Upgrade question, ~$600 CDN budget

[derek_exe]

Hello,

My current desktop is getting a bit old (around 4/5 years), and being on a bit of a budget these days, I've been considering upgrading a few parts rather than building a new machine entirely. I bought my video card recently and am fairly happy with it, but for gaming and programming the CPU just isn't cutting it anymore. I want to try to keep the upgrade fairly cheap; around $600 CDN or less if possible. I was hoping to get some advice on the parts I've chosen and perhaps if its worth upgrading at all with my current setup, or if it might be better to just wait and save a bit more for an entirely new machine.

The CPU and Motherboard are a must. I'm wondering if upgrading the RAM and getting a new PSU are necessary. I'm guessing that my current RAM might be a bottleneck if I upgrade the CPU and Mobo. I'm not sure how to tell if my current PSU has enough watts for the setup I'm looking at. Even if it does, would it be better to just get a new PSU anyways? I'm not sure what the average lifetime of a PSU is. Also, are the upgrade parts I'm considering generally worth their price? I've listed my current build and the parts I'm looking at below. With the parts I'm currently looking at, the total comes up to just over $600 before taxes. Thanks!

Current Build
Mobo:
ASUS A8R32-MVP Deluxe

Video Card:
EVGA Geforce GTS 250

RAM:
2 x OCZ 1GB PC3200 DDR SDRAM

CPU:
AMD Athlon 64 4000 2.4 GHz

PSU:
Ultra 550 Watt

HDD:
300 GB SATA-II 7200 RPM


Upgrade Parts
CPU:
Intel Core i5-750 Lynnfield 2.66GHz
CDN $208.99

Mobo:
ASUS P7P55D Deluxe LGA 1156 Intel P55 ATX
CDN $199.99

RAM:
G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800)
CDN $98.99

PSU:
CORSAIR CMPSU-650TX 650W ATX12V
CDN $94.99

 

[jasonw223]

Those new parts look good, and are worth it - but you could probably grab the i5-760 for the same price, get a cheaper motherboard (I spent $150 CAD on an EVGA P55 FTW which I prefer), and use a smaller PSU (unless you are planning on SLI etc).
Also, just so you know, you could not possibly use your old RAM in a new board, DDR won't work. And yeah, I'd suggest a new PSU. You can keep a Corsair / nice brand PSU for a few builds, but I haven't had much luck with Ultra ones...

 

[derek_exe]

Thanks for the reply! I looked up the EVGA P55, but the ASUS P7P55D was still cheaper (checking on Newegg). As for the PSU, how can you determine how many watts is enough? The 650W I was looking at was only ~$15 more than the cheapest Corsair PSU's on the site, so I thought it might be worth it.

 

[jasonw223]

All you'd really need is a good quality 450w one or so to be honest - a 650w one would give you enough room to run a couple of cards in the future (i.e. GTX 460s, etc).

Since you seem to be up here in Canada as well, here's my official recommendation:

i5 760
http://ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=54753&vpn=BX80605I5760&manufacture=Intel&promoid=1008

EVGA P55 SLI
http://www.ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=42713&vpn=132-LF-E655-KR&manufacture=eVGA

Corsair 450w PSU
http://www.ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=25472&vpn=CMPSU-450VX&manufacture=Corsair&promoid=1008

G.Skill Ripjaws RAM
http://ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=42745&vpn=F3-12800CL9D-4GBRL&manufacture=G.Skill&promoid=1008

Pricematch the motherboard here:
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813188055&cm_re=p55_evga_sli-_-13-188-055-_-Product
and the RAM here:
http://www.directcanada.com/products/?sku=15380BD2304&vpn=F3-12800CL9D-4GBRL&manufacture=G.SKILL
and you're set. It'll be $50 cheaper, and have $60 of mail in rebates after that.

 

[derek_exe]

Best answer selected by derek_exe.