Upgrade to new motherboard and cpu or just upgrade to a better but still old cpu?

[mrhdenquiries]

I currently have:
Asrock B75 Pro3 Motherboard
2x4Gb DDR3 RAM
Intel Core i3-3420 Processor

I would like to upgrade my processor to a more recent model but I think that my motherboard can’t support it and would like to know what I should do with a £200/$260 budget.

I have looked at upgrading to an i7 3770k as this fits my motherboard but also looked at getting both a new motherboard and an i5 8400. I’m not sure which option is better. Because of my RAM it is difficult to find a motherboard for both requirement of socket type and ddr3.

Any thoughts?

 

[clutchc]

That will depend solely on your budget and your desire to go new or not. Personally, I would hang on to my money get that i7-3770. There is still a lot of performance left in the 4c/8t Ivy Bridge CPU. Tom's still ranks it in the top tier for gaming.
BTW, did you mean i3-3240?

 

[dontlistentome]

A new CPU means a new motherboard AND new DDR4 ram. I don't think you can do that without buying a low end CPU, which I would not advise. You'd get more mileage out of an i7 3xxx series CPU. That motherboard also supports the i7 2600, in case you can find a better deal on that.