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Upgrading CPU (and therefore MotherBoard and RAM)

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Hi guys,

Hopefully by Mid-October this year I am hoping to have my computer upgraded to the latest CPU and components.

At the moment I have:

Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Quad CPU Q9550 @ 2.83GHz (4 CPUs), ~2.8GHz

Memory: 6144MB RAM

Hard Drive: 2x 500 GB SATA2 Hard Drives

Video Card: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 285

Sound Card: Creative Fatal1ty X-Fi Titanium Sound Card

Motherboard: ASUS P5Q SE2

Computer Case: Thermaltake Soprano Silver

and an 850w Thermaltake Toughpower PSU.


Hopefully my budget will be around £400 for the total upgrade and I am planning on upgrading on the CPU, Motherboard and RAM.

I'm looking to get the best of the best (Within reason) for the price as my current CPU (Q9550) has lasted since September '09.

Not to mention my RAM is VERY old - I have 2 x 1GB Sticks (circa December 2007) and 2 x 2GB Sticks (circa December 2008). It is Patriot Performance RAM and due to the stupid pricing of DDR2 now (We compared 8GB DDR3 to 8GB DDR2 - The DDR2 was 3 times more expensive) it has partially prompted the upgrade.

My questions are;
With the recent release of Ivy Bridge, is it worth getting the Intel Core i7-3770 over the Intel Core i7-2600K when I have a dedicated GPU (GTX 285)?
What advantages would I get from having either processor with my GPU?
What would be the best motherboard to get with either processor?

Thanks for your Answers

More about : upgrading cpu motherboard ram

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Over the next five months a lot will change.

When are you planning on buying the CPU, motherboard, and RAM? If you aren't going to purchase these three until the October timeframe I would watch what happens with Ivy bridge and where prices go over the summer.

As an aside, if there is a good UK shop around I'd buy all three at the same time and negotiate a bundled deal.

Chances are pretty good that the prices of the Ivy Bridge CPUs will drop.

The motherboard prices will likely be stable-ish with individual boards fluctuating in price by $10-$20 USD.

RAM prices - I am not sure. They've been trending downwards so will likely continue to do so.

If you are really curious, spec out some upgrades with their prices, then check again when you're ready to make your purchase. My guess is that they will all be a bit lower.

Okay, will do.

By the way, what is the best Motherboard for Ivy Bridge CPUs? I know the Chipset (Z77) but what about the Motherboard Models/Features besides the Chipset?
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