I need help upgrading

[Xlack]

Im looking to upgrade my Motherboard, CPU and RAM in my gaming rig.

Current Specs :

OCZ Gold 1333mhz 12gb RAM
i7 920 @ 3.8ghz
GIGABYTE EX68-UD5


Im looking to get 16gb RAM cause its cheap now. But what CPU/Motherboard should I look into? I don't want to spend anything over $450 for all!

Thanks.

Newegg.ca
Tigerdirect.ca
NCIX.ca

 

[Xlack]

ur GPU???

Sapphire ATI Radeon 6970 2GB

 

[FinneousPJ]

The stuff you can get for $450 won't be a significant upgrade over your 920. I'd hold off upgrading. Why do you need 16 GB RAM? Your CPU has a 3-channel IMC so 16 GB doesn't really work optimally.

 

[Kamen_BG]

If you're worried about your CPU holding your gaming performance back than you should relax.You will gain abosolutely nothing in terms of FPS from upgrading to a new Core i5 or even i7 (unless you play battlefield 3 with 64 people).

But if gaming isn't the reason why you want to upgrade your CPU/MB then you should look into buying a Core i7 and a Z77 motherboard.

The CPU you should buy is the Intel Core i7 3770K


As for the motherboard, if you don't want to skimp on quality and want the best there is (within a reasonable budget) i highly reccomend those two models.

http://us.ncix.com/products/?sku=75125&vpn=GA-Z77X-UP4-TH&manufacture=Gigabyte&promoid=1187

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0090Z39EA/?tag=pcpapi-20



But if you want to increase your PC's gaming performance then you should upgrade your graphics card setup.

You should either buy a single high end graphics card like this one
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814202008&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-_-na-_-na-_-na&AID=10446076&PID=3938566&SID=
Which will increase your PC's Gaming performance by about 50%.

Or if you're an advanced user and use RadeonPRO you should buy two HD 7870's.
http://us.ncix.com/products/?sku=77736&vpn=R7870%20HAWK&manufacture=MSI%2FMicroStar&promoid=1030
They will more than double your PC's gaming performance (in games that support CF).

 

[blacknemesist]

16 gb is a waste for gaming really.
$450 is not alot but here goes:

With CPU OCing:
Mobo
CPU cooler
CPU
Ram

No OC:
CPU
Mobo
Ram

 

[vinaykumar5320]

Don't upgrade now.

 

[vinaykumar5320]

Wait for Haswell, man, if you aren't in a hurry.
Not only you'll have more options, the price of Ivy Bridge CPUs will also come down. And, till then you can continue to save some more money.

 

[Xlack]

Ok thanks for all the quick replys! How is the i5 2550k? I am going to get the

- ASRock Z77 Extreme3 LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
- G.SKILL Sniper Low Voltage Series 8GB

Just need to look for the best Socket LGA 1155 for around 200.

 

[FinneousPJ]

Why would you go for an i5 :lol:

 

[Xlack]

Well my i7 920 is from around 2008 or so.. (idk) Im just looking for a upgrade to something newer and a little bit more performance. My Motherboard is getting old too so I'd rather by a socket 1155 then one that fits my CPU.

 

[NV88]

If you don't want to overclock:

i7 3770 + Asrock B75 Pro 3 (what I went for)

If you want to overclock

i7 3770K + Asrock Extreme 4 Z77

You'll be CPU set for at least 2 or 3 yrs, at least until Skylake.