seeking upgrade advice from an i3 550

[master7045]

I use this PC mainly as my Plex Media Server and general purpose PC. I don't game or do anything else special w/ this PC. the 550 doesn't seem to hold up well to transcoding 1080p MKVs, of which is a growing count of movie's in my library. I have approx 200+ MKVs mostly DVD, but like I said the BluRay count is growing. Question is, what is the "right" upgrade path. I tend to stick with a product for at least 3-5 years before upgrading so I'm not too concerned about having the latest and greatest. I was thinking about going to an i5 of sorts, but they seem to run pretty high at $180+ on amazon. SO, that being said would an upgrade to a new 1150 MB & CPU combo be a better idea? If so, what is recommended?

 

[Kenmitch]

If you want to drop a i5 in your current rig then it would be best to search the used market for one. New one at this point is kind of too highly priced. For what you'd pay you could get a current gen one most likely. Doing a quick search on ebay there are a lot of socket 1156 i5's available both new and used. Seen a used i5 750 for $68 as an example.

If your contemplating a new mb/cpu combo then I'd suggest looking at microcenter.com for your options. Looking at your stated location it looks like your 30 minutes away from the closest one. They tend to have the best deals on combos.