Psuedo Upgrade (e8400 to i3)

[spitfire]

Hi,
I'm considering upgrading from an e8400/2GB ram (long story.. and I cannot overclock due to a not so great mobo) to an i3 2100 set up. I plan on doing a major upgrade next spring with IvyBridge and a 28nm GPU so I'd prefer not to spend $220 on the 2500k right now. The rest of my system consists of an intel 120GB ssd and a gtx 460 1GB.

Patriot Gamer 2 Series 8GB (2 x 4GB)

GIGABYTE GA-Z68P-DS3

Intel Core i3-2100
=$277 ($257 after MIR)

The CPU and Mobo have a combo deal. Is that motherboard good enough? I'd like to keep it cheap since this isn't a major upgrade (I'll be selling the e8400, so its really going to cost under 200). Gigabyte also states all their h/z 6 series boards are 22nm compatible.. In an ideal world I'll be dropping in an Ivybridge cpu next year, but we'll see how well that works down the road.

So what do you guys think? I definitely need more ram (you would be amazed at how well a 2GB system runs thanks to an ssd!), and a little extra oomph for BF3/MW3 to hold me over.

 

[mvbighead]

Not that you need the HD3000 GPU that is built into the I3-2105, you should note this combo deal:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboD...t=Combo.717507

Better CPU for $0 more.

Otherwise, the RAM looks to be a problem because it isn't 1.5v. You should consider:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820231424

Problem is, it doesn't have the MIR... so it ups the price. But I couldn't find anything cheaper that is rated as highly as the G.Skill Value RAM.

 

[philosofool]

This will be a pretty big upgrade.

If I were you I'd drop the extra $90 for a 2500K now or just wait for Ivy Bridge, rather than getting a nice Ivy Bridge down the road and a budge i3 now. In my experience, taking half-steps while you upgrade is just expensive. The performance difference between the 2500K and it's Ivy equivalent isn't going to be huge, and I gather you don't need a horking lot of performance in your current usage scenario.

 

[VirtualLarry]

This will be a pretty big upgrade.

If I were you I'd drop the extra $90 for a 2500K now or just wait for Ivy Bridge

This. IB is not going to be significantly faster than SB. Buying a higher-end SB now, will save you money over the longer term than an intermediate upgrade.

Unless you have your heart set on PCI-E 3.0, for possibly SLI or CF.

 

[mvbighead]

This will be a pretty big upgrade.

If I were you I'd drop the extra $90 for a 2500K now or just wait for Ivy Bridge, rather than getting a nice Ivy Bridge down the road and a budge i3 now. In my experience, taking half-steps while you upgrade is just expensive. The performance difference between the 2500K and it's Ivy equivalent isn't going to be huge, and I gather you don't need a horking lot of performance in your current usage scenario.

I meant to include that in my post as well. Definitely makes sense, IMO, to go 2500k.

 

[mfenn]

I'll be the dissenting voice here. A Sandy Bridge dual-core is essentially equivalent to a C2Q, so the OP would still be getting a large upgrade from the i3.

Also, I agree with mvbighead's tweaks.