs_Processors&hash=item35bc4f46ce

£31 with 1 hour left... don't take my word this is compatible though as I don't really know much about AMD processors. Old processors are really cheap now and you can get a decent quad core for around $40-50 (Uk exchange estimate).

However... I do agree with the other people on here that you should be upgrading the GPU. I just wanted to point out how cheap you can get a good performance 2nd hand CPU. (GPU's seem to hold there value better vs CPUs on the second hand market)

 

[rolli59]

Just upgrading from the 520 to the 550Ti is going to be drastic improvement!
Without knowing his exact specs I can not comment on CPU upgrade!

 

[jessterman21]

You'll need a decent PSU to support a 550ti - if the PSU is weak or an off-brand, an HD 7750 will do just as well in that game.

Also the CPU does not matter in Diablo 3 - it runs well on any multi-core. http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/diablo-iii-performance-benchmark,3195-6.html

 

[skaughtz]

You'll need a decent PSU to support a 550ti - if the PSU is weak or an off-brand, an HD 7750 will do just as well in that game.

Also the CPU does not matter in Diablo 3 - it runs well on any multi-core. http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/diablo-iii-performance-benchmark,3195-6.html

Good call. I forgot to check his PSU, but I'm pretty sure it is around the 300W zone. Looks like he'll be going with the HD 7750.

 

[skaughtz]

Best answer selected by skaughtz.

 

[jessterman21]

Good call. I forgot to check his PSU, but I'm pretty sure it is around the 300W zone. Looks like he'll be going with the HD 7750.

Better choice anyway for what sounds like a single-exhaust-fan, off-the-shelf tower.

Heat kills.