Which should I upgrade first?

[Kcroucher17]

Hey guys. I have $400 to spend on PC upgrades, but I can't decide what to upgrade first.

My current CPU is an AMD Phenom II x4 965 3.4GHz and I will be upgrading to an i5 3570k/ASRock Z77 Motherboard
My current GPU is an AMD Radeon 6870HD 1GB upgrading to an Nvidia GTX 670

I play games like ARMA II, The WarZ, BF3, and Planetside 2. My question is, which should I upgrade first for these games? The CPU/Motherboard, or the Video Card.

Thanks in advance.

 

[strife_ff7]

The gpu would give you the bigger performance increase. The x4 965 might bottleneck the gtx 670 but only a little.

 

[Kcroucher17]

The gpu would give you the bigger performance increase. The x4 965 might bottleneck the gtx 670 but only a little.

Thanks for the quick response, although people have told me that ARMA and WarZ are more CPU intensive and that my CPU is the reason that I am getting poor FPS. Would the Video Card still give me improvement in these games?

 

[strife_ff7]

Have you tried overclocking the phenom ii x4 965 some that would help with the more cpu intense moments. Even if you can't the gtx 670 would help overall more than the i5 would.

 

[Kcroucher17]

Have you tried overclocking the phenom ii x4 965 some that would help with the more cpu intense moments. Even if you can't the gtx 670 would help overall more than the i5 would.

I am not overclocking as I am not very familiar with it. If you have some resources for overclocking, I would greatly appreciate it

 

[strife_ff7]

What mobo do you have?

 

[strife_ff7]

I am not overclocking as I am not very familiar with it. If you have some resources for overclocking, I would greatly appreciate it

This thread might help http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/254559-29-phenom-overclocking-help

 

[Kcroucher17]

What mobo do you have?

I am 99% sure this is my mobo http://www.asus.com/Motherboards/AMD_AM3/M4A87TDUSB3/

 

[Kcroucher17]

This thread might help http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/254559-29-phenom-overclocking-help

I've decided to go with the 670 for now. I'll be getting the i5 in January anyway so it's not too much of a problem. As for the overclocking, I'll check around the forums here and maybe do a minor overclock because I only have the stock heatsink.
Thanks for your help.

 

[strife_ff7]

No problem Here's a guide I found http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/forum/274820-11-black-edition-overclock-raising-multiplier-guide and a thread with someone who has your mobo and cpu http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/279483-29-overclock-phenom-965be-programs-give-errors-afterwards

 

[Kcroucher17]

Best answer selected by Kcroucher17.