Upgrading CPU, Motherboard, and RAM

[Raskval]

Hey community-- looking to make some improvements to the CPU, RAM, and Motherboard on my current rig and would like to know if the selections I've made are compatible. Any other suggestions would be appreciated as well.

My current system has the following: (Copy pasted CPUID)


Processors Information
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Processor 1 ID = 0
Number of cores 4 (max 4)
Number of threads 4 (max 4)
Name Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600
Codename Kentsfield
Specification Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Quad CPU @ 2.40GHz
Package (platform ID) Socket 775 LGA (0x4)
CPUID 6.F.7
Extended CPUID 6.F
Core Stepping B3
Technology 65 nm
Core Speed 1600.0 MHz
Multiplier x FSB 6.0 x 266.7 MHz
Rated Bus speed 1066.7 MHz
Stock frequency 2400 MHz

Chipset
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Brand Gigabyte G33M-S2L

Northbridge Intel P35/G33/G31 rev. A2
Southbridge Intel 82801IB (ICH9) rev. 02
Graphic Interface PCI-Express
PCI-E Link Width x16
PCI-E Max Link Width x16
Memory Type DDR2
Memory Size 8192 MBytes
Channels Dual, (Symmetric)
Memory Frequency 333.3 MHz (4:5)
CAS# latency (CL) 5.0
RAS# to CAS# delay (tRCD) 5
RAS# Precharge (tRP) 5
Cycle Time (tRAS) 15
Row Refresh Cycle Time (tRFC) 44



Graphics
-------------------------------------------------------------------------


Display adapter 0
Name NVIDIA GeForce GTX 550 Ti
Revision A1
Memory size 1023 MB
PCI device bus 1 (0x1), device 0 (0x0), function 0 (0x0)
Vendor ID 0x10DE (0x196E)
Model ID 0x1244 (0x089C)
Performance Level Default
Core clock 50.5 MHz
Shader clock 101.0 MHz
Memory clock 135.0 MHz
Performance Level 2D Desktop
Core clock 405.0 MHz
Shader clock 810.0 MHz
Memory clock 324.0 MHz
Performance Level 3D Applications
Core clock 900.0 MHz
Shader clock 1800.0 MHz
Memory clock 2052.0 MHz


Software
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Windows Version Microsoft Windows 7 (6.1) Home Premium Edition Service Pack 1 (Build 7601)
DirectX Version 11.0

RAM
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
I couldn't figure out where to get this information from, but from what I can tell I have four 2 Gig sticks of RAM, at 400MHz. Corsair branded (if that makes a difference).


What I'm looking to get is:

GIGABYTE GA-Z77X-UP4 TH LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard with Dual Thunderbolt

Intel Core i7-3770 Ivy Bridge 3.4GHz (3.9GHz Turbo) LGA 1155 77W Quad-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 4000 BX80637I73770

CORSAIR Vengeance 8GB (4 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model CMZ8GX3M2A1600C9B



Is this going to be worth the upgrade? Are these choices compatible with my current GPU, OS, etc? I consider myself a very basic user... Are there other choices out there that are far superior? I've spent a long time looking and I'm afraid I'm not sure where else to turn.

 

[swifty_morgan]

looks okay to me. is the ram 1.5volt?

 

[sharingan5]

If you are a basic user, do not buy an i7. Get an i5 3570K.

 

[xAdam]

If you edit video or render or do anything with large amounts of processing power needed get an i7, if you only plan to do basic multitasking and gaming then get an i5, and if you dont plan to overclock you dont even have to get the unlocked version (this is shown by a k at the end of its product id or tag) what i would reccomend though is NOT to upgrade YET. i stress yet that is, as Haswell will be coming out soon and that means that you could get a more energy efficient CPU with possibly better architechture. These should be coming out within a few months, surely worth the wait. and if you dont get one the prices of the Ivy bridge products will most likely drop due to the new processors.

Also what about your powersupply? you may want to consider upgrading that aswell if you are upgrading to a more tasking system.

Do you plan on getting an upgraded graphics card?

If you do plan to overclock you may want to air cool or watercool, if you do air cool aftermarket coolers hang signifantly further over than the stock cooler. This means that having high heatspreaders on your RAM may mean you cant install your cooler. check to make sure before you buy! but if necessary you can purchase low profile vengeance memory.

Your OS is fine by the way! windows 7 is alot better than windows 8 at the moment.

Have you considered upgrading to an SSD?

What about your cooling system? what case/ fans do you have?

 

[Raskval]

If you edit video or render or do anything with large amounts of processing power needed get an i7, if you only plan to do basic multitasking and gaming then get an i5, and if you dont plan to overclock you dont even have to get the unlocked version (this is shown by a k at the end of its product id or tag) what i would reccomend though is NOT to upgrade YET. i stress yet that is, as Haswell will be coming out soon and that means that you could get a more energy efficient CPU with possibly better architechture. These should be coming out within a few months, surely worth the wait. and if you dont get one the prices of the Ivy bridge products will most likely drop due to the new processors.

Also what about your powersupply? you may want to consider upgrading that aswell if you are upgrading to a more tasking system.

Do you plan on getting an upgraded graphics card?

If you do plan to overclock you may want to air cool or watercool, if you do air cool aftermarket coolers hang signifantly further over than the stock cooler. This means that having high heatspreaders on your RAM may mean you cant install your cooler. check to make sure before you buy! but if necessary you can purchase low profile vengeance memory.

Your OS is fine by the way! windows 7 is alot better than windows 8 at the moment.

Have you considered upgrading to an SSD?

What about your cooling system? what case/ fans do you have?

I currently have a SSD, and I consider myself a typical gamer. I don't have to have anything at the max settings to be happy though. I recently purchased the 550 TI card, so no, I won't be upgraded for a year or two. I have no cooling system, have never, and do not plan to overclock anything I purchase. I don't know what voltage my RAM is and I believe I have an 800 W power supply... could be wrong though. Basically I'm following the logic of since my MOBO, RAM, and CPU are all about 4 years old I can spend around 4-600$ and get around 10x increase in performance. I typically buy another GPU every 2 years and everything else when its old enough, and I have the spare money. My current case is an antec case... couldnt tell you much more than that. Isn't anything extravagant though, has 3 fans, runs quiet and has a lot (A LOT) of space.

 

[Raskval]

If you are a basic user, do not buy an i7. Get an i5 3570K.

Why the i5?? I play a load of games on my pc. I have never,and will never photoshop or video render or anything like that.

 

[Raskval]

looks okay to me. is the ram 1.5volt?

DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800)
Timing 9-9-9-24
Cas Latency 9
Voltage 1.5V

straight copy paste from the website i'm buying it from. Why is 1.5v so important though?

 

[swifty_morgan]

you don't really want to mess with voltages (1.65v ram ) with Intel processors. not saying some ram (1.65v) won't run at lower voltages..... but you don't want to mess with things you're unfamiliar with doing.

you're good to go.

 

[xAdam]

That ram is fine, i just wanted to check you were opting for 1600 instead of 1333 , since its pretty much the same price for the most significant amount of gain for RAM. Also who is your power supply from? since it may need updating if you plan to spend a considerable amount of money, and have a knockoff powersupply, which could go faulty.. Dont buy an i7 then, since you wont get any gain from it. Get an i5. i7 will give you processing gains with rendering and multithreaded processes.

 

[sharingan5]

For gaming, i5 is more than enough, as long as you have a good GPU. If you will not be overclocking, then no need to go for the unlocked i5 either. Just get a non-k i5 and you are good to go.