what should i upgrade first cpu or gpu?

[udayi]

HI Guys,

My system configuration is:-

AMD ATHLON II X3 450

GIGABYTE M68MT-S2

XFX HD 7770 1 GB DDR 5

I mainly use my computer for watching movies and playing games, i almost play every game which will be released.......i want to upgrade my computer for better gaming performance which can play almost all games which are released in future under medium settings atleast ..... and one of my friend suggested me to upgrade cpu initially and i am here to hear suggestions from you guys.

I have below upgrade options in my mind:

1) AMD FX 6300/AMD FX 8350 + new motherboard

if there is not much change between 6300 and 8350 then i would love to go for 6300 so that i can save money and can go for higher end gpu.

2) i5 4670 + new mother board

i didn't mentioned K version because i don't do overclocking.

my overall budget for cpu+motherboard upgrade is 350$(20,000 indian rupees)

if i can save some money out of this amount then i can save extra amount and go for higher end graphics card.


i jut want to enjoy games which are released in future like in next 2 years under medium settings atleast.

 

[frozentundra123456]

What resolution, 1080p? There is a whole thread in the cpu forum about cpu vs gpu, but I am of the opinion it is best to get a good cpu first camp. In any case, since you have a HD7770 already, I think that the cpu you have is going to limit you if you upgrade the graphics card, especially in newer games, some of which are very cpu intensive.

I would recommend upgrading cpu and motherboard first. Something like a an i5 4460 and a non-overclocking motherboard (someone else can give you better advice on that). Based on US prices, that should come to less than 300.00. Save the rest and start looking for a better gpu as well, but if you are willing to turn down the settings enough, I think you should be able to live with the HD7770. Right now that is what I have, and I have been able to play every game at 1080p, medium to high settings, including Metro Last Light.

Edit: I am not that familiar with motherboards, but obviously if the motherboard you have will accept FX processors, your best scenario is to simply drop in an FX6300 or 83xx. Also what type and how much ram do you have? You might need to upgrade that as well.

 

[Cerb]

Agree. A 4th-gen Core i5, then looking into video cards later, would be a better way to spend your money in the long run. That budget should be right on for an i5, board, and maybe a little more RAM (you want at least 8GB total, and might be able to re-use what you have, but 1x4GB could get you started, if 8GB would mean buying a slower CPU).

Then, later, you can get something along the lines of a GTX 750, or better, and have a nice budget gaming box.

 

[gmaster456]

I would go with the i5 upgrade and get a new GPU later.

 

[mfenn]

Here's the previous discussion on the same topic: http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2384706&highlight=

The consensus there was to go Intel.

 

[sm625]

Your gpu has like 5 times the transistors vs your cpu. That is highly unbalanced. A haswell i5 would get you to parity, but the ideal balance would be roughly 2.5:1 in favor of gpu transistors. At any rate you definitely need a cpu upgrade more than a gpu upgrade.

 

[udayi]

HI sm625,

Thanks for the reply and i have decide to go with i5 4670 so can you please tell me whether go for normal version or 4670k version and i dont overclock cpus......i mean i have never done before....... and can i go with the below motherboard

http://www.flipkart.com/gigabyte-ga...1150&ref=9e51ebab-5125-4386-a049-a7ecda6a7629

please reply..........

 

[mfenn]

If you don't overclock, then you don't need the overclockable K-series CPU. Once you step away from the K-series CPU, then you also don't necessarily need to get the 4670 version. There are a lot of options in the Haswell i5 line, and they only differ by a few hundred MHz, so you can go down to the i5 4430 and not really notice a difference. You will notice the Rs. 2.5K price difference though!

As for the motherboard, the GA-B85M-D3H that you picked out is a good choice.

 

[udayi]

Hi,

I am considering below 4 moherboards for i5 4670 , can you please suggest me the best one....

1) http://www.flipkart.com/gigabyte-h8...o_pp_recoBundle__tab1_2&ppid=PSRDHSPKBYYEGN8Y

2)http://www.flipkart.com/msi-h87m-g4...o_pp_recoBundle__tab2_2&ppid=PSRDHSPKBYYEGN8Y

3)http://www.flipkart.com/gigabyte-ga...o_pp_recoBundle__tab5_2&ppid=PSRDHSPKBYYEGN8Y

4)http://www.flipkart.com/gigabyte-ga...M-S1&ref=611d918a-7fdf-4f1a-b8c0-bc34ce468edc

please suggest me good motherboard out of these four or else let me know if there are any in same price range like 7000rs.........

 

[mfenn]

The GA-B85M-D3H costs the least out of the boards with the important features (4 DIMM slots, ALC892, digital video outputs), so you should get that one.