CPU or GRAPHICS Preformance

Hi, I have a pretty tight budget. I want to know if I should go for a Sapphire 7950 with a Phenom 965 quad-core OR an HIS 7870 with an 8-core 8150 which comes with a liquid cooler.

7950 with the 965 BE for sure.

+1

how about a fx 6300 or 8320 and a 7870?  If not the 7950 and x4

The perfect balance for your price would be an FX 6300 and a 7870XT, should be the perfect Price Vs performance and wont bottleneck like a 965BE would with a 7950