Upgrading CPU or GPU?

[LGFR]

Hi,
After getting Skyward Sword, and seeing some graphic issues (the graphic is sometimes blurred), I'm willing to upgrade my desktop this Christmas. I have a pc with Intel Core i3 530 2,93GHz a a nVidia graphics card GeForce GT 240 1024Mb. I don't have much budget to upgrade both cpu and gpu, so I'm going to pick only one. Which should I upgrade? I think that getting a Core i7 (LGA 1156, 'cause my motherboard isn't LGA 1366) is going to make more difference than getting a new graphics card. But I wanna know your opinions! Thanks

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Sorry for double posting. Just to make it clear, I don't want to upgrade just for Zelda, there are many other issues with other games, like Smash Bros Brawl and Mario Kart Wii. There is a pretty good slowdown when playing multiplayer and in some stages/race tracks. So, I want to upgrade go have a better performance, use Anti-Aliasing 9x and Anisotropic 16x for example.

[Starscream]

Neither a new graphics card or a new CPU is going to fix a graphics problem in a game, but yeah, get a faster CPU for faster game speeds. The GT240 should be okay as long as you don't turn up the graphic settings too high.

[LGFR]

So, to have better speed I need to upgrade my cpu. But I will also have a improvement in graphics upgrading only the cpu? Even a bit?

[admin89]

Overclock CPU for speed and get Nvidia GTX 560Ti for Anti-Aliasing 9x
3.4Ghz i3 could run most game fullspeed

[LGFR]

To overclock i3 to 3.4GHz do I need a cooler? I've been searching about it and many people say to have a watercooler and messing with the voltage for less heat. I'm a bit unsure about overclocking, but I think I'll do it before getting a new cpu.

[Maave]

The big thing is do you want faster emulators or faster regular games? Emulators use mostly the CPU (except for exta enhancements like anti-aliasing and crap), while modern games use more GPU power.

i3 530 @ 3.4GHz is fine with the stock fan, no need for extra cooling crap. Now if he said 4GHz or something, lol.
i5 or i7 won't be huge improvements over the i3 unless you get a quad core. My friend's quad-core i5 emulates like a f***ing boss.

GTX 560Ti is a beast of a card. If you want something cheaper then the GTX 460 is still very good. If you feel like ATI then the ATI 5770 would match the GTX 460.

[NaturalViolence]

Emulators use mostly the CPU (except for exta enhancements like anti-aliasing and crap), while modern games use more GPU power.

You have the right idea but I don't quite like the way you're explaining it. All 3D rendering is done on the GPU whether you're running an emulator or a pc game. Both are equally capable of fully using the GPUs resources. The only difference is that PC games tend to have much less cpu load than emulators since emulation is very cpu intensive.

i5 or i7 won't be huge improvements over the i3 unless you get a quad core. My friend's quad-core i5 emulates like a f***ing boss.

Dolphin will gain little, if any, benefit from a quad core cpu since dolphin only has two main threads.

If you feel like ATI then the ATI 5770 would match the GTX 460.

The HD6850 is supposed to be AMDs (remember they officially changed their name after the merger) equivalent to the GTX 460 1GB. The 6770 (which is just a rebranded 5770) is much cheaper than a GTX 460.

[Fennecat]

I've watched the load meters on my 6-core system while playing, and can confirm that only two are used. Some extra activity occurs on the remaining ones if the threads aren't locked to those two primary cores, but the in-game difference is negligible.

Any CPU with more than two cores running 3 GHz or higher should do, but the faster the better!

Watercooling isn't necessary, and a system can be kept decently cool on air without needing headphones to hear the game. I can advise you on a good cooling setup if you tell me what case you have.

[dannzen]

Any CPU with more than two cores running 3 GHz or higher should do, but the faster the better!

thats wrong...
the i-serie intel cpu's are always faster than any amd cpu with the same clock..
(approx. 400mhz faster in terms of speed)

[Fennecat]

Any CPU with more than two cores running 3 GHz or higher should do, but the faster the better!

thats wrong...
the i-serie intel cpu's are always faster than any amd cpu with the same clock..
(approx. 400mhz faster in terms of speed)

I also forgot that VIA makes quads now. *shudders at the thought of overclocking one*

But I do have experience in building quiet computers.