upgrade gpu or cpu

[lazaruskeen]

i currently have

fx6300
asus m5a97 r2.0
12gb ddr3 1600
gigabyte r9 280x oc 3
chaser mk-1 case

my question is should i upgrade my gpu to say a rx 480x or 1070
or should i keep my gpu and upgrade to a i5 6600k and a z170 board?
this is for gaming.

 

[Herc08]

I would probably go with the GPU upgrade. What is your budget? Getting a new cpu/mobo is a possible change of windows product key. Also what quality are you aiming for? An RX 480 8GB for $250 should be good.

 

[EchohcE]

Technically, both should be upgraded. I would hold off on upgrading your cpu until CES in January, as you may waste your money without seeing Zen/Kaby Lake. There's no such thing as a 480x yet, but the 480/gtx 1060 6gb are pretty much equivalent and are considered the sweet spot.

 

[MushBrain]

New CPU, your 280x is already bottlenecked.

 

[EchohcE]

New CPU, your 280x is already bottlenecked.

At stock, certainly, but if he's overclocked it to even 4.0 it's not.

 

[MushBrain]

New CPU, your 280x is already bottlenecked.

At stock, certainly, but if he's overclocked it to even 4.0 it's not.

Oh believe me it is.

 

[4745454b]

On CPU bound games, any FX (or APU for that matter) is a bottleneck. ~90% of the games out there the FX CPUs are fine. But even OC'd the FX line simply can't handle the more CPU dependent games.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/fx-8350-core-i7-3770k-gaming-bottleneck,3407-5.html

F1 can barely keep above 60FPS, while Skyrim with ultra details can fall below 60FPS. And has only 50% of the speed of the 3770K.

This is a bit of a tough one. If the games you play already do well, then I'd stay with what you have. If your 280X scores are below what you thought you'd get, the CPU is probably holding you back and a CPU upgrade would be best.