What to upgrade, 970 BE or HD6870?

[kro10000]

Current system specs:
AMD Phenom II 970BE oc'd to 4 ghz + CM hyper 212+ cooler
AsRock 880g Pro3 MB
Sapphire HD6870, factory clock
16gb G.skill ripjaws ddr1600
120gb vertex 4 ssd + misc platter drives
600w Thermaltake PSU
Currently running 1600x900 resolution dual monitors. I plan on upgrading to a 1080p 120hz monitor. No plans for eyefinity for now.

Budget: $200-300

Use: Mainly gaming (Skyrim and Planetside II), occasional use for professional programs (Solidworks, AutoCAD) and some video encoding.

Due to a nice tax refund check coming in, I have decided to do an upgrade to my rig. I think I have storage and memory covered, so I believe the next good step would be to update the CPU or GPU. If I upgrade the GPU I can probably sell my old card to my buddy for around $100, so I figure on a hundred dollars extra wiggle room if I purchase a new GPU. (Whereas my old CPU and MB will be used to upgrade a media server, not effecting budget).

My first CPU choice was an FX8350 CPU due to the fact that it was relatively competitive to the 3570k at a lower price ($170 at local Micro Center), and I wouldn't have to buy a new MB as I would with the Intel chip. Except that I later discovered that although my MB is an AM3+ socket, it does not support the FX8320 or FX8350.

So again, my CPU choices are either a 3570k or FX8350, the FX8350 will still be about $55 cheaper due to a $20 difference in chips and a $35 difference in motherboards:
http://microcenter.com/product/387554/Z77_Extreme4_LGA_1155_Z77_ATX_Intel_Motherboard
vs.
http://microcenter.com/product/382952/970_Extreme4_Socket_AM3_970_ATX_AMD_Motherboard

If I go the GPU route, I was considering either an HD7970 (right at my $300 budget if I sell my old card) or potentially a HD7870 (Tahiti die, if I can find one).
I haven't really looked into any nvidea cards, but I am not against one either.

Just to clarify, although I have budgeted $300 for the upgrade, I am more interested in bang for buck than best within budget. Ideally, if AsRock updated the bios on my mobo to support the FX8350, I could both afford the HD7870 and that CPU (going slightly over budget).

Anyway I am hoping to hear some other opinions as I am pretty conflicted.

Thanks in advance!

 

[clutchc]

You sound like you pretty well researched out what your options are. Yes, that board is behind on BIOS updates for the Visheras. But your biggest gaming improvement will come with a gfx card upgrade first. I wouldn't advise upgrading the CPU to a Bulldozer anymore. Your Phenom II X4 at 4GZ is superior to any Bulldozer for gaming. If you change MBs and have an OEM copy of Win7, you may have to jump through some hoops or buy a new license in order for M$ to activate it with a new board.

 

[kro10000]

You sound like you pretty well researched out what your options are. Yes, that board is behind on BIOS updates for the Visheras. But your biggest gaming improvement will come with a gfx card upgrade first. I wouldn't advise upgrading the CPU to a Bulldozer anymore. Your Phenom II X4 at 4GZ is superior to any Bulldozer for gaming. If you change MBs and have an OEM copy of Win7, you may have to jump through some hoops or buy a new license in order for M$ to activate it with a new board.

I know and apologize for being pedantic, but the FX8350 is the Piledriver, not Bulldozer, though your point is equally valid. I suppose one interesting thing I am considering is looking at the future of gaming, as the PS4/Nextbox are moving to octacore CPUs, so it isn't much of a stretch to anticipate much better threading in future games, and if this were to be true than the slight multithreading edge and lower cost of the AMD setup would definitely win out against the 3570k.

I hadn't considered a problem with the Windows license, running Win8 (still deciding whether the "upgrade" was a mistake), I'll definitely have to look into that if/when I decide to go for a new MB/CPU.

Either way I think I am now convinced that the GPU is the better option for now, plus I can wait out and see how the CPU situation progresses. Now I just have to decide whether the HD7970 is worth the $150 price premium over the Tahiti version of the HD7870.

 

[twelve25]

I don't think you have a lot to gain by upgrading your 4Ghz Phenom. I'd get the upgraded card. You might get a 10% boost going 8350, but you'll get a 100% boost or more going 6850 to 7950 or 7970.

7950 is 100% higher fps in just about everything: http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/539?vs=550

I wouldn't bother with the 120hz monitor, personally. It just quadruples the cost of everything else trying to hit Vsync and the benefits are marginal. Some of the newer games, there's not a card around that can hit 120fps at 1080p and ultra quality.

 

[clutchc]

I know and apologize for being pedantic, but the FX8350 is the Piledriver, not Bulldozer, though your point is equally valid.

.

I should have worded my reply better. What I was trying to say, was since the Piledriver was unavailable to you with the current choices of BIOS updates, I would avoid the Bulldozer if you were considering it. My bad for the poor wording.