I actually am going to use it for gaming. Thats why I want to upgrade.
Sorry, I misread your last post.
Yeah if you want to game then upgrade to something like a GTX 760 or a Radeon R9 270X and then you can upgrade to a newer platform if you feel you need to. The Phenom II X4 will still be OK I think - it's not quite as weak as everybody seems to make it out to be. You can upgrade to the FX or go with Intel if you want, but ultimately the performance lies in the graphics card - the CPU should be second on your priorities. You can always try overclocking your Phenom to eek a bit of extra grunt out of it.
And no, Intel and GeForce does not run any smoother than AMD and Radeons - it doesn't matter at all what brand CPU or GPU you go for in this case. That's just a myth.
So I'd recommend upgrading your card first. You may find you don't even need to upgrade the CPU once you have a nicer graphics card. And no, the Phenom won't really be bottlenecking a 760 or a 270X at all.