Upgrading but need help. CPU, Motherboard, and RAM question

[xStrike]

Hello. I'm having THE worst time with CPU's, Motherboards, and RAM. I've made 2 of these threads within the past 3 months but I kept running into money issues (car problems...) but now I actually have the money.

First of all: I'm on a budget of a max of $600. I can try to go to $700 or a little over $600 if needed but try to stay with $600.

I'm going to be upgrading my 2 year old PC very soon and need some help picking out a reliable CPU and Motherboard. I always see a lot of mixed reviews on Motherboards I have looked at on Newegg and it's driving me insane to pick. Once this upgrade is complete the PC will be used for playing Battlefield 3 and Star Wars: The Old Republic mainly. I don't HAVE to max out Battlefield 3 or anything. Just looking for a nice playable quality (medium/high).

My current setup:
CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 running @ 3.00 GHz
CPU Cooler: Arctic Cooling Freezer Pro 7 Rev. 1
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-EP45-UD3P
RAM: G.Skill 4GB (2x2) DDR2 800
Graphics Card: ATI Radeon HD 4850 running with DirectX11
PSU: Corsair VX550W
Case: Lancool Dragonlord PC-K92
Resolution: 1440x900
Operating System: Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit

Parts being upgraded/what I'm upgrading to:
CPU: Need help
CPU Cooling:[/b[] I plan on buying the Arctic Cooling Freezer Pro 7 Rev. 2 ($33) because the Rev. 1 has done wonders for temps
Motherboard: Need help
RAM: Need help (having trouble picking between 1333 and 1600)
Graphics Card: Most likely a Sapphire Radeon HD 6870 1GB ($180). Wanted to get a Nvidia 560 ti but I'm on a budget and I've had good experiences with ATI, hence my current card.
Operating System: Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit ($100)

Total so far with shipping: $312.96
^This total is part of my UPGRADE BUDGET of $600 - $700

I'm looking for some suggestions for a GOOD and RELIABLE CPU, Motherboard, and RAM. Especially the Motherboard because the Gigabyte one I have currently has been GREAT but sadly it's very out of date for the newer CPU's that don't have a 775 socket like this one has. I'm on a budget of a max of $600 like stated above also. Also looking for thoughts on my upgrade, I feel it will do the job but if you have a different suggestion, throw it out there. If you need any more information, just ask.

Thank you.

 

[johan851]

There's a thread floating around here about Newegg motherboard reviews and how far off we think they are. I wouldn't put much stock in them.

Your EP45-UD3P should run fine with a quad core socket 775 CPU. Are you sure you want to upgrade to a new processor and motherboard? Grabbing a used Q9550 from the classifieds and upgrading the graphics card would probably go a long way and save you some cash. You could upgrade to the new gear later when prices drop or people start selling their 1155 setups to go for new Ivy Bridge builds. That would also mean that you could afford an SSD now, which makes a big difference in overall feel.

I usually make a lot of cheapskate recommendations. If you really want to go to 1155 I don't think that's a bad idea at all, but with a limited budget you could probably keep getting good mileage out of what you have.

 

[xStrike]

Thank you for this input especially with the Newegg reviews haha! I mean, I'd like to upgrade to newer parts pretty bad and I have a thing about used things where I frown on them. Not really my style. But I've done some research since I posted and this is what I've come up with:

CPU: Intel Core i5-2400
Motherboard: ASRock P67 EXTREME4 GEN3
Graphics Card: HIS H685FN1GD Radeon HD 6850 1GB Have an HIS card currently and it's been great. My resolution is on 1440x900 so even the 6850 is still overkill but I'm not looking to upgrade my monitor.
RAM: G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB)

Tell me what you think of that. Personally I was looking at that motherboard because it has PCI-e 3.0 and it may be good to have in the future. If there is anything that can cut the price down from that then throw suggestions out. Currently my total is $661.18 with shipping. In that total is a CPU fan and Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit OEM because when I had first bought everything two years ago I bought an OEM version of Vista and then upgraded to Win7 but OEM versions are linked to only one Motherboard/CPU apparently forcing me to buy a new Win7.

 

[Knufire]

Virtually the same price as what you just posted, but I got in a 2500K (OC it to 4.5GHz with the included cooler) along with a 6870:

PS. BUY THAT RAM QUICK. It goes in stock for like an hour ever day then sells out because it's so cheap.

 

[johan851]

CPU: Intel Core i5-2400
Motherboard: ASRock P67 EXTREME4 GEN3
Graphics Card: HIS H685FN1GD Radeon HD 6850 1GB Have an HIS card currently and it's been great. My resolution is on 1440x900 so even the 6850 is still overkill but I'm not looking to upgrade my monitor.
RAM: G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB)

I'd switch the ASRock P67 Extreme4 for a ASRock Z68 Extreme3, especially if you're not going to be really pushing your overclocking limits. The Z68 has a few nice features and is a bit more future proof, and the Extreme3 is a perfectly good board.

I agree with Knufire - no reason to get the i5-2400 when you can get the 2500K.

 

[xStrike]

I'd switch the ASRock P67 Extreme4 for a ASRock Z68 Extreme3, especially if you're not going to be really pushing your overclocking limits. The Z68 has a few nice features and is a bit more future proof, and the Extreme3 is a perfectly good board.

I agree with Knufire - no reason to get the i5-2400 when you can get the 2500K.

True. Was trying to keep the price down but the setup Knufire posted is better.

Two questions though.

1. Wouldn't the 6870 be a bit overkill for my resolution? Although later on down the line I'm going to end up getting a new monitor so maybe it's good to just get that card now.

2. The Cooler Master Hyper 212, will it fit in a Lian Li Lancool Dragonlord PC-K92 case? It's a mid tower. Just wondering, looks kind of big once it'd be on the MB.

 

[Knufire]

It's not terribly big, and that's not that small of a case, I'd take my chances that it'd fit.

 

[johan851]

Oh - didn't even see the Knufire recommended the same board. Great.

1) Quite possibly. Google around for some reviews of the card and see how it scales - you might be able to get away with a lot less.

2) No idea!

 

[xStrike]

Sounds good. Thank you for the help! Much appreciated. Happy to get upgraded and start playing some Battlefield 3 haha

 

[xStrike]

Quick question:

I ended up buying an ASRock Z68 Extreme3 board and it has 2x PCIe 3.0 (16x and 8x) slots. My card that I bought, ATI Radeon HD6850 is a PCIe 2.1 card. It fits in a 3.0 slot but will it run as it should in the 3.0 slot seeing as the card is 2.1?

 

[johan851]

Yup, it should be fine. Specs like that are usually backwards compatible, so the 3.0 slot should work fine for all cards using PCIe 3.0 and below.

 

[xStrike]

Good good. thank you!

 

[Knufire]

Yeah, 3.0 on motherboards is future-proofing, 3.0 GPUs don't exist yet.