Best motherboard + CPU under 250

[jgamito]

I still have an old E6600 that's working pretty well at 3.2ghz on a Asus p5w dh deluxe + 9500GT and i'm thinking about upgrading my PC because this one has already 7 years and i'm starting to feel the age on him.
I'm more of a gaming guy and I wanted to ask your opinion about the upgrades i should do, i thought about upgrading only the graphic card for now to an HD 7770 or an HD 6850 but i'm afraid my cpu will bootleneck it, in other hand, i thought about getting an i5 and a new motherboard but this gets pricier so I wanted to hear some opinions first before i make my purchase as i don't have much money now to buy all new parts.

 

[payturr]

Considering your budget, a Core i3 3220 + any Z77 motherboard should be fine under 250$.

 

[jgamito]

Considering your budget, a Core i3 3220 + any Z77 motherboard should be fine under 250$.

would you consider buying that over the graphic card? that is my main doubt

 

[payturr]

Yes - the Core i3 is a big upgrade over your old rig, especially since its Hyper Threaded, so you'll have a quad core's multithreaded performance - which helps in quite a number of modern applications. Plus, you'll be able to utilize a new GPU down the road with no bottlenecks.

 

[shanky887614]

would you consider buying that over the graphic card? that is my main doubt

you will notice a massive difference with changing the cpu

i know i did on my pc.

i went from e2160 -> e7600 -> 2400 (i5)
6600gts -> hd4670->hd4670



noticed a lot bigger difference from when i changed the cpu than when i put in the gpu.


did i forget to mention that i didnt do a fresh install since before i put the hd4670 in


no repair install either so its the same enviroment. yes i have tweaked the os etc to get it to play nice and make it run smoother.




depends how long you want to wait. intel are releasing haswell soon and i from what i have read ivy is the last of the socket 1155 processors


bassically if you can wait, wait as if you buy an ivy processor 3000 series then you will have to buy another motherboard when you next upgrade




but if you are not planning on upgrading for next 7+ years again then get the i3 then swap out for i5/7 in the future

 

[lostgamer_03]

Considering your budget, a Core i3 3220 + any Z77 motherboard should be fine under 250$.

z77 for an i3? Are you nuts?

z77 MOBOs are made for intensive overclocking and the i3 can't be overclocked.

If you want the best performance RIGHT now and you can stretch your budget by 15$, then these two would be the perfect match.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115234

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128540

 

[payturr]

z77 for an i3? Are you nuts?

z77 MOBOs are made for intensive overclocking and the i3 can't be overclocked.

If you want the best performance RIGHT now and you can stretch your budget by 15$, then these two would be the perfect match.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115234

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128540

I said Z77 because I know a LOT of affordable Z77 boards, plus it gives him room to replace the i3 with an i5/i7 down the road.

 

[lostgamer_03]

I said Z77 because I know a LOT of affordable Z77 boards, plus it gives him room to replace the i3 with an i5/i7 down the road.

But a b75 offer same performance except overclocking and he could get an i5 right away? I don't see where you got a point?

 

[shanky887614]

But a b75 offer same performance except overclocking and he could get an i5 right away? I don't see where you got a point?

most people don't overclock

im running a z68 motherboard but haven't over clocked cpu and nor do I want to, yes my cpu can't be overclocked but thats because i got the normal version instead of the k version because it was cheaper and im not botherd about overclocking

most people are not interested in overclocking

(yes i have over clocked gpu, im not against it just dont see the point as no performance benefit really for cpu)

 

[jgamito]

z77 for an i3? Are you nuts?

z77 MOBOs are made for intensive overclocking and the i3 can't be overclocked.

If you want the best performance RIGHT now and you can stretch your budget by 15$, then these two would be the perfect match.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115234

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128540

Would that increase my gaming performance a lot more than having an upgrade on the graphic card, like an HD 7850?
Having a pci-e 2.0 instead of 3.0 lower his performance too much?
Would it bottleneck and give me no significant boost?
The thing is that i only have 250 to spend, i do think about upgrading it on the long term, but what would benefit me more right now? Having a new cpu/mobo or a graphic card would be fine considering Haswell is getting closer and it's said it wont have the same socket that the ivy bridge

 

[lostgamer_03]

Would that increase my gaming performance a lot more than having an upgrade on the graphic card, like an HD 7850?
Having a pci-e 2.0 instead of 3.0 lower his performance too much?
Would it bottleneck and give me no significant boost?
The thing is that i only have 250 to spend, i do think about upgrading it on the long term, but what would benefit me more right now? Having a new cpu/mobo or a graphic card would be fine considering Haswell is getting closer and it's said it wont have the same socket that the ivy bridge

Sockets updates every 2 year.

Yes, I would either pick a Radeon 7870 or a GTX 660. That would give you better performance, your CPU isn't great, but it still might keep up for just for a bit longer.

The difference between PCI-e 2.0 and 3.0 is that 3.0 has the ability to have a GPU that has double the bandwidth. But don't worry about that, almost no GPU can even take fully advantage og PCI-e 2.0.

 

[jgamito]

Sockets updates every 2 year.

Yes, I would either pick a Radeon 7870 or a GTX 660. That would give you better performance, your CPU isn't great, but it still might keep up for just for a bit longer.

The difference between PCI-e 2.0 and 3.0 is that 3.0 has the ability to have a GPU that has double the bandwidth. But don't worry about that, almost no GPU can even take fully advantage og PCI-e 2.0.

Thank you!! That answers my doubt, i will probably go for an HD 7850 or a cheaper hd 7770 because my monitor has a 1440x900 native resolution so i wont be needing all that power because i won't be playing on full hd

 

[lostgamer_03]

Thank you!! That answers my doubt, i will probably go for an HD 7850 or a cheaper hd 7770 because my monitor has a 1440x900 native resolution so i wont be needing all that power because i won't be playing on full hd

just in case you will be getting another screen pick up the Radeon 7850.
I'm glad to help.

 

[jgamito]

just in case you will be getting another screen pick up the Radeon 7850.
I'm glad to help.

I have a seasonic s12 500w, i don't think it can handle the 7850

 

[lostgamer_03]

I have a seasonic s12 500w, i don't think it can handle the 7850

Ofc it can. It can even handle a Radeon 7870.