Upgrade from a low-end Athlon based system with around a $300 budget

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ElGatoLoco

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Dec 21, 2014
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Alright then, this is my present conf:
Asus M4A78LT-M LE
Athlon II X2 250
1TB Seagate Barracuda ST1000DM003
Transcend RAM 3GB DDR3
Sapphire HD5670 1GB DDR5
Fractal Design Core 1000
Chieftec 400W

I like my case and I'd like to keep it and fit something stronger in there.Something that would serve mainly non-gaming purposes - playing movies, some web development, some statistical analysis and a bit of Photoshop. I'm looking for something quiet enough, fast enough and within my limited budget. So, my thoughts are following:
1) Sell Athlon, my current Asus MB and RAM for around (hopefully) $70
2) Get Asus Z97M-PLUS (around $140), Pentium G3258 (around $80), 2 X DDR3 4GB 1600MHz Kingston HyperX (around $90) and SSD M.2 SATA3 120GB Kingston 550/520MB/s (around $100) or SAMSUNG SSD 840 EVO 120GB (around $85) and keep the rest of the configuration.
Why Z97M and Pentium G3258? I think that this would be sufficient for my current needs, and if I'm not mistaken that should be relatively "future proof" investment for if I decide to get an i5 or Intel gen5 CPU later on. For SSD, I'm not sure if M.2 is worth investing that extra $15. I'm planning to split the SSD in two partitions and run dual boot with Windows 7/8 and Linux Debian, which I'm currently using as my primary OS. I'd keep 1TB Barracuda for storage sake.
So, to be as specific as possible - my questions are following:
1) In general, am I on the right track? Is this configuration going to be a good value for the money and are there better alternatives for what I have in mind?
2) Should I get that M.2 Kingston SSD or a regular one (like Samsung 840 EVO e.g.)?
3) Do I need a new, stronger PSU right now or could I leave that for later on?

Thank you for your feedback, any help is appreciated.
P.S. Sorry for my possible grammatical errors, English isn't my native language. Cheers!

EDIT:

I think I was misunderstood for the dual boot part - it would be Windows 7 or 8, not both, and Debian.
 
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Diox55

Diox55

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Feb 21, 2014
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PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Pentium G3258 3.2GHz Dual-Core Processor ($70.98 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($26.75 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: ASRock Z97M Pro4 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($90.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($74.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($119.99 @ Best Buy)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($25.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $401.68
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-12-21 18:40 EST-0500

Firstly, Do NOT spend that much on a motherboard for the Pentium g3258. This Asrock motherboard will overclock it for only 90 bucks. With the extra money saved, you can get a cpu cooler and a 250 gig SSD. I think the 250 gig ssd is absolutely nessecary- Your triple booting 3 OS's and I don't think a 120 gig will be enough. I've seen windows take up partitions of 60-70 gig's, for only 1 os. You also do need a bigger psu, and for 250 dollars, this 500 watt one will be enough. But to future proof your rig, OVERCLOCK. It is an absolute essential with the pentium g3258, or you won't get the results you want. This chip is made to overclock, and you could get it stable at around 4.3-4.5 ghz.
 
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Diox55

Diox55

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Number 1: The pentium g3258 with outrun that old 860k any day.

Number 2: He has a good enough gpu for now, with 1 gig of gddr5 he should have enough to game on until he can upgrade

Number 3: Only 4 gig's of ram? With a setup like he want's 8 gigs is a must.
 
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IamTimTech

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Oct 13, 2014
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I see your point, the Pentium is a little more efficient core for core than the 860K but not by much. To me a quad core or hyperthreaded dual core is a must. And you are right, since he is not going to be gaming much I would go for an 8GB kit and a 750ti.
 
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Diox55

Diox55

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But the overclocking capabilities as well. The overclocked g3258 is keeping up with the 63xx and some of the 83xx series. Admittedly, as much as I love AMD, their lower and higher end CPU's have become absolute trash.
 
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IamTimTech

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The 860k uses a much more efficient core than the FX series, I love AMD but do not recommend their FX series by any means, and I am not a huge fan of their APU's either (I use one). The 860K will overclock very well on most boards that support it and it comes in cheaper chip/board combo wombo, than the intel on a z board. To each their own, but the 860K is AMD's strongest chip for the money right now and is very underrated,
 
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ElGatoLoco

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Dec 21, 2014
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So, you think the MB is overkill? Well, probably for G3258.. But, when I mentioned future proofing, I actually had upgradeability of the MB in mind and not having to change everything again in a year or two if I need a stronger machine (that's why I am going with Intel in the first place). ASUS has an M.2 connector, and also I have impression that ASUS will be better in handling stronger setup (Broadwell CPU, more RAM, stronger GPU..). I may be wrong. Btw, in my country ASRock Z97M Pro4 is around $120, so it isn't that much of a difference, at least it doesn't leave enough money for a bigger SSD. Anyway, if you include similar price of the two MBs in the equation, do you still think that ASRock is better investment? I mean, I have had many ASUS boards and was very content with them, with ASRock have no experience at all.. What about M.2 solution? Is it worth buying right now or should I go with regular SSD? Also, how quiet your setup would be if I put that cooler on and clock the G3258?

P.S. As I edited - it will be a dual boot, not a triple.
 
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