Need SOLID advice quickly plz

[ehall8702]

i need solid advice about what to spend my HARD earned money on next! My budget is relatively small, roughly $200-$220. I have been researching and asking ALOT of question and a good friend of mine ( the guy who essentially taught me everything i currently know about computers and then some) has recommended me to get an ASRock Fatal1ty Z87 LGA 1150 mobo ( http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157460) and whatever haswell cpu i can afford. He is not a gamer but knows way more than i do.
In all honesty, i DO NOT intend on OC'ing, BUT it is nice to have that option because i know on my budget i will not be able to get a fast cpu right away, i just need one to perform better than my current one untill i can throw another 200 at a i5 or so.
Here is what i NEED from a mobo;
1: atleast 4 ddr3 ram slots
2: usb 3.0 ports
other than that i probably would not even use it or know it wasnt there. 6Gb/s sata ports are nice but i currently dont have a drive that fast. I will in the near future be getting a SSD tho.
Heres my current hardware;
2 4gb Kingston PC3-12800 sticks
2 2gb Kingston PC3-12800 sticks
1 WD Blue WD2500AAJS 250GB 7200 RPM hdd
1 Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 ST31000340AS 1TB 7200 RPM 3Gb/s hdd
1 ATI HD 4870 x2 2GB GDDR5 GPU
1 generic DVD-DL Burner
2 23" LCD monitors
1 42" Plasma monitor
1 Thermaltake 550watt PSU
( with 4,6,8 pin pcie plugs ( and i have 2 molex to 6pin and 2 molex to 8 pin adapters if i need them)
1 Antec 900 case with monsterous airflow

I know i have an older GPU, but thats what i get when i dont ask questions and buy just by comparing numbers. I have it and will use it till it doesnt do what i want it to do anymore. I have a new msi gt610 but its got like 64bit bandwith and 2gb gddr3 also but thats not even in the ballpark with the ATI.
Finally here is what i do with my computer:
i stream movies, play music, light video editing, autocad once in a while, flexi sign for my vynil plotter, and mildly game. i think the most intensive game i currently play is NFS rivals and i can run it on high right now and it only stalls once in a while. So far the only drawback of my GPU is not being DX11 and that has only affected me playing Crysis 3, which i hardly ever play anyways.
My current machine is in my signature. I apologize for the novel but i want to make sure i dont waste my money on an upgrade that turns into a hinderance once i upgrade something else. i may be able to go as high as $275 so a few options would be awesome. I thank all ya'll for the help in advance! I wanna try and get things ordered by monday if i can, possibly saturday if i find the right commbo!

 

[Someone Somewhere]

What's your current CPU/MB?

I'd be looking at getting a new GPU, probably.

 

[ehall8702]

Also im not opposed to AMD setups, just from what ive read intel is more efficient and faster per core. If im wrong i dont mind being corrected

 

[nashdes001]

CPU: Intel Core i3-4340 3.6GHz Dual-Core Processor ($159.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: Asus Z87-A ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($129.99 @ NCIX US)

supports sli and crossfirex

 

[ehall8702]

CPU: Intel Core i3-4340 3.6GHz Dual-Core Processor ($159.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: Asus Z87-A ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($129.99 @ NCIX US)

supports sli and crossfirex

that just above my budget though maybe a lesser h87 series mobo? can you overclock with a h87 series at all?

 

[Someone Somewhere]

Can't OC with an i3 anyway. You're not going to be SLI/CFing on that PSU.

What's your current stuff? You've got DDR3, so it's reasonably modern.

 

[ehall8702]

What's your current CPU/MB?

I'd be looking at getting a new GPU, probably.

i have a gigabyte h61m-ds2 rev 2.1 with a g620 pentium dual its pc3 but socket 1155lga so i dont wanna buy a new cpu thats already in a dead end socket. And the newer Haswells are faster than the Ivy Bridges at the same clock speeds

 

[ehall8702]

Can't OC with an i3 anyway. You're not going to be SLI/CFing on that PSU.

