Upgrading my Gaming PC

[Zeldadudes]

Hello Escapist folk.
Wondered if any of the computer-tech-savvy folk could possibly help me with some computer advice.
Bought Guild Wars 2 recently, great game you should pick it up if you like MMORPGS or even good games, and I'm upset to see that my PC can't really handle it on full graphics.
Hell it even plays up during busier times on low graphics, with anti-aliasing on of course.

I did build my own PC however I used a good tutorial and I'm unable to find it again

So here is my current rig:

Processor: Intel Core i3 540@3.07GHZ
GPU: ATI Radeon HD 5700 Series
Ram: 4GB (says 3.87GB usable?)
OS: Windows 7 64-bit
Sound Card: AMD High Definition Audio Device (blah)
HD: 1TB - 212.5GB spare.

I think all the driver are up to date, i'm just looking for advice really on what I should upgrade. Should I upgrade the Processor to an i5/i7? If so which one as there is Sandybridge, Ivybridge, IvySand, SandyIvy etc.

Budget is like 500 pounds odd, however I'm happy to increase it.

TLDR; Please offer your suggestions on what I should upgrade on my gaming Rig so I can play GW2 on a higher spec.

Thanks!

 

[Supernova1138]

GW2 can be both GPU heavy and CPU heavy. What resolution are you running? Lower resolutions need more CPU, higher resolutions need more GPU. Upgrading the CPU will require a new motherboard as well unless you can find an i5 or i7 on your CPU socket. Quad cores available for your motherboard include Core i5 7xx and Core i7 8xx, avoid the Core i5 6xx series, they are dual core with hyperthreading like your i3. Problem is, those CPUs are harder to find, and are still pricy. If you do want to upgrade to Sandy or Ivy, you need a new motherboard. Ivy Bridge isn't a huge improvement over Sandy, with most of the gains being in power efficiency and better integrated graphics. Ivy also introduces PCI-E 3.0 support, but that is only relevant in extreme high end multi GPU setups right now, PCI-E 3.0 won't improve performance on any single GPU.

You probably would also benefit from a GPU upgrade. 5700 series AMD cards are considered entry level for gaming these days. For a worthwhile upgrade look at something like the Radeon HD 7850 or the Geforce GTX 660 at least. Be aware that the midrange 600 series GeForce cards can be a bit inconsistent with their performance between game to game due to some not so great design decisions, so research benchmarks on all the stuff you play if you go with nvidia. In some games, the Geforce 660 cards can perform poorly when the Anti Aliasing is cranked up too high due to their somewhat crippled memory bandwidth.

It would also help to know what kind of power supply you have, if it isn't up to powering a better GPU, that will also need to be replaced.