Faster processor or faster gpu?

[Luukie]

Current specs:

Mobo: msi z77a-g45
Processor: -
Gpu: haven't decided yet
Psu: Corsair gs 700 watt
WD caviar blue 500 gb

So i was thinking about what processor i need to go with my msi motherboard. I wanted to overclock the internal gpu with the oc genie II feature of my mobo, and later buy a good gpu, but i could also buy an i3 3240 and just go with that.
So my question was; does it make a difference in games between if i use a 3470k overclocked or a 3240 at stock speeds (no unlocked multiplier) with my asus HD 7850 directcu II V2

 

[clutchc]

In games that are CPU intensive, the quad core will give you a bit of an edge. But I can speak from experience building several budget PCs with the "old" i3 SB. It won't bottle neck a HD 7850... in gaming. But for other tasks, 4 cores/4 threads are better than 2 cores/4 threads.

 

[socialfox]

+1^ quad cores are more efficient at playing games and technically you need a fast processor to support a fast video card, if you run an hd 7850 with some single core sempron then you will experience bottlenecking, the graphics card is not performing at max capability because the cpu is dragging it down. In a way think of it as a bottle, the smaller the opening of the bottle the less water can go down in it (slow processor with fast gpu) but with a wide opening it fills in faster.