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Can You Suggest a Motherboard Upgrade?

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I recently did a clean install of 64-bit Windows 8 Pro (from 32-bit Vista) on my 4-year-old home built PC. Main objective: upgrade memory to 12GB.

Much to my surprise, I’ve found DDR2 RAM far more expensive than DDR3 to the point where for what I would spend on DDR2, I could get 16 GB DDR3 and upgrade my motherboard. Given that an upgrade would also give me USB 3.0, it seems like that’s the way to go.

My questions:
1. Do you agree that it makes sense to upgrade the motherboard (as opposed to buying DDR2)?

2. If so, given a budget of around $250 for the motherboard and 16 GB RAM, any recommendations?
  • Note: I’ve had good results with my ASUS P5Q Deluxe, but am open to other reliable brands
  • Usage is surfing, Photoshop Elements, and gaming when my sons visit. No overclocking.
  • Also, any advantage going with 2 X 8GB as opposed to 4 X 4GB?

    3. Any recommended links on the motherboard upgrading process?

    Processor Intel Core2 Quad Q9400

    Motherboard: ASUS P5Q Deluxe LGA 775 Intel P45

    Memory: G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) CL5

    Case: Antec Sonata III 500 Black

    HDD: Western Digital 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0

    DVD: LG 22X DVD±R DVD Burner SATA
    DVD: HP 20X DVD±R DVD Burner SATA

    Video: MSI R7770-2PMD1GD5/OC Radeon HD 7770 GHz Edition 1GB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI Express

    PSU: Antec Earthwatts Model EA 500D, 500 Watts

    OS: Windows 8 Pro

    I greatly appreciate any and all advice. -Rich

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    picatavi said:
    I thought about that, but was thinking, rather than a modest CPU upgrade (to stay w/in budget), I'd do the motherboard and memory now, then maybe upgrade the CPU to i7 a year from now. Would that work?


    No, because your CPU (LGA 775) doesn't match the newer boards (LGA 1155, 2011). You can't install it.

    alexoiu said:
    No, because your CPU (LGA 775) doesn't match the newer boards (LGA 1155, 2011). You can't install it.


    Ahhhhh... I see. Well, I'll have to look for a Black Friday deal. I looked over the Newegg CPU/motherboard specials, but it looks like I'd need to spend at least $400 for a decent package (motherboard, CPU, RAM).

    That doesn't look right either. Here are the items:

    ASUS P8Z77-V DELUXE LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

    Intel Core i5-3550 Ivy Bridge 3.3GHz (3.7GHz Turbo) LGA 1155 77W Quad-Core Desktop Processor Intel
    HD Graphics 2500 BX80637I53550

    G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-8GBXL

    Total $449 after $50 rebates and no charge for RAM (reg $39)
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