CPU upgrade or GPU UPGRADE?

[stevot1995]

q9550 @ 3.4 8gb ram 2x560ti 1gb 750watt corsair bronze psu

im wondering whether to upgrade to a newer cpu like am3+ or 2011.
However how much cpu horsepower do i really need and is it worth just upgrading my current systems graphics cards to say 7970 or 680 £400.

 

[slomo4sho]

It is time to upgrade the CPU as upgrading your GPU will lead to CPU bottlenecks. Either go with the FX-8350 or wait around until Haswell if you want to go with an Intel build.

 

[ksham]

Upgrading your CPU will require you to also upgrade your motherboard, which will also require you to reinstall Windows (if you use Windows).

 

[stevot1995]

Upgrading your CPU will require you to also upgrade your motherboard, which will also require you to reinstall Windows (if you use Windows).

Yes i should have made it clear i build my own systems, i understand a new cpu requires a new motherboard ect.

On novabench my cpu scores 459 which is only 42 short of a i5 2500k which scores 501.
My only problem is how much cpu horsepower do you really need.
I can play most games on high/ultra with no lag so im finding it hard to justify the upgrade.
Im neither amd or intel fanboy but intel seems to produce better scores.
I really need to know whether i would have a cpu bottleneck using a 7970 or even 7970 crossfire. Atm i run everything at 70hz at 70fps. iv ran into no issues of microstutter or lag.

 

[slomo4sho]

Well your GTX 560 Tis in SLI perform around HD 7950/GTX 660 Ti. You would see a 10-20% performance increase with the 7970. Also, the Q9550 does perform well for the time being with most titles.

I suggest holding off on the upgrade until you actually run into performance issues with a game.

 

[stevot1995]

Well your GTX 560 Tis in SLI perform around HD 7950/GTX 660 Ti. You would see a 10-20% performance increase with the 7970. Also, the Q9550 does perform well for the time being with most titles.

I suggest holding off on the upgrade until you actually run into performance issues with a game.

im yet to have any issues with the exception of assassins creed 3, but thats seems due to a poorly optimized game engine.
But farcry 3, crysis 2 , all the total wars bad company 2 all seem to work really well and if i was to upgrade how much benefit would i see for instance going for 2011 over am3+? because the 8350 looks like a nice chip but is is worth spending extra for 2011 or even 1366?