Upgrade my GPU, CPU or both?

[Mike Kocha]

Well it's been a few years since I built my PC and after some miserable attempts at trying to play some of the latest games (Ark: Survival Evolved and GTA V) I've decided that I'm now officially out of date.

Though I'm not sure how out of date, exactly.

CPU: AMD FX-4100 3.6 GHz
GPU: MSI Radeon HD R7770 1GB

So I'm considering going to the FX-8350 and Sapphire Vapor-X R9 290. That sets me right around $500 which is the very top of my budget, and obviously no one wants to spend their entire budget if they can help it.

Which of these parts is more necessary to upgrade to in order to actually play new games? Right now I lag all over the place getting around 10 - 20fps if I'm lucky. If there's better bang for my buck, let me have it. I've only built a few PC's and this is the only gaming rig. It seems my CPU is up to date when it comes to speed, and overclocking it might help a bit but I don't know how important going to a 6 or 8 core would be for gaming.

I've considered going to an i5 too, but that would require replacing my motherboard too, which I'd rather not do unless I have to. Plus it'll cost more money, which means less of a video card. But I'm still open to that idea if that'll make a big enough difference.

Any advice would be more than appreciated. Thanks in advance!

 

[callofDEEP]

with 500 u can get r9 390 8gb.. and an 8350..
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127874&cm_re=r9_390-_-14-127-874-_-Product
330$
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819113284&cm_re=8350_fx-_-19-113-284-_-Product
175$

 

[synphul]

Right at $500.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4460 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($166.95 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: ASRock H97M PRO4 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($69.98 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon R9 290 4GB Tri-X OC Video Card ($263.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $500.91
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-07-03 03:33 EDT-0400

 

[Mike Kocha]

So what you're both saying is that it'd be a bad idea to not upgrade both parts. Ha ha. I figured I was that far out of date.

Thanks for the info. I didn't realize I could go all the way up to a 390 or I could go the other direction and snag an i5 and keep in the same price range.

Which would be better for gaming? A slightly better GPU or a moderately better CPU?

 

[callofDEEP]

So what you're both saying is that it'd be a bad idea to not upgrade both parts. Ha ha. I figured I was that far out of date.

Thanks for the info. I didn't realize I could go all the way up to a 390 or I could go the other direction and snag an i5 and keep in the same price range.

Which would be better for gaming? A slightly better GPU or a moderately better CPU?

yeah .. the thing is that games coming out are hitting 4gb gpu usage .. games like shadow of mordor, skyrim, gta v are hitting above 4gb on gpu.. by next many games will come out and i dont think can keep up if u crank all the settings to the limit.. 390 has 8gb ..so i recommend a 8gb gpu and 8350 is not a bad choice at all.. what else do u do with your pc.. if only gaming those two are like the best combo under 500..
or u can go intel route for much better upgrade pattern..

 

[Mike Kocha]

I'm a game artist. I do 3d modeling, texturing and animation for a game studio. But I use a Macbook Pro for that due to easue of use and the fact that I basically got my Mac for free from school. So my PC (which used to be for development) has recently become solely a gaming PC. I barely even check my email anymore on it.

The funny thing is that Skyrim and Shadow of Mordor run on high in full 1080 just fine on my system, but GTA V and a few other games barely run on low settings at 800x600. I don't really understand why there was such a jump between last year's games and this year's games, but I guess it happens whenever new consoles come out.

So as much as I want to switch to intel, I think I'm going to go with the 8350 and the R9 390 if my budget allows just so I don't have to install a new motherboard. I want a new case eventually for better cable management so I'll probably switch to intel then and just suck up the price tag.

Thanks for your advice, everyone. I appreciate your input.