Question about upgrading cpu (video editing + gaming) + which mobo

[cravin]

Right now I have a dell xps 7100 prebuilt, but I have upgraded it a lot. It has a phenom ii x4 830 2.8ghz processor, a gtx 660 ti (which I upgraded), 12gb ram (to be 16 or 32) and the stock dell motherboard. I don't believe that it will be able to overclock anything, so I figure that I'll need a new one. Now I do a lot of gaming (I main tf2, play competitively) but I won't need it to be able to get the most consistent highest frame rate on ultra on 3 monitors, I'm okay with losing a little from a slower cpu. What I care more about is my video editing. I use adobe after effects and edit dslr footage and make animations and 3d graphics. I got the 660 ti for the cuda acceleration (1300 cuda cores), and I'll need some more ram but I'm wondering what I should do about CPU.
Ive heard that microcenter (I live in boston, not too far away from one) has a deal on the i7 3770k processor, for something like $230. How would that one compare to the one I have now? I know the 830 is probably really slow but I've also been told by someone (on youtube, dont rly know if its true) that it can be overclocked and isnt too bad. How much benefit would I get from this? The otehr option I was thinking of doing is possibly going with a AMD fx 8 core processor, like a 8320, and then using that for the extra cores that it has over intel. Which of these is better? What option do you think I should go with?

About hte motherboard, I am probably not going to be doing any sort of SLI configuration, but I'd like to have that feature just in case I do in the future, so i don't have to buy a whole new one. I'd also like to be able to use as much ram as possible, hopefully 32gb or 64gb (if the os can even support that).

So, opinions? What should I get? And once I decide on that, which motherboard is the best? I've read a TON of reviews saying failed in a month or DOA or other complaints, but I haven't seen almost anything where they actually say it works. I'm afraid of having a faulty one.

Thanks, and could someone link me to this said 3770k micro center deal?

 

[djangoringo]

Well if you can pick the i7-3770k in a microcenter store, get it, it will be at 230$, you'll also get a 50$ discount on the motherboard, for a motherboard, i suggest the asrock z77 extreme 4, it has a lot of features, solid board and it's cheap.
You can see here the deals : http://viewer.zmags.com/publication/e055b2fc#/e055b2fc/33

16GB even for editing is plenty, you can find cheap ram there too : http://www.microcenter.com/product/385182/Ballistix_Sport_16GB_DDR3-1600_(PC3-12800)_CL9_Dual_Channel_Desktop_Memory_Kit_(Two_8GB_Memory_Modules)

 

[cravin]

Thanks! Would the 3770k be a lot better than the amd processors? $50 discount sounds nice, but which motherboard would you recommend? I don't really know which features I will need. I'd like to be able to SLI in the future with it, but thats about it. And are some more reliable than others, or do some overclock better?

 

[djangoringo]

The i7-3770k is a better cpu than any FX amd cpus, like i said the asrock z77 extreme 4 is a good board for it, it supports SLI, it will allow you to overclock rather well, it has all the features that you need.

 

[cravin]

Okay, Thanks so much. One more quesiton. In terms of ram, what should I look at? Does the dual vs quad channel matter? And will the speeds/timings make any real world differences? Right now I just have 2 of the 1333mhz slow stuff that came with the computer, plus 2x4gb of the samsung 'magic' ram 1.35v 1600. If i got that 16gb could I put in the 12gb that I have now in addition to it to have 28gb? That seems like an odd number to have. Would I need to get it to like 32 or 16?

That extreme 4 one looks good. Thanks so much. Really quick relplies too, TY.

 

[djangoringo]

Dual channel is preferred, and the higher frequencies won't make a difference, it's not good to mix and match ram, if you have already 8GB of the samsung, yes you can add 16GB, put the samsung in the same colored dimm slots and the other in the other color dimm slots.
http://www.intel.com/support/motherboards/desktop/sb/img/dualwith4.jpg

 

[cravin]

Also, how much of in increase would a 3770k be over a 3570k or something else?

 

[cravin]

Dual channel is preferred, and the higher frequencies won't make a difference, it's not good to mix and match ram, if you have already 8GB of the samsung, yes you can add 16GB, put the samsung in the same colored dimm slots and the other in the other color dimm slots.
http://www.intel.com/support/motherboards/desktop/sb/img/dualwith4.jpg

Ok then I'll keep the samsung. Is there a way to get more than 16gb (16gb i would just buy 2 more of the samsung 4gb sticks)? Like if I get 2 8gb sticks to go with the 2 4gb ones?

 

[djangoringo]

Yes, you can just buy the samsung kit of 2x4GB sticks, and you'll have 16GB of ram.

 

[cravin]

How much of an actual difference would there be from the 3570k to the 3770k? I'm not a professional and I just do it as a hobby. I can afford to wait the extra time if its not like 3x faster.

Actually, can somebody (else, unless you happen to know djangoringo) tell me a little about the stock motherboards? Will I be able to overclock anything? I might be able to just hold off this purchase for a little bit if i overclock my phenom 830. Or would I need to buy a new motherboard? In that case I think I'd go for one of the intel ones.

 

[logainofhades]

For gaming, the 3770k isn't really much better. An i5 3570k will be much faster than your current CPU. OEM's rarely allow overclocking on their boards. Keep in mind, you will probably need a different case as the front panel connectors are probably proprietary. I also recommend the Z77 Extreme4. I have it and it is a nice board.

 

[djangoringo]

How much of an actual difference would there be from the 3570k to the 3770k? I'm not a professional and I just do it as a hobby. I can afford to wait the extra time if its not like 3x faster.

Actually, can somebody (else, unless you happen to know djangoringo) tell me a little about the stock motherboards? Will I be able to overclock anything? I might be able to just hold off this purchase for a little bit if i overclock my phenom 830. Or would I need to buy a new motherboard? In that case I think I'd go for one of the intel ones.

Well i thought you were into editing, since you're requesting large quantities of ram and asked for the i7, for gaming there's none, for editing/3d modelling the i7 is worth the extra cost, you might not need the i7 at all, and get the i5-3570k, the price difference is of 40$, the i5-3570k is at 190$ in microcenter, the i7 as you know is 230$.
What's the motherboard that you have ? you can overclock the amd cpu you have with any amd motherboard, but some got low power phases and low quality mosfets also some don't even got the vrm cooled, and are not recommended for overclocking.

 

[logainofhades]

Well i thought you were into editing, since you're requesting large quantities of ram and asked for the i7, for gaming there's none, for editing/3d modelling the i7 is worth the extra cost, you might not need the i7 at all, and get the i5-3570k, the price difference is of 40$, the i5-3570k is at 190$ in microcenter, the i7 as you know is 230$.
What's the motherboard that you have ? you can overclock the amd cpu you have with any amd motherboard, but some got low power phases and low quality mosfets also some don't even got the vrm cooled, and are not recommended for overclocking.

He has a Dell prebuilt with stock motherboard, so overclocking is probably not an option.

 

[djangoringo]

I didn't even look at that, yes, overclocking is out of the equation, in my opinion, if you can access the microcenter store, it's a good upgrade from the Phenom II X4 830, the question, is if is it worth to you the i7 or the i5, since the i5 is 40$ cheaper.

 

[cravin]

Hmm. What if I just bought a new amd motherboard? Say a $50 one or something? I probably don't need to get an i7 since I am not that serious at it. The only reason I'm looking for more ram really is that I can easily use up all 12gb I have now in a couple of ram previews in after effects, so the more the merrier.

 

[djangoringo]

You need to spend more than 50$, 50$ motherboards got low power phases and low quality mosfets and no vrm cooling, you won't gain much by overclocking the cpu, if you need a better cpu get the i5-3570k for 190$, if you need a cheap board, there's the msi z77a-g41 for 35$ combo or the asus P8Z77-V LK for 60$.