What's an upgrade from an C2D E8400? (re: GTX 580/590)

[sofakng]

Right now I'm running a GTX 480 on an Intel C2D E8400 (clocked at 4.00 GHz).

I'm thinking of upgrading to a GTX 580/590 and I think it's finally time to upgrade my motherboard/cpu because I'm still on PCIe 1.0 and all of the new cards are PCIe 2.0 and these systems use DDR3, etc.

Anyways, what CPU/motherboard is recommended for a GTX 580/590?

Here's what I'd like:

** Motherboard
* PCI Express 2.0 (two x16 slots)
* DDR3 (dual-channel; do they even make/require triple channel any more?)
* Good overclocking (no vdrop [if thats possible], etc)

** CPU
* Quad-core

** RAM
* 4 GB minimum. Is it worth it to go to 6 GB or 8 GB? (I'm running 8 GB DDR2 now because it was cheap)

I'm planning to sell my old GTX 285, GTX 485, C2D E8400 + motherboard fund an entire system upgrade.

Thanks for any suggestions!

EDIT: I'm also a fan of Intel and nVidia so I'd prefer to stay with them unless it's a huge difference between Intel and AMD platforms, etc.

 

[DaveSimmons]

I'd consider waiting until faster Sandy Bridge CPUs and better motherboard chipsets are out.

If you look at the Bench stats for most games the E8400 at stock speed isn't that much slower than a 2500K or even 2600K in games. You can find a couple like Dragon Age 1 and GTA IV that score higher with quad-core, but DA1 was fine on my E8400 which is at stock speed.

Is this just upgrade fever, or is there some specific game out now that you want to play that isn't running well with the E8400 / 480?

If you wait:
- intel Z68 chipset will be out in May, or P67 prices may drop and BIOS glitches will be fixed.
- SSD prices will drop eventually, so you don't pay $2/GB for a good SATA 6Gb drive
- Newer nVidia cards will be out by the end of the year, in time for the first patch for Skyrim.

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

Z68 is right around the corner

 

[mnewsham]

Why do you need 2 x16 pci-e lanes? No GPU can fully saturate an x16 lane, 2 x8 would be easier.

 

[mfenn]

Don't upgrade from a GTX 480 to a GTX 580, it's not worth it at all. Sandy Bridge would be a nice upgrade from an E8400 though.

I agree with mnewsham regarding the PCIe x16 slots. In fact, I'd go a step further and say that, based on your GPU history, you will probably only need a single x16 slot. If you haven't gone SLI before, the chances of your doing it now are slim-to-none since newer GPUs are so much more powerful relative to today's games.

Here's what I would recommend:
i5 2500K + Hyper 212+ combo $252
GA-P67A-UD3 $135
G.Skill DDR3 1333 8GB $80