[Upgrading] Need some opinions please

[gmevans95]

Okay, so I have a couple of questions...

This is my current rig:

AMD Phenom II x4 965 Black Edition @ 3.6Ghz (Corsair H60 Water cooled)
Asus GTX 770 Nvidia GeForce DirectCU II OC 2GB
Antec 620w PSU
16GB Corsair Vengeance Memory
Asrock 970 Extreme 3 R1.0v Motherboard
OCZ Vertex 4 128GB SSD
HAF 922 Case

As you can probably tell, my CPU is very outdated. I upgraded my GPU to the GTX 770 two days ago, from a Sapphire HD6850 1GB, it is absolutely fantastic. However, I believe that my CPU is bottle necking my performance a fair bit.

First off, let me explain a few things. I'm a gamer & I do web design/video editing work. I originally wanted to upgrade my CPU to the AMD FX8350 Black Edition. I then discovered that the version of my motherboard (R1.0v) is not compatible with this CPU (Whereas the R2.0v is compatible).

Given that I'm going to have to buy a new motherboard either way. I am strongly considering an Intel build. This is where I need some help.

I would still happily buy an AMD chip, granted I could get a decent board with PCI-E 3.0 support(which I've had trouble finding). I want PCI-E 3.0 support because the next time I upgrade my GPU, chances are, that Nvidia/AMD will be taking advantage of PCI-E 3.0 technologies, and I do not want to have to buy another board.


I've been looking into the options with Intel. I figured that if I'm going to be getting an Intel system, I may as well go the whole hog and get an i7 (I will be overclocking, water cooled of course).

I really like the things that this motherboard has to offer: Asrock Fatal1ty Z87 Professional

My CPU of choice would be: i7 4770k

Do you think this is a good combination/addition to the hardware I already have?
Are there better value/quality motherboards I can buy for the 4770k?
Is it worth upgrading to an Intel system?
Will this last me a good 2-3 years into the future in terms of gaming performance?(Subject to future GPU upgrades of course)

I'm still open to AMD, but like I said above, I need a good motherboard for it.

I'd really appreciate some feedback.

Many Thanks

~Gareth

 

[TheMagicalWallaby]

The 8350 and the i7 will last you a while. The i7 is a better CPU, so if you can get it, go for it. Though you have to realize that in gaming, you won't see much of a difference. It won't be worth it to go for an Intel unless you need it. It would be worth it however. if you went to an i5 4670k. That i5 is equal to an 8350 in general. I would recommend you go for one. If you are not overclocking, the new refresh of haswell that is now z97, offers the i5 4690. I would get the 4670k because if you ever decide to overclock, it will allow you to do so.