ASUS 7770 2GD5 + Athlon X4 760k VS. i5 2.7Ghz + 640M 512mb of GDDR5

[EucleX]

Performance wise, which of these would have a better gaming performance?

 

[jbrown156]

Performance wise, which of these would have a better gaming performance?

the core i5 2.7ghz + 640m would be the winner by ten miles as it is way stronger in terms of processor gpu is weak though..
however the i5 build would be best for gaming

 

[Onus]

Most games are sufficiently dependent on graphics card performance that the HD7770 will be substantially better. Check for deals though, I've seen a couple different ones at Newegg for around $99. Right now, there are some refurbished GTX650Ti's at that price. This is an even stronger card. If you need to go cheap, you can find refurbished HD7770's for $79 there.

 

[boosted1g]

What is your budget?
Should be able to find a compromise in here.
The 7770 is miles ahead of the 640m, but the i5 is miles ahead of the athlon x4.
DIfferece though is that you can upgrade the graphics card, that x4 is about the best you can get in that weak fm2 socket so upgrading to the best of the best for that motherboard socket it will still leave you way behind other cpus

 

[Onus]

^That is true. Can you fit an i3 into your budget, along with a refurbished HD7770? If not, you can get a new HD7750 (a HIS model; I've had good results from their cards) which is also a lot stronger than a GT640. This card is $80.
If you are interested in overclocking, you may wish to investigate how well that Athlon does when properly tweaked. Damric is a member of these forums who has done a lot of research on it, particularly regarding NB overclocks, which are needed to offset poor memory controller performance.