How should I proceed to upgrade my rig efficiently?

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_Axel

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Jan 5, 2014
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I'm looking to upgrade my PC to be able to handle upcoming games such as Watch Dogs or Star Citizen, preferably on high settings at a framerate between 40 and 60 fps. However, some of my parts are quite outdated, notably the CPU;
CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E8500 3.16 GHz
GPU: Nvidia GTX 650 Ti
MB: Asus P5Q Pro
RAM: 4 GB of DDR2
My monitor has a resolution of 1680*1050, and I'm fine with it for the time being.
One of my main concern here is that my motherboard is fairly old too, and that it may pose a problem by limiting my upgrading options. Right now I have a budget of about 400€ (550$) and I'm okay if that only covers part of the upgrade. It's fine if I have to save up and finish it later.
Also is selling old components a common practice? I could get rid of my ATI HD 4850 but I doubt I'd get much out of it.

So yeah, what would be the priority in upgrading my PC and what would be the component best suited for the job?
 
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Grapid

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Apr 18, 2014
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550$ is more than enough to upgrade, get a new mobo an i5 and some DDR3 RAM, 4gb should be enough if you're running Windows 8, and you're good to go, the GTX 650 ti is a good card so I would focus on getting the i5 , quick tip, if you are having lag, use 1440x900, I used to have a GTX 650 ti, and I remember that being the "magical resolution" I would be able to run bf3 at ultra on 1440x900, good luck ;)
 
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_Axel

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Jan 5, 2014
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Great. What would you suggest for a motherboard? I assume it's mostly a compatibility problem. I just tried out your tip and it indeed was more fluid without taking away too much details. Do you think my CPU is bottlenecking my GPU currently? And would getting anything over an i5 be irrelevant for gaming at the moment? Or would I be better off saving for a new GC further down the line?
 
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Grapid

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Apr 18, 2014
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just get the i5, you're gpu is fine, anything more than an i5 for gaming is overkill at the current moment , get a haswell i5, I believe they are cheaper and yes, your core 2 duo is definitely bottlenecking you GPU, any mobo with a decent chipset should do, I would recommend the h81m-s1 from gigabyte, I have it, it is a really good board, plus the audio is excellent, not to mention the dual uefi bios will come in handy for flashing, but don't forget to get some ddr3 ram, as the board will not support ddr2, make sure the socket for the cpu matches and thats it. :D (And if you want to be even more future proof, get a k-series i5 as overclocking it will give you a noticeable improvement, especially with these new console ports coming out that are really cpu heavy ) here is another mo bo just in case the one above does not suffice http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130731
 
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_Axel

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Jan 5, 2014
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So I tried to check and there seems to be no data label on it? Where should it be located?
 
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Grapid

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Apr 18, 2014
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If your psu wattage is 500w it should be enough, the processor change wont be such a big difference in terms of power consumption , oh, and does your gtx 650 ti have 2 fans, because then we could have a problem
 
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Onus

Onus

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Jan 27, 2006
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If there is no visible label on it, assume it to be generic [near] junk that is not fit for long term use. Your GTX650Ti may be the strongest card it can handle. Are you using an adapter to provide PCIe power, or does it have that cable already?
I believe that XFX PSUs are available in Europe at reasonable prices, or perhaps FSP. For the long term health and stability of your system, a PSU replacement (450W-550W would be sufficient for a single graphics card) would be a good idea.
 
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A

_Axel

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Jan 5, 2014
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Actually I took a peek underneath and it appears to be an Akasa Ak P600 ag8. Would that be sufficient?
 
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_Axel

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Jan 5, 2014
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Yep, my GC has 2 fans.
 
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_Axel

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Jan 5, 2014
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Seems to be 600W. What's the bad thing about that brand? Is it unreliable?
 
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Grapid

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Apr 18, 2014
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Is it using an external 6 pin adapter?
 
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