How important is CPU in gaming?

romeodakins

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Right now I have a A8-3870k with a 6670, I want to change the graphics card to something more powerful but I also wanted to change the CPU to the Phenom 965 Black Edition. But if I want to change the CPU, I'd have to change the motherboard to and that is too much to change. Is it really much an upgrade from an A8-3870 to the 965BE? By the way the A8 can overclock, I have the hyper 212 for good cooling. How much fps would I be missing out on if I don't upgrade to the phenom 965? Is it really worth is to do a complete overhaul of my system to change the cpu? Isn't GPU the most important thing? I just want to get a new GPU and do a quick switch, if I change the cpu, I'd have to switch the cpu and motherboard and I'd have to install new drivers, etc.
 
Solution
I don't think it's worth going with the 965 be, if you want an amd cpu, get the FX-6300 or 8320/8350 or an intel i5.
Or stay with your current cpu, it will not bottleneck a low end card, like a 7770 or 7850, from nvidia a 650 ti.
I don't think it's worth going with the 965 be, if you want an amd cpu, get the FX-6300 or 8320/8350 or an intel i5.
Or stay with your current cpu, it will not bottleneck a low end card, like a 7770 or 7850, from nvidia a 650 ti.
 
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romeodakins

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I'm planning on getting a 6850 or 7850, so comparing a A8-3870k with 6850 vs Phenom 965 BE with 6850, how much better is the phenom build and how much fps would I be losing going with the A8 build?
 
Very briefly..

GPU: Renders the graphical image on the screen

CPU: Works out calculations needed for a game to run, e.g. player movements

So, for a games like First Person Shooters, the CPU takes a back seat role, as most of the demanding work is visual, and therefore done by the GPU.

But, for RTS or MMORPG games that have many players or characters doing different things at once, the CPU plays a more more significant role as it has to work out many different calculations simultaneously.

Therefore, in a game like World of Warcraft, you'll find that you take a noticeable performance hit if you enter a crowded area full of players and NPCs. As a player of that game myself, I had encountered this problem before and found that turning my graphics settings down helped, but not a lot. So, I upgraded my CPU - and though I found that I had no noticeable FPS gain in deserted areas, in crowded areas like cities; my FPS had increased dramatically.

The easiest thing for you to do would be upgrade your CPU, which has become rather outdated.
 


You won't be bottlenecked by the cpu(the apu), with those cards.
If you want something better i'd get the fx-6300 or i5 for a cpu.
And a better gpu, but for a 6850 or 7850 it will do.
 

romeodakins

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I really want to avoid switching the CPUs because when I switch my parts I have to sell my old parts on ebay which will be hard. I have a 400w psu and I want to get a card like the 6850 so keeping my CPU would actually be good right? Because it has lower psu consumption?
 



Yes, but what's the psu brand and model ?
If it's a decent one it will for the 6850 or 7850, but if it's a no name brand, it could be risky.
 

romeodakins

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A8-3870k which takes 100w
6850/7850 new gpu :)
ASUS F1A55-M LE - FM1 - A55 mobo
750gb seagate hdd
asus dvd drive
hyper 212 cpu cooler
8gb ram
 

romeodakins

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I would pay to upgrade the psu but then I'd have to unplug everything and sell it on ebay and the shipping is going to be high since it's very heavy. And if I upgrade to like a 600w psu, then it would be capable with even higher gpu cards but then my cpu would bottleneck those so it's no use in upgrading the psu for better cards. If I do all those upgrades, I'd have to replace the psu, cpu, motherboard, graphics. So basically it'll be like I'm building a new pc and it'll be hard to ebay all those parts without losing a lot of money.