BleepingComputer.com: Deciding between CPU/mobo or GPU upgrade

Well, it's time I upgraded my computer, but I'm stuck between 2 things. Right now I have a:

AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800+ (I know, I know, it came with it )
Nvidia GeForce 8800 GTS 640 MB
Windows 7 (64 bit)
Stock motherboard (can't find any model numbers)
4GB of RAM

...And various other things that have no effect on speed


It's running a little slow in games, and I was wondering what upgrade could help me the most:

Upgrade video card to a (probably, still deciding) HD 4890 1GB

or

Upgrade CPU to a (probably) AMD Phenom 9950 Agena 2.6GHz 4 x 512KB L2 Cache 2MB L3 Cache Socket AM2+ 125W Quad-Core Black Edition, and motherboard to a (probably) BIOSTAR TA790GX XE AM2+/AM3 AMD 790GX HDMI Micro ATX.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16814150359
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16819103291
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16813138140

Also, if anyone knows of a similar video card to that that supports native HDMI, that'd be awesome

Thanks

With video cards having onboard GPUs, that is where the biggest bang for your $$$ is if your mobo will support it.
The onboard GPU takes away the load on the CPU.

You actually have a fairly well matched system. Any signifigant upgrade will make the other components a bottleneck. Do agree with the above advice, you might as well get a videocard now as that will be your biggest bang for the buck. If shopping for ATI products, the new 5XXX series hit at the end of September and current prices might drop a bit.

EDIT: All 4XXX series cards support HDMI. I can attest they work fine with TVs.

This post has been edited by dpunisher: 25 August 2009 - 04:12 PM