Upgrading cpu, is it worth it?

[cjk813]

I'm looking to upgrade my cpu/motherboard. Currently i'm using an intel Q6700 with an asus p5Q-e mobo. The cpu I have my eye on is the phenom II x4 965 black edition, however I don't plan to overclock it and it seems that the product was designed for overclockers, so i'm worried I won't see much of an upgrade without doing so. I'm upgrading because I recently upgraded my gpu to a radeon hd 6870, but i'm not getting the fps I should be, and i've been told it's probably bottlenecking at the cpu. So basically what i'm asking is will a see a noticeable performance upgrade with the 965 over the Q6700 without overclocking, and what mid-priced mobo will go well with it. (Keep in mind that I plan to crossfire 6870s in the near future, so the board has to be crossfire compatible).

 

[mosox]

Budget for the CPU/mobo/RAM? What's the monitor resolution?

 

[peachy_29]

Im wondering if i should upgrade my Cpu to, want to play BF3 and only have an E8500 3.16, people are saying you will be needing a QC CPU ??

 

[cjk813]

The resolution's 1920x1080. I don't really have a set budget, however i'm looking to stay in the mid-priced range as i'm not really looking to build a hardcore rig, just something decent. I'm open to any cpu, although i'm pretty interested in the phenom x II 955 and 965 as i've heard nothing but good things about them. As for the motherboard I know how to tell if it's compatible with everything I want do with it, however I don't really know how to compare specs on them so I only have reviews to go by which don't really seem to address the price vs performance aspect.

 

[mosox]

You can get the 955 and this AM3+ (the latest socket, AMD Bulldozer ready) motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131733
and this RAM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231438

but you won't notice a big difference in your games, some 10-15%. Or you can wait for the new AMD Bulldozer CPUs in the fall but in gaming especially for full HD the video card matters much more.

LE If you can sell your stuff get that now.

LE2 Oops, crossfire?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157248
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131754

But again, the new AMD 7xxx series is due in the fall so....