Computer upgrade AMD Phenom II X4 or i5 or i7?

[pip_75]

I am looking to upgrade my CPU/Motherboard/RAM my budget is currently around $300 USD but am willing to go up to $400-500 USD if its worth the cost.

I have a $200 gift card for newegg and my budget includes using the gift card so $200 gift card + $100-300 in cash is my budget.

I am willing to buy from other places like amazon if there is a better deal there.

I was thinking of purchasing in the next week or so, but am willing to wait a month or so if prices might drop.

Here is the computer I have now

AMD athlon X2 4200 2.8Ghz (socket 939)
Asus A-8N-SLI Premium motherboard
4GB Ram
PC Power & Cooling Silencer PPCS750QBL 750W PSU
4 SATA hard drives
1 SATA DVD Burner
1 SATA Blu-Ray Burner
Nvidia 8800GTS 640mb video card
Thermaltake Armor Case (older model with no fan on side panel)
Viewsonic LED Monitor - 1920x1080 resolution

I use my computer mostly for gaming, school work, and some video and picture editing.

I am currently looking at getting one of these two processors

AMD Phenom II X4 965 - Link

Intel Core i7-950 - Link

I plan on keeping the motherboard/processor for as long as possible - hopefully 4+ years before upgrading it again like I have with my current CPU.

if I go with the i7 should I wait until the new SandyBridge architecture comes out, and see if the price drops at all?

 

[rolli59]

I would wait for the Sandy bridge release and see the effects on the prices.

 

[boiler1990]

Given that you only have ~$500 in your budget, it would be difficult to upgrade to an i7, since you need a new motherboard, CPU, and RAM.

The i5-760 has dropped in price, and it may drop more significantly when SB CPUs are more mainstream. It is a better CPU than the 955/965, and isn't that much more expensive right now.

 

[excelerater]

i5-760 vs i7 950.......its a hundred bucks difference get the good stuff !
Sandy wont change the i7 950 much if at all ....my 3 year old dual core is still 170 bucks from 300 when I bought it
so what I mean is the drops are on going all the time regardless........

personally every year this hype goes on,no matter what u buy,,,,,,,,its obsolete in a year so dont sweat it...

 

[mdd1963]

A 2nd 8800 GTS (if you can find one) would provide a noticeable speed boost in games at moderately high resolutions....

 

[boiler1990]

i5-760 vs i7 950.......its a hundred bucks difference get the good stuff !

Although that is true for the CPU, the other costs need to be considered. He'd need the CPU ($295) and a good motherboard (haven't seen a reliable X58 board for under $180), and at a good set of at least 6GB triple channel memory ($90+). That racks up to more than he has to spend.

By contrast, the i5-750 ($200) + Asus P7P55D-E LX ($130) + 4GB DDR3-1333 ($45) only totals about $370. If he looks in the right places, he may be able to get a GTX 460 and drastically boost graphics performance (the good 1GB models run about $160-$180).