Which to upgrade, CPU or GPU

I Have an Intel Q6600 CPU, and an EVGA GeForce 9800 GTX+

I'm looking to upgrade. The biggest performance boost to my computer will be one of these two, and I want some opinion on what will be the best if I were to upgrade one part. (Eventually I will upgrade both, but this is to prepare for SWTOR, BF3, MW3 etc.)

The parts I'm looking to replace what I have for, are the Intel i5, or the GeForce 570 with maybe picking up another one for SLI down the road.

My Q6600, from what I've understood is similar in specs to the i5, even though it was made in 2007. The only difference being the i5 will running at a slightly faster speed per core.

If I were to get the 570 card, will my CPU bottleneck it? Graphics memory currently seem to be my limitation, so if I were to get the i5, I'd still have a graphics problem, since the 9800 GTX+ I have is only 512mb onboard memory, and the 570 will have 1.2gb of memory.

Other notes:
I have 4gb of Ram, and I'll probably be upgrading to 8gb by year's end anyway, so it's a non issue.
I'm running Windows 7 ultimate.
I have an EVGA mobo supporting up to 3 way SLI, and the i5 is compatible with the mobo.
Budget is enough to cover the 570 card (So, < $350) But if you think that the GeForce 580 is the way to go for the future, I could be convinced to spend ~$700 on a new CPU and GPU

AMD Bulldozer

lol?

Depends on what you need the upgrade for. I would advise the graphics card, as you are probably mainly concerned with gaming. I'd go with a CPU upgrade myself as the programs I use tend to strain the CPU more than graphics.

save the money get a new xbox and play MW3?

That's in the works, don't worry about that.

It's not soon, but it's a-coming.

Unless one of you have an extra box lying around -_-'

S7 Vision67 wrote:Unless one of you have an extra box lying around -_-'

I actually do... my launch box is resting under my elite... and has been for a year and half or so

If you are literally not using it... O_O

S7 Wiggles78 wrote:save the money get a new xbox and play MW3?

...and Gears 3, and BF3, and Forza 4...

Your Q6600 mobo also supports i5? Aren't they a different socket type?

S7 SockPuppet wrote:

S7 Wiggles78 wrote:save the money get a new xbox and play MW3?

...and Gears 3, and BF3, and Forza 4...

...and Queers 3, and ButtF#ck 3, and Forza 4...?

S7 Wiggles78 wrote:

S7 SockPuppet wrote:

S7 Wiggles78 wrote:save the money get a new xbox and play MW3?

...and Gears 3, and BF3, and Forza 4...

...and Queers 3, and ButtF#ck 3, and Forza 4...?

It's intriguing that you are so homo your brain auto corrects like that lol

AtrumX wrote:

S7 Wiggles78 wrote:

S7 SockPuppet wrote:

S7 Wiggles78 wrote:save the money get a new xbox and play MW3?

...and Gears 3, and BF3, and Forza 4...

...and Queers 3, and ButtF#ck 3, and Forza 4...?

It's intriguing that you are so homo your brain auto corrects like that lol

^

S7 Epic wrote:Your Q6600 mobo also supports i5? Aren't they a different socket type?

You are correct sir! I don't know how I managed to skip that. the Q6600 is 775 and the i5 is 1156. So On top of that, I'll need to get a new Mobo as well.

So, looks like I'll be upgrading the GPU. I really don't think my CPU is a problem and while it isn't super new, the bottle necking, if any, will be minimal because as it stands I'm hardly seeing the CPU really work it's fullest. Even under load, my memory strain is at 98% while my CPU is clocking at like, 30% capacity. Looks more like my CPU's memory is bottlenecking my system more than anything else.