building a desktop: question about CPUs and GPUs?

Question

i am building a new desktop, i am not a hardcore games but i do want my games to look decent when i play them.
so do i get a fast cpu and video card or can i skimp on the cpu a little and go for a really good video card?
im leaning towards the AMD 64 x2 series for a cpu and something like a nvidia 8000series. the gpu is more important for games right? do i need a super fast cpu? will that boost my speed while playing games if i get a faster cpu? or does the computer rely mainly on the gpu while playing games? i dont have a huge budget, and i will be getting a barebones kit and building up from there. probably less than $600, i no, i cant build a serious gameing machine for that price, but like i said before, im not hardcore. i just want my games to be smooth.

Answer 1

For gaming, the super-fast GPU and moderately fast CPU wins. Once your CPU is faster than your graphics card, having an even faster CPU doesn't improve performance any more. So having a great processor with a dinky video card means an almost certain bottleneck.

You don't have to spend a fortune for decent graphics performance- really nice cards start at $200-$250, with things like the Radeon X1950XT and GeForce 8800GTS 320mb.

The cheap Nvidia 8500 or 8600 cards offer DX10 support but are slower than the older 7800/7900 series cards.

Here's the latest Tom's hardware buyer's guide for video cards:

Answer 2

yes you are better off going with a better GPU and a lower CPU then the other way around because a 8800gts with a amd x2 4200+ is way way better than a 8600gt with a amd x2 6000+ so to answer your question yes the GPU is more important but that doesn't mean you can cheap out on the cpu but it also doesn't mean you have to spend a fortune on one a x2 4200+ and up should be enough to run a 8800gts without any bottleneck

EDIT: don't do what the guy above me did thats way to much bottleneck which means the processor is slowing down the card a pentium D is weak if that guy upgraded to a core 2 duo he'd get so much better performance like i said a x2 4200+ should be enough to run a 8800gts 320mb with no bottleneck and i agree with the guy below me don't get the 8600 and 8500 series if you can't afford a good direct 10 card then get a high end direct 9 card like the x1900 series from ati and the 7900 series from nvida you can find them for $100-$170 and they should play games on max for 2-3 years till games become direct 10 only

Answer 3

you can defenitely skimp on the cpu, i am using a geforce 8800 and a pentium d 3ghz

the guy below me is right, thats one problem with getting a lower end processor, it is not as ez/efficient to upgrade, thats how I ended up with what I got