How important is CPU speed for pc gaming

[Xyden]

Hello everyone. I am looking to either upgrade my current desktop or possibly build a new one. I feel like I have a pretty decent processor right now, an AMD at 3.2 ghz. But, I figured it would be nice to upgrade to something that was around a speed of 4-4.5 ghz. When I mentioned this to a friend, who is pretty knowledgeable about these matters, he basically said I would be wasting my money and that I should spend on a really good graphics card. I am just kind of wondering if this is the general consensus?

 

[Gam3r01]

Well, both can be correct and wrong.
Clock speeds are far from the only factor in how good a CPU is. Overall architecture is more important than speeds.
Graphics cards can give the largest gaming performance unless the CPU is weak.

What is your current build, budget, and upgrades in question?

 

[Iron124]

A processor's performance is measured in many, many different ways than just clock speed. Nowadays, it comes down to cores, architecture, manufacturing process, as well as clock speed and things like hyperthreading. What exact CPU do you have, and which one are you looking to get?

 

[Xyden]

I have an AMD Phenom II X4 955. I think it's the Black Edition, but I am not sure. It's a quad core. I don't really know any other specs. I was thinking about upgrading to an Intel core i7-4790 or 4790K.

 

[Gam3r01]

The 955 is an old, and dying processor (I have a 965)

An i5 or i7 would be an ASTOUNDING increase in performance.
However, depending what graphics card you have now a new one might be better.