Upgrade my CPU or my GPU?

[damon9128]

I am dying for some upgrades but my girlfriend has laid down the law about "wasting" money on computer parts recently. lol So, my problem is I have $400 she will let me come off of and that basically means I am either getting an I7 to replace my G3258 or a GTX 970 to replace my 760.
Which would be better? I am really leaning towards a CPU because it is by far my weakest component.

Anyway, I could use some advise on the subject because I am ready to order something like right now.

Elite 130
H97i-plus
16gb 1600mhz
G3258 @ 4.2ghz
840 EVO
ARC 550w
zotac 760
wd blue 1tb
seidon 120v AIO
Benq 1080p 60hz

 

[Tanner Fredrickson]

You'd benefit most from replacing the CPU. The i7-4790 would be best, but you might get bonus points from your girlfriend for spending $220 instead on an i5-4690, and that won't have any trouble maxing all games either.

The Pentium G3258 gets acceptable averaged framerates, but the lack of threads leads to inconsistent minimums, as you've probably noticed. The i3s, i5s, and i7s all fare much better in that regard, though at your budget there's no reason to settle for anything less than an i5-4690.

The only games I can think of that wouldn't benefit from a stronger CPU are obligatory single-thread games like Minecraft or TESIV, and none of those should stress any part of your PC anyway. Definitely replace the CPU, not the GPU.

 

[Undying89]

You dont need an i7 just get an i5 and 970.

 

[synphul]

Don't suppose if you made her a romantic dinner she'd let you wiggle it up to $500?

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4460 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($174.69 @ SuperBiiz)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 970 4GB STRIX Video Card ($326.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Total: $501.68
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-02-06 18:41 EST-0500

 

[damon9128]

haha no I wish. I'm just going to grab an I7 and suffer the 760 for another year or so. I'm happier to at least get one good new part than nothing at all.