Pls recommend Mobo/quad core combo.

[Northern Lawn]

I decided to upgrade for Battlefield 3 I haven't done it in a while, right now I have Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 @ 3.00GHz, Striker II Motherboard, 8800GTS video card. I think my Ram is fine, it's kingston 4 Gig kit, expensive stuff whatever it is.

I'm going to get a 560 Ti video card but now I decided to upgrade to a quad core and a new mobo (unless those cores would fit on the mobo I have?).

I need a good balance of hardware, not the most expensive or best but the sweet spot that will still last a few years.

Thanks. Oh, and no AMD.

 

[Ken g6]

2500k ($190 today only!)

You will need new RAM with this, DDR3, not DDR2:
RAM - Mushkin Enhanced Blackline 8GB DDR3 1600 - http://us.ncix.com/products/?sku=606...d&promoid=1208
($39)

Motherboard is the toughest choice. This one's nice, but you might want more or less features. Do you plan to get an SSD? Do you plan to overclock? (If not, consider dropping to an i5 2400 above.)

 

[Skott]

Basically a i5 2400 or better CPU and a 6950 or a GTX 560 Ti set up will do what you want. If you live near a Micro Center store you can get the CPU cheaper than any place online. They also have good deals on a CPU/mobo combo as well.

 

[lehtv]

+1 on a Sandy Bridge i5 and GTX 560 Ti / 6950 2GB / GTX 570 (depending on budget)

 

[Northern Lawn]

So I will need new ram, that's ok it's cheap, thanks for the tip. And yeah I like having lots of USB ports in the back, I got so much crap hooked up, I even have a thing with a bunch more usb ports plugged. I also found having an outside reset cmos button to be handy for me though I don't know how common they are. When I lose my net connection often the only thing that brings it back is reseting the cmos for some reason, been like that for years.

I already have 4 hard drives, onboard sound don't matter cause I got a couple of sound cards.. no over clocking.

@skott- I've always bought a new cpu/mobo combo because even though I build my own computers I'm scared to attach the processor with that arctic paste stuff, I've never done that though it's probably easy once you've done it a few times. But I still like when they attach it and test it to make sure it's working.

 

[mfenn]

Thermal paste is nothing to be afraid of. The only real way to screw it up is to overthink it and try too hard. All you really need to do is put a pea-sized blob in the middle. Then just let the pressure of the HSF spread it out for you.

As for the build, check out the Z68 Pro3 that Ken recommended. If there is anything specific you need, let us know and we'll try to find a different board.

 

[Northern Lawn]

Thanks guys.