Need advice on 'new' system upgrade

[Lucpol]

Howdy folks

Having recently consulted a friend on a new gaming rig, I went ahead and purchased the following system:

Ati phenom AMD Bulldozer FX 4100
Asrock 970 Extreme 3 Mobo
8GB DDR3 Corsair 1600 (2 x 4Gb)
Integrated Sound Card
AKASA AK-968 X4 CPU COOLER
DVD+/- RW - 22X Samsung SATA
500GB SATA Hard Drive SATA 3
ATI HD 7770 (1024MB PCI Express DDR DVI
CiT Vantage Black Midi Gaming Case HD Audio Black Interior 4 Fans Blue
CiT 600W Gold Edition PSU
Windows 7 Home premium 64 bit

However I came across this website when looking at the ATI HD 7770 performance and seen some of the reviews of my components. As a result i have now allocated additional resources (in the form of around £600-£800-would prefer closer to £600), to improve this rig. I will be ordering parts and replacing myself.

I have so far found a few upgrades, which look promising:

GPU'S

ATI RAdeon HD 7870
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-099-GI&groupid=701&catid=56&subcat=411
ATI RAdeon HD 7950
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-065-HS&groupid=701&catid=56&subcat=1673
Nvidia GTX 670
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-095-GI&tool=3&groupid=701&catid=1914&subcat=2294
ATI Radeon HD 7970
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-048-HS

CPU'S

i5-3570K 3.4GHz (Ivybridge)
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CP-418-IN&tool=3&groupid=701&catid=6&subcat=567
i7-3770 3.4GHz (Ivybridge)
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CP-405-IN&tool=3&groupid=701&catid=6&subcat=567
i5-2500K 3.30GHz (Sandybridge)
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CP-360-IN&tool=3&groupid=701&catid=6&subcat=1275

MOBO'S

Asus Z77 Maximus V Gene Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-516-AS&tool=3&groupid=701&catid=5&subcat=2261

Gigabyte Z77X-UD5H Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-388-GI&tool=3&groupid=701&catid=5&subcat=2261

ASRock Z68 Extreme7 Gen3 Intel Z68 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-056-AK

PSU

Corsair Enthusiast Series TX 850W V2 High Performance '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-039-CS&tool=3


My questions are.

Is it worth upgrading the Motherboard? (or just upgrade the CPU?)
Is it worth upgrading the CPU? to intel as i read that they are better for gaming?)
Is it worth upgrading the PSU or is the current one sufficient?
Is it necessary to upgrade the current CPU cooler?
Is it necessary to upgrade the case to accomodate the potential new Motherboard and GPU?

Apologies for a long post, but I look forward to any/all feedback.

Lucpol

 

[Lucpol]

Seems like intel is the way to go for maximum gaming performance, in which case im happy to replace the mobo also. Taking in your recommendations I have found the following upgrades:

Gigabyte Z77X-UD5H Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-388-GI

Gigabyte ATI Radeon HD 7970 Windforce 3X 3072MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-097-GI&tool=3

Intel Core i5-3570K 3.40GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CP-418-IN&groupid=701&catid=6&subcat=567

Corsair HX 850W ATX Modular SLI Compliant Power Supply
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-019-CS&tool=5

The rest of the components will be re-used from the current case.

My question therefore is as follows; Is the above worth investing in to replace the current components, or should i only upgrade the current specs to the following whilst leaving the rest be:

Gigabyte ATI Radeon HD 7970 Windforce 3X 3072MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-097-GI&tool=3

(Will be geting a second one within a few months for Crossfire)

and

Corsair HX 850W ATX Modular SLI Compliant Power Supply
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-019-CS&tool=5

 

[OCGL16]

If you're itching to spend a bit to get a nice upgrade, go for it. If you want to save some cash, you could look at the 7950 instead. Just oc it a bit and it'll be able to keep up with a 7970.

Here's a couple:
MSI TF3: http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-148-MS
Sapphire Vapor-X: http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-304-SP

 

[Lucpol]

Hey thanks for the suggestions. Howevr im still undecided as to which card to go for (7950/7970). Although im leanign heavily toward the 7950 due to cost/performance.

Thanks for your help guys.

I decided to stick with the current stup-overclock it to 4.5 GHz and stick one of the above cards in.

Lucpol