[Upgrading] $480 to spend

[Jolly roger]

As the sticky layout does not match my request, I am going to revise it a bit.

Country: USA

Site to Use: Newegg or NCIX

Build Use: Decent spec gaming (WoW, Minecraft, Diablo 3, Steam games)

Funds: Roughly $480 or so, but this must include shipping

Parts I Already Have:
GPU: Radeon HD 6670
PSU: Hercules Black ATX dual fan 600W
Optical: DVD/CD Rewritable
HDD: Seagate Barracuda 7200 160GB

Parts I Need:
Motherboard (this needs to be Intel)
CPU (this needs to be Intel)
RAM (needs to match the case and Mobo)
Case

The Build:
Mobo: ASRock Z68 Extreme3 Gen3 LGA 1155
CPU: Intel Core i5-2500k Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz (3.7GHz Turbo) LGA 1155
RAM: CORSAIR Vengeance 8GB (2x4GB)
Case: COOLER MASTER HAF 912


Questions:
How would the above build perform?
Will my current PSU support the load from all the components?
Are all of the components compatible?
Will the case fit all of those components?
In the future, if I were to upgrade this again, what would be a good upgrade?

 

[Outlander_04]

if you can send the graphics card and power supply back that should be your first move .

Without a link its hard to be sure but the psu is junk . The graphics card too weak to play games at good image details on a higher resolution monitor

 

[coper210]

upgrade the graphics card that CPU with that graphics card will bottleneck the **** out of your system, I have that exact build but with a 6950 2gb card and a rosewill challenger

 

[Jolly roger]

if you can send the graphics card and power supply back that should be your first move .

Without a link its hard to be sure but the psu is junk . The graphics card too weak to play games at good image details on a higher resolution monitor

The GPU is running for what I need it to be. I won't be gaming over WoW/Minecraft/Diablo 3 specs until I complete my build. I'll be upgrading the PSU/GPU/HDD at my next pay check

What about the CPU/Mobo/RAM? Are those decent if the rest of the build is updated?

 

[Outlander_04]

The case , RAM , cpu are fine . So is the motherboard but a model with a Z77 chipset is an improvement

If thats an older hard drive with windows already on it its not going to boot if you simply connect it . Windows will have to be reinstalled . If its an oem copy ms may not activate it

 

[Jolly roger]

The case , RAM , cpu are fine . So is the motherboard but a model with a Z77 chipset is an improvement

If thats an older hard drive with windows already on it its not going to boot if you simply connect it . Windows will have to be reinstalled . If its an oem copy ms may not activate it

If Z77 is better I can replace the board with
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131837

OS isn't a problem. I have the install disks for both Vista and XP and will get the 7 disks from work.

 

[Outlander_04]

yes thats a good mb . There are even cheaper options . Its just a matter of selecting the options you want

 

[Jolly roger]

yes thats a good mb . There are even cheaper options . Its just a matter of selecting the options you want

Thanks for your help. I just purchased the second Mobo and all of the above. Can you give some suggestions for upgrade in the future? I will be moving up to 16GB RAM of the same type eventually, but what GPU and PSU would be good in this build and what else can I upgrade?

 

[dudewitbow]

tbh, i woulda just cut 13$ buy comboing the Original option

to op, dont get the 16 gb ram, invest in dedicated aftermarket cpu cooler.


edit2: points to signiture to see other decent psus/gpus at certain price points

 

[Outlander_04]

most games never use even 4 gig of RAM so adding more than 8 is not going to improve performance

Once you have the graphics card you are going to use then
www.realhardtechx.com/index_archivos/Page362.htm
will help you decide what wattage you need .

Only consider 80+ bronze or better unit

 

[azeem40]

That website link doesn't work.

 

[Jolly roger]

Best answer selected by Jolly Roger.