looking for direction in a one-at-a-time upgrade

[pete820]

I'm looking to upgrade my setup, but unlike the good old days I now have bills and kids and all that fun stuff, so I'm looking for opinions on which order I should upgrade because I will be doing this over several months.

Current build:
CPU: AMD FX-8120 8-core @ 3.1GHz
GPU: HIS iPower IceQ Turbo HD 7850 4GB GDDR5 (GPU@1010MHz/Mem@1212MHz)
RAM: 8GB GSkill Ripjaw 9-9-9-24
MB: Gigabyte 990FXA-UD3

So going forward, price wise, I assume the upgrade list would be as such:
RAM to 16gb
CPU to FX-8350
GPU to R9 290

I can start over with a newer/better socket, but I was sticking with AM3+ just because I already have it up and running.

Feel free to give any opinions! Much appreciated.

 

[MeteorsRaining]

Since GPU pretty much governs your gaming experience, I'd go like this:
GPU then CPU then RAM.

 

[sammy sung]

The RAM is a subjective upgrade, not really needed. But in your position I'd probably want to as well, so no foul. The 290 is the best price/performance card on the market currently, and would be a great upgrade to a 7850. Now with the processor jump, overall it's a sound upgrade. However with gaming, and I assume that's your main motive, you're not going to experience a huge difference. AMD FX-8120 @ 4.22 GHz (1.272 V) = is that speed tested to be stable for at least 2 hours using Prime 95. It's the sort of performance boost that looks good on paper as opposed to real world performance.

If a processor jump is what you want, I'd look to i5 options

 

[synphul]

I'm not sure what you do with your pc, although I think the money would be best put toward a new machine rather than upgrading that one. The fx 8350 is around $150 right now. 16gb ram may or may not help you much depending on what jobs the pc does (gaming, general documents/web surfing, photoshop editing, heavy 3d rendering or movie editing). The graphics card would be a decent upgrade.

I think for the minimal performance increase $150 will get you sticking with that motherboard and trying to move to the fx 8350 it could be put to better use elsewhere. Either set aside for a new build or put toward the video card. Otherwise I'm afraid you might be sinking fairly good money into something that won't take you very far from where you are now.

 

[Calculagator]

Your first upgrade should definitely be to an SSD unless you already have a good one. That will improve your experience more than anything.
Before upgrading either your cpu or ram, you should make sure that you are actually maxing out what you already have. Use the "performance" tab of the "Task Manager" control panel. It will show just how you are using memory and cpu. Unless you are using more than about 80%, it is not worth upgrading. Adding RAM will only make your system faster if you actually need more.
I would never upgrade from an FX-8150 to FX-8350 because they are basically the same. A slight overclock of the 8150 will enable it to reach 8350 levels. In benchmark tests, the 8350 only wins by a slight margin and even then, it doesn't win for every program. Your CPU is powerful enough already that it is not worth upgrading unless you really need to.
If you game a lot at 1080p resolution or higher, you will definitely notice the upgrade to the R9 290.

tl/dr SSD first, GPU first/second, CPU never, RAM third but only if needed.