Should I upgrade or not?

[KiiYzOo]

I'm not sure if I should keep my current CPU/motherboard setup or if I should upgrade to an AMD CPU/mobo, SB platform, get a new 1156 quad core cpu like an i5 760 or if I should just keep my i3 540 with an msi p55a-g55?
Will upgrading be better for framerates in games?

 

[Garee]

Gaming performance is mainly held back by your graphics card. Yes, you can gain a few FPS but nothing like you would if you upgraded your GPU.

 

[KiiYzOo]

Yeah that was what I was thinking of doing anyway

 

[Max3]

Depends on the game but most will be about GPU! Which games are you interested in?

 

[KiiYzOo]

Just now is Starcraft 2 but I wanna play games like Metro 2033, Crysis 2 when it comes out and also RPG and racing games.

 

[Garee]

Just now is Starcraft 2 but I wanna play games like Metro 2033, Crysis 2 when it comes out and also RPG and racing games.

What is your current GPU?

 

[Max3]

You'll definitely have a better framerate for SCII. Metro 2033 didn't improve at all when i moved from q9550 to 2500k. Who knows about crysis 2 but it may increase your minimum framerate just like in crysis.

 

[Dark_Angel]

Hmm.

Depending on your current GPU, I'd be tempted to go with either a I5 760 + GTX 480 or maybe a GTX 460 and keep your current (or an ATI 5850, whatever you prefer).

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/191?vs=143 that's a comparison between different games. Obviously these aren't clocked, but I'd assume the performance percent difference would roughly keep even.

 

[KiiYzOo]

Yeah I already have a gtx 460 and I was thinking about getting an amd 6950 as my frien wants to buy my 460.

 

[Dark_Angel]

Hmm... If you've got the spare cash, dropping in an I5 wouldn't hurt (a 760). If only because some games are fairly CPU intensive.

It's not the same thing, but I went from a Q6600 to a 2500K, and my min framerates (and average) saw a nice increase. Particularly in games such as Crysis and the like.