Need Opinions/Help with Rebuild - Detailed

[michcoth]

APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: within a month BUDGET RANGE: $500 / After Rebates

USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: Gaming (latest AAA titles for as long as this setup will last) and Home Theater use HDMI out a must

CURRENT GPU AND POWER SUPPLY:
* GPU: Asus ENGTS250 DK/HTDI/1GD3
* PSU: Corsair 560W?

OTHER RELEVANT SYSTEM SPECS:
* CPU: AMD Athlon 64 2.7Ghz Duo Core
* MOBO: GA-M55SLI-S4 (rev. 2.0)
* Memory: 2 Gig ddr2

OVERCLOCKING: Maybe SLI OR CROSSFIRE: Maybe

MONITOR RESOLUTION: 1920x1080

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: Basically I'm looking for almost a full system upgrade here with GPU being the most important part for me. I apologize for not knowing some of my current exact specs for all of my components right now, but I'm at work and they are only there so you can see where my desktop is currently at. Below is the current setup I'm considering, sans the MOBO, which is over budget right now. I have no brand preferences, nor do I have an Nvidia/AMD/Intel preference.

------------------------------------ List of what I'm considering OVER BUDGET -----------------------------------------------

SAPPHIRE 100352-2L Radeon HD 7950 3GB 384-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX

Intel Core i5-3350P Ivy Bridge 3.1GHz (3.3GHz Turbo) LGA 1155 69W Quad-Core

CORSAIR Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 2133

Please let me know if you want me to include additional information.

 

[EzioAs]

What's the budget (it'll be easier one we know that)? Do you want to build a new PC or just upgrade a few parts?

 

[michcoth]

The budget is $500 +/- $50, and I'm looking at upgrading a few parts:
MOBO
CPU
Memory
GPU

I will only upgrade the PSU if I have to. The one I have probably has more wattage than I listed, but I know how to figure out if I will need one. For the sake of this discussion we can just pretend that I won't have to upgrade it.

 

[EzioAs]

This is pretty much what you can get. Corsair Vengeance is also fine, make sure it's CL9 (or lower) as well

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3350P 3.1GHz Quad-Core Processor ($179.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock H77 Pro4/MVP ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($87.55 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Sniper 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($43.98 @ Outlet PC)
Video Card: XFX Radeon HD 7870 2GB Video Card ($227.55 @ Newegg)
Total: $539.07
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-01-17 13:23 EST-0500)

 

[michcoth]

Thank you, would you suggest saving a little longer for the extra $70 for the 7950, or would that even be worth it?

 

[coozie7]

Where are you, michcoth? The links for memory are in UK pounds.

 

[EzioAs]

Thank you, would you suggest saving a little longer for the extra $70 for the 7950, or would that even be worth it?

I personally think an HD7950 is worth it over the 7870 especially if you want to game on higher resolutions, the extra vram and large overclocking headroom could come in handy. But, to be honest, an HD7870 at $230 is a great deal and also overclocks pretty good as well. So, you probably don't need a 7950

 

[michcoth]

Great, thanks again!