Current: C2D E8200 - upgrade or buy new?

[dwluv3333]

Hi All!

My current specs:

Intel Core 2 Duo E8200
EVGA Geforce GTX 260
4 GB DDR2 RAM
Antec Three-Hundred Case
Antec 650W Earthwatts 80PLUS certified (purchased Jul 2009)
some DVD drive
750 GB Western Digital SATA drive

I want to upgrade to following:

A new motherboard
Geforce GTX 660
i5 3750k
8 GB DDR3 1600

and use the old parts for the rest of the build.

Some questions:

(1) Is E8200/GTX260 --> i5 3750k/GTX660 an improvement that will be massive?
(2) Is the old Antec PSU too old to be risking put into a new build - should I just get a new PSU? Lifetime use about 3 years old as of today.
(3) Would it be a waste to lay the E8200/GTX260 to rest? I am thinking it will cost me circa $500 for the GTX660/mobo/i5/memory if i shop around. I can't decide between building brand new, or using the components I've currently got.

Thanks ALL!!!

 

[Someone Somewhere]

1)It will be a massive improvement, but I'd get the 7870 instead. If you don't want to OC you can get a -3450 or -3470 and a 7950, which is even better.

2)It should be OK, but I'd replace it fairly soon.

3)You could upgrade the GPU now then the platform + PSU later, and get something you can CF/SLI on if you want. Or you could use the E8200 and a cheap GPU for an HTPC or something - they're still pretty capable. The GTX260 is a bit hot + noisy for anything much now.

 

[dwluv3333]

Thanks someone for the feedback! Will take a look at the 7870 and maybe first upgrading the GPU.

 

[dwluv3333]

Best answer selected by dwluv3333.