Upgrading gaming rig

[DKsector013]

Hi guys,

My current build is as follows:
Asus M4A89GTD PRO mobo
AMD Phenom II X2 555BE
Sapphire Radeon HD6870
Corsair TX750 PSU
Zalman Z7 case

Would it be worth upgrading the mobo to a Gigabyte SKT-1155 Z68XP-UD3P and the CPU to an i3-2100? I've been thinking that the LGA1155 socket seems to have a better future upgrade path than the AM3, and I've heard that Intel generally has an edge in terms of CPUs. What do you guys think?

Thanks

 

[ohyouknow]

Get an ivy bridge i5 with a z77 and be at the last/current gen of the 1155 to last you longer. Spend the money now if you can rather than spend more money in the long run imo. Good luck.

 

[DKsector013]

I thought as much, is there are huge difference between the ASRock Z77 and the Gigabyte Z68? I'll definitely be upgrading to an i5 or i7 in the future, but right now an i3 is the only thing that I can afford with a new mobo to go with it.

@ohyouknow
Thanks for the confirmation.

Would the ASRock Z77 Extreme4 be a good alternative to the Gigabyte?

 

[thrakazog]

I agree. Get a Z77 mobo and the best cpu you can afford for it.

If there is money left over, one of the new video cards.

 

[DKsector013]

I agree. Get a Z77 mobo and the best cpu you can afford for it.

If there is money left over, one of the new video cards.

Right then, I'll definitely go for the ASRock Z77. Right now I'm a bit strapped for cash so it'll be the cheapest i3 I can get, but in a month or so when I get paid I'll definitely be going for an Ivy Bridge i5/i7. In terms of GPU, I was thinking of upgrading to a GTX560Ti, or would it be better to go for a higher model like the GTX570?

 

[thrakazog]

Depends on your budget at the time. One of the newer AMD 7000 or Nvidia 600 series GPU's would be the better way to go if you could.

 

[ohyouknow]

Yes dk at least get your z77 since it should support PCIEx16 3.0 whereas 2.0 is what the z68 has. Honestly though, 2.0 is not used completely yet so 3.0 pcie gpu support is more fluff than necessity.

Please though reconsider the i3 since if you plan to play online games like BF3 or mmo's dual cores struggle trying to keep up with the action. Really do consider this.

Yes geforce. From what I've heard/read 1155 is not going to support haswell, which is the next intel architecture.

 

[DKsector013]

In about a week and a half I'll have about £200 to get the mobo and CPU. A month after that I'll have about £170 for an i5/i7. Theoretically I could save up all the months after that and get a flagship GPU but there's always things that get in my way of saving up (I like to spend money, it's a bad habit). I get £150 a month (I'm 17), so what would be the best card to upgrade to in the next 5 months or so that wouldn't cause a bottleneck/get bottlenecked?

 

[thrakazog]

Tech changes as fast as the weather. When you are ready to purchase the video card ( about a month or less from purchase ) come back to the these forums and ask what the best is for your budget at that time.

 

[DKsector013]

Tech changes as fast as the weather. When you are ready to purchase the video card ( about a month or less from purchase ) come back to the these forums and ask what the best is for your budget at that time.

I'll do just that then. Thanks for the info, much appreciated.

 

[ohyouknow]

6870 is the best bang for buck still at the lower range. Stick with it or if you want you can wait 3-4 months once all price cuts and releases come out then build then.

 

[DKsector013]

6870 is the best bang for buck still at the lower range. Stick with it or if you want you can wait 3-4 months once all price cuts and releases come out then build then.

I thought it was a great card but I'm starting to think that maybe it gets bottlenecked by my CPU a bit.