With FX doomed, what's next for me, can you help?

[snatchlax17]

So I currently have a mid-range system I built in summer 2010 that's been working well, but I have the inkling to upgrade. It currently has a Gigabyte 890gpa-udh5 mobo, AMD 1055t, rose will extreme 850 watt PSU and an ATI 5770 by Asus. My quandary is I want to upgrade but don't really need to. I looked into upgrading my processor but can't cuz my board is a rev 2.0. I would love an AMD FX processor but realize its at the end of its line and don't want to be where I am now roughly 4.5 years and stuck. I like Intel's Devils canyon but fear id be stuck again. I do like piece of mind of having a secondary graphics port (890 chip set and Devils canyon on board) in case a card <Mod Edit> the bed. I'd only be looking to upgrade mobo and processor (probably graphics card as well), as the rest of my system is all good plus my dad can take my old items n use those for his ageing desktop that's a generation behind mine. My question after that rant is, should I get into Intel's z97 chipset knowing its close to its end of life (awaiting skylake), wait now and get into the next gen Ddr4 game once prices settle down, stick with what I got, or soak up the rest of AMDs rays (FX). Furthermore any recommendations for cpu/mobo combos, I plan on moderate gaming, some Photoshop and other CPU intense programs, and basic computing. I do enjoy the trials and errors of OC ing as I've done that with my current setup. My budget isnt sky high but my max would be $5-600 (can be adjusted but I don't want recommendations for a crazy expensive setup) for the combo as I wish to keep my other components (mem, PSU, ssd/hdd, gpx card for the time being). Thanks for your help.

P.S. I think my PSU should be good, but I haven't looked into them in a while

 

[synphul]

At some point everything is reaching the end of it's life due to a new upgrade. That's just the way manufacturers are playing it (by not staying on the same socket). That being said, z97 isn't at the end of it's life. It's broadwell compatible and that chip hasn't even come out yet and won't until mid/late 2015 for desktops. Doubt skylake will show up until late 2015, early 2016. How much longer you want to wait is up to you especially if you don't need to upgrade, but keep in mind there will always be something new. Trying to future proof yourself in the pc tech game is chasing your tail.

There's the x99 boards which cost much more than z97 and support the newer ddr4 - which also costs 2-3x the price of the same ddr3 right now. That's up to your budget, personally I don't see the value at this time. Especially given that ddr3 wasn't much of an upgrade over ddr2 to write home about, certainly not for 3x the price.

I've heard no word about any new pending solutions from amd, they seem to be concerning themselves with apu's at the moment.

I think staying with amd, especially if going to fx requires you to upgrade cpu/mobo, is a dead end. Much more so than switching to something like a z97/4690k combo which will outperform even the top end fx in most everything. With prices right now, you could stay well within your budget with a 4690k/z97 mobo and coolermaster hyper 212 evo for under $400. That's using your current psu, ram, hdd/ssd, gpu etc.

 

[Coollestersmooth]

From what i've read, broadwell isn't that much of an upgrade, just a smaller die version of the haswell processors. So particularly at release the bang for your buck simply won't be there. That would mean you either wait till this time next year to get a a skylake setup at launch, which you will have to sell your kidneys for or wait a further 6 months after that for the prices to drop enough that you can buy a skylake setup without selling your kidneys.

Or just buy a z97 chipset now, they probably won't drop Broadwell all together when Skylake's released meaning you could always upgrade in a couple of years to a top end broadwell setup when the prices drop to increase the lifespan of your socket 1150 mobo.

If i were you i'd probably wait a couple of months till Broadwell drops then snap up a Haswell I5/I7 at a bargain price. But thats just because i wouldnt have the patience to wait for skylake to release, yet alone become affordable, that and i like having kidneys..... :lol:

 

[snatchlax17]

Thank you both for your answers...I'm probably going to go ahead and give my current mobo n cpu to my dad and upgrade to Z97/4790k or 4690k, haven't decided on that yet, in a few months. Going off coolestersmooth I'll prolly slow my roll and wait for Broadwell to drop (along with prices) n go from there. Thanks again.