Current Specs:
Mobo: ASUS P5Q Turbo(They dont even make these anymore. XD)
CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo 2.6Ghz
Video: Nividia GT 240 1Gb
RAM: 1333Mhz 6 Gb across 4 sticks.(2x2gb/2x1gb)
PSU: 650watts(Been quite a while since I bought that PSU but it hasnt had any problems. I dont think I need to replace that)

What I hope to upgrade to:
Mobo: ASRock Z68 PROFESSIONAL GEN3 LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

CPU: Intel Core i7-2600K Sandy Bridge 3.4GHz (3.8GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W

Video: EVGA 01G-P3-1556-KR GeForce GTX 550 Ti (Fermi) FPB 1GB 192-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card

Ram: Something that my mobo supports. For the above mobo its DDR3 2133(OC) / 1866(OC) / 1600 / 1333 / 1066. My Newegg wishlist has a 16GB(4x4) But I really dont think I need that much ram just to play BF3

And then probably a cheap sound card or something. Probably not though. Dont have the sound system to make it worth it. XD


As it is I'm looking to get the graphics card first. Its a Nvidia GT 550 Ti. Its about 140 USD on Newegg. Im heading out to Frys tomorrow to check prices.

Now I see the "Upgrading a POS tiny pc." thread.

My question is "is it worth getting the i7 above? Or does it not really matter? Whats the difference? Would I notice the difference?"

As for Ram I was thinking maybe 8 Gb? so a 2x4 sticks.

As for my budget I'd like to try to keep this around 400 USD upper limit 500 USD. Newegg has the above upgrades for about 600+ USD

Edit: also would the 550 be compatible with my current mobo?

 

Mobo: Asrock makes pretty solid boards (I have one right now), but I would go for one of the cheaper ones. They have released several versions of the z68, and buying a $260 board just isn't worth it. Go for one thats around 100-180, anything else is really pointless unless you plan on getting an H100 water cooler and doing ridiculous overclocking or putting a GTX 580 inside. Yes a GTX 550Ti would work with your current mobo.

CPU: I would go for an i5 2500k. $80 more for an i7 isn't worth it. The i5 is only a 100MHz less than the i7 (both regular and turbo), and you can easily overclock it to be equal or better than the i7.

Video: EVGA is a good choice. Word of advice, with the KR (attached at the end) series you get a 3 year warranty. AR gets you a lifetime. But this is another reason to get a cheaper motherboard, the 550Ti is only 192-bit and, the reason why the mobo you picked is better is because there is more bandwidth on the pci-e lanes but paying the extra money for that mobo just isn't worth it if you aren't going to be putting a GTX 580 or equivalent in it. Also, if you plan on playing BF3, I would just get a GTX 460 instead and SLI when you get the extra cash (or use the extra cash from getting a cheaper motherboard to SLI) and you will be playing in Ultra @ 1080p

Ram: I would just go for 8GBs. Anything above 8GBs and you won't see any real performance gain. Whatever you do don't go above 12 as that will actually impact you negatively because your latencies will be higher. Also, I would just go for 1333MHz RAM or whatever is not overclocked for whichever board you choose. The reason for this is overclocking the CPU and RAM together is a tricky thing.

Sound: Don't bother, every mobo today has an intergrated sound card, and the one on the ASrock boards are pretty solid. You won't notice a differnce unless you ahve accute hearing and a good sound system.

Here is my recommendation:

CPU + Mobo:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.777804

Ram:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231426

Video:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130749
(Pretty much a 560Ti and better than the 550Ti from what I'm aware, and if you plan to SLI, be sure to purchase the same card)

I'm sorry for the borbardment of information, but I was bored and also saw that no one responded here. Just some advice, I wouldn't SLI unless you have a 650W bronze certified PSU and a case with good airflow (preferable a full tower).

 

Some added notes:

The i7 is better than the i5 for heavily threaded apps, so if you do a lot of video encoding, it might be the better choice. Otherwise, put the extra $80 into your graphics. The 550 isn't a bad card, but the 560Ti (or HD 6950 if you're willing to switch to the red team) will offer a significant performance jump for roughly the difference between the i5 and the i7.

As already said, 8 gigs of RAM is more than enough.

On sound cards, I personally can hear a pretty significant difference between onboard sound and a good sound card, but I have good ears. Onboard should be fine for your purposes and you most likely won't notice the lack of a dedicated sound card.

 

Just to add, if you do decide to switch to the red team and get a 6950, I would recommend the 2GB model from Sapphire. It will play BF3 on high generally with 40+ fps on 1080p. On ultra (without msaa) it will dip down into the low 30s occasionally. I know because I have one .

 

Thanks all.

I have a 600 watt. Dont think its bronze cert. It's always been a dream of mine to have an SLI setup but well... generally by the time I have enough money to get another card... Its been so long I might as well just upgrade everthing as well. XD

 

Bleargh, Looks like Im going to have to finally let go of this old IDE hdd.

Unless I can find an IDE to SATA adaptor.