What to upgrade?

[youngrd2005]

Hello All,

I am curious if I could get some input on a decision I need to make when I upgrade my PC this tax season I wanted to upgrade basically my whole PC, but if I could save some money by only upgrading a few different things, then that would be great. Here is my current specs:

AMD Phenom II 1045T six-core processor at 2.7 Ghz
8 gigs RAM
Nvidia GTX 560 TI OC
Power supply 600W

I recently found out that for gaming, more than 3 cores really doesnt help much since most games don't use more. Also, my current MB only suppots PCIe 1.0 or whatever and has only 1 slot. (my current graphics card is PCIe 2.0)

The CPU I'm looking at upgrading to is the i5 3570 3.4 Ghz CPU with a decent MB (havent decided heavily on).

Graphics card, maybe the GTX 670.

Would I notice a big difference by upgrading the graphics or the CPU/MB?

Any input is appreciated, and if you need more info from me, please ask. Thanks everyone

 

[lt_dan_zsu]

Get a 7950, 3570k, and asrock extreme4.

 

[youngrd2005]

I can only really afford to upgrade a graphics card, OR the cpu/mb. I don't have enough money to do both. Both need it I'm sure, but I was wondering what would be the best choice if I'm wanting to notice a big difference in gaming? I know a new GPU will make it look better, but running better might be choked by my current cpu/mb. Thanks

 

[pit_1209]

I can only really afford to upgrade a graphics card, OR the cpu/mb. I don't have enough money to do both. Both need it I'm sure, but I was wondering what would be the best choice if I'm wanting to notice a big difference in gaming? I know a new GPU will make it look better, but running better might be choked by my current cpu/mb. Thanks

The gpu first, maybe a little bit of a bottleneck but a very big improvement. Could you specify budget and psu brand?

 

[toyftw]

I can only really afford to upgrade a graphics card, OR the cpu/mb. I don't have enough money to do both. Both need it I'm sure, but I was wondering what would be the best choice if I'm wanting to notice a big difference in gaming? I know a new GPU will make it look better, but running better might be choked by my current cpu/mb. Thanks

I think the best path for you is upgrade the cpu/mb
now, as you already have a pretty decent gpu,
& save up for a new gpu down the line.

Tom

 

[youngrd2005]

Budget is around $500. My current PSU is 600 W Thermaltake.

 

[dish_moose]

I say I5 3570, z77 mobo and new psu Micro center nearby? And many games will utilize 4 cores.
-Bruce

 

[pit_1209]

Budget is around $500. My current PSU is 600 W Thermaltake.

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($189.99 @ Microcenter)
Motherboard: ASRock Z75 Pro3 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($82.55 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon HD 7850 2GB Video Card ($199.98 @ Newegg)

Total: $473