What's your current stuff? You've got DDR3, so it's reasonably modern.

i honestly dont intend on xfire and i know my PSU weak just was only thing i could get my hands on when my old one died lol so im stuck with what i got right now. i have a socket 1155 board with a g620 pentium this board only has 2 ram slots and is a microatx so my GPU runs over 2 sata ports making them unusable i wanna be somewhat future proof with new cpu and board

 

[Someone Somewhere]

OK, definitely new CPU+MB. If you'd been on an i5 or something it would have been fine.

I'd suggest this:
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor ($109.99 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($29.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: Asus M5A97 R2.0 ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($89.99 @ Micro Center)
Total: $229.97
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-03-21 03:11 EDT-0400)

 

[ehall8702]

OK, definitely new CPU+MB. If you'd been on an i5 or something it would have been fine.

I'd suggest this:
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor ($109.99 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($29.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: Asus M5A97 R2.0 ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($89.99 @ Micro Center)
Total: $229.97
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-03-21 03:11 EDT-0400)

well the games i play arent multi core games tho are they? and from what i have read intels are straight killing FX's in core to core performance.Will that matter with what i play? I probably wont buy a new GPU for a few months or untill a gome comes out that DX11 and i just HAVE to get it. I finally gave up my PS3 so now my computer has to take up dual duty as a gamer and work machine. But like i said i dont game but maybe 12 hours a week

 

[Someone Somewhere]

That should be similar to an i3 in most games, and is overclockable.

Most games use a couple of threads. The video editing and autocad stuff is probably quite well threaded.

 

[ehall8702]

holy crap you can oc the bajebus outta the amd......i think im starting to so see why i could make up the difference in core efficiency

 

[nashdes001]

CPU: Intel Core i3-4130 3.4GHz Dual-Core Processor ($118.93 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: Asus Z87-K ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($108.79 @ Newegg)

for ur upgrade path (i5 k version)
4 ddr3 slot
6gbps ports
3.0 pcie slot

 

[nashdes001]

u can prefer fx also for ur multi thread performance

 

[ehall8702]

OK, definitely new CPU+MB. If you'd been on an i5 or something it would have been fine.

I'd suggest this:
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor ($109.99 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($29.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: Asus M5A97 R2.0 ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($89.99 @ Micro Center)
Total: $229.97
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-03-21 03:11 EDT-0400)

agreed on amd setup ty very much! with that cooler could i get alotta OC ability? or is there one for 15-20 more that will let me get faster? And whats the reliability of that setup if i OC it? I will ask questions in OC forum as to whats a safe day to day speed and proper setup.

 

[nashdes001]

fx 6300 comes with boost speed of 4.1 ghz
u can easily oc it to 4.4 to 4.5 with altering vcore voltage

 

[Someone Somewhere]

You should be able to break 4GHz easily on that. With a bit of work+luck, you might get a bit more.

Maybe this:
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor ($109.99 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Xigmatek Dark Knight II SD1283 89.5 CFM CPU Cooler ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Asus M5A97 R2.0 ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($89.99 @ Micro Center)
Total: $249.97
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-03-21 03:30 EDT-0400)

If you do it well, OC won't cause any instability. Poorly done it can cause issues, though.

 

[ehall8702]

You should be able to break 4GHz easily on that. With a bit of work+luck, you might get a bit more.

Maybe this:
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor ($109.99 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Xigmatek Dark Knight II SD1283 89.5 CFM CPU Cooler ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Asus M5A97 R2.0 ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($89.99 @ Micro Center)
Total: $249.97
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-03-21 03:30 EDT-0400)

If you do it well, OC won't cause any instability. Poorly done it can cause issues, though.

is there going to be significant performance upgrade with the second cpu cooler over the first? And also should i get a different thermal paste if i intend on OC'ing? i use a basic silicon based one from radio shack currently

 

[Someone Somewhere]

The cooler should come with thermal paste.

Should be a reasonable upgrade, but I'm not too knowledgeable on coolers.

 

[ehall8702]

The cooler should come with thermal paste.

Should be a reasonable upgrade, but I'm not too knowledgeable on coolers.

if the cpu has built in turbo of 4ghz then a stock cooler should suffice and that first one is quite a bit better than a stock cooler id imagibe...thank you very much for your time,patients, and knowledge. i will be ordering your advised setup in a few hours when i get to work. Thanks again!