Upgrading my machine

[pillar]

So if you check out my sig, itll have my specs there (except that I have 6gb of memory, 2x2gb & 2x1gb). Now here soon I am hoping to get myself a job that will pay more & therefore ill be able to set aside more $$ towards getting a better system. I do know that I will be getting myself the i5-2500k (unless the newer i5-3570k is better) & will start out w/ 2x4gb ddr3 memory (will upgrade in the future to double that for 16gb which I think is plenty for gaming). However I have been checking out motherboards & need some help with choosing a motherboard. Do you guys think that the new Z77 northbridge is better? Would like to find a motherboard that comes with free s&h, but its not a deal breaker. Want to stay as close to $100 as possible (depending upon the motherboard). