Need Mobo Proc and Ram

[Xarick]

It is time to upgrade my q9950, ddr2 800 and 5qse to some new duds.
I game, but don't want to spend a fortune on new comps.

SO
current specs
antec true power 750
q9550 @ 3.4
6gb buffalo ddr2 800
ASUS p5qse
creative X-fi extreme gamer (like to get a good integrated solution to replace this)
WD black 1tb
bluray drive

Considering haswell 4670, but willing to look at anything.
I need it to last about 3 to 4 years if possible.
Thoughts?

 

[Termie]

What's your budget and what's your video card?

 

[Xarick]

galaxy gtx 670 oc
Around $500 with some flex for the right parts.

 

[Termie]

galaxy gtx 670 oc
Around $500 with some flex for the right parts.

Excellent - your best bet is to pick up the 4670K and ASRock Z87 Extreme4 for $390 shipped: http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboD...=Combo.1326095

And then add 2x4GB RAM for $63: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820233379

That leaves you with just under $50 to put towards an SSD, which you should seriously consider adding to your system. You can get good 120GB models for under $100, for instance this Samsung 840: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B009NHAF06/ref=ox_sc_sfl_title_6?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER

The ASRock Z87 has a new upgraded on-board sound chipset - not sure how it compares to older chipsets, but it's probably quite passable.

 

[Xarick]

Would it be worth the extra cash to pick up the extreme 6?

 

[Termie]

Would it be worth the extra cash to pick up the extreme 6?

The combo's not as good, and the base price is higher, but shipping is free. You end up paying $20 more: http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboD...=Combo.1325773

I seriously doubt it has better performance - you're paying for more ports, basically, and only you can decide if they're worth it to you. You can read about all those ports here: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/z87-haswell-motherboard-review,3524-2.html

 

[Xarick]

OKay.. not worth the extra
But the ram .. would it be worth it to drop to cas 8 or even cas 7.
Price diff between 9 and 8 seems small.

 

[Termie]

You'll see very little difference between cas 9 and cas 8, and there's very little high-speed cas 7 memory available.

You'll see a bigger difference going to a higher frequency, like 1866 cas 9, versus going to DDR3-1600 cas 8. That being said, the difference will be at most a few percent, so only go for higher-end stuff if you get a hot deal on it.

 

[T_Yamamoto]

OKay.. not worth the extra
But the ram .. would it be worth it to drop to cas 8 or even cas 7.
Price diff between 9 and 8 seems small.

cas isn't that important, I'd just pick up the cheapest set.

 

[Xarick]

K
Now.. I don't know crap about asrock.
I have always had Asus boards (with one msi thrown in)
Are Asrock boards any good?

 

[mfenn]

K
Now.. I don't know crap about asrock.
I have always had Asus boards (with one msi thrown in)
Are Asrock boards any good?

They are perfectly good; pretty much the same features as any of the other big ones (slightly worse fan controls than ASUS), but they cost a lot less.

 

[Sleepingforest]

They are perfectly good; pretty much the same features as any of the other big ones (slightly worse fan controls than ASUS), but they cost a lot less.

I'd like to chime in here: the free software Speedfan is far more robust (though slightly harder to use) than any included fan controls. Really, the thing you want to look for in a motherboard are whether it'll overclock, the PCIe slot loadout, and possibly desirable ports/headers.

Sidenote: I've been playing waay too much Borderlands 2 as of late; I thought you wanted to trade for a better weapon because yours had too low of an elemental effect chance. :awe: