CPU & GPU combo question

My first gaming pc build will be solely for gaming, I will not be doing any video editing, etc. I will be playing games like: Battlefield 3, Elder Scrolls 3,4 & 5, Torchlight 2, Diablo 3, Far cry 3, Dark Souls, Witcher 2 and maybe Total War Shogun 2. 

I was wondering which would be better for these types of games:

phenom ii x4 965 be and hd 7870 or i5 2500k and hd 7770/maybe be able to stretch to a 7850?

 

Thanks in advance

-Harry

 

965+7870>2500K+7770

you can overclock a 7850 to 7870 speeds, which would be the best performing option

Wait, so I should go with the i5 and get a 7850 then overclock it? 

2500k + 7850 could be a good idea, but note there is a 1050MHz BIOS lock on the 7850. It is possible to bypass the lock, and possibly get to 1150MHz, but you would have to jump through some hoops. But to play devil's advocate, the 7870 has no such lock, and 1200+MHz should be farily easy to achieve. I'd go for the 965. Better price performance than 2500k, plus you can upgrade later, where as the 1155 platform is a dead upgrade path.

It's ultimately going to boil down to which games you play and whether or not they are more CPU-bound vs GPU bound. Again, my opinion is that 965 + 7870 is better.