The equivalent MSI motherboard of what you have for Haswell looks like it would be
this, would costs $45. The lowest priced Haswell I'm seeing is the
G3220, and it costs $70, for a total of $115 with the motherboard. The two closest Ivy Bridge CPUs to that $115 price would be the $97
G2140, and the $120
i3-3240. The cheaper
Ivy Bridge G2140 looks to be slightly quicker than the Haswell G3220.
The difference between the i3-3240 and Haswell G3220 is more decisive in favor of the i3.
As for whether you should get a discrete GPU, I think you could benefit very much from a CPU upgrade, and the Ivy Bridge CPUs I've listed would also give you a graphics upgrade. On the other hand, a discrete GPU like the $100
Radeon HD 7750 would be significantly better for graphics. If you went with discrete graphics, you'd want a power supply that could handle the extra load as well (even though the 7750 HD draws it's power via the motherboard). You should be fine if you are 300W+ with the CPU you have I believe.
If you do go the CPU route, I think you shouldn't get the Haswell because it's integrated graphics chip does not appear to offer much of an improvement over your current processor.
See comparison. The same is true with the $97 Ivy Bridge G3220.
See comparison. I think if you are ok with spending $120 (as compared to $115 for the Haswell upgrade), getting to the i3 would provide a greater processing boost and also better graphics performance as well.
See comparison.
If you game, I honestly don't know which the better upgrade (CPU or discrete GPU) would be. My inclination is that even though game performance is generally GPU driven, your CPU is at a level where a processing + a milder integrated graphics upgrade would provide better overall performance than just a GPU bump. I think you would also have an easier time getting the Ivy Bridge i3 now and a discrete GPU later as opposed to vice versa. So my final take would be this: Go for the Ivy Bridge i3 and potentially a discrete GPU down the line. If that's a bit more then you're willing to spend, I would go for the Radeon HD 7750 now and I think you should save up for an i3 Haswell or, when it comes out, Broadwell CPU.
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram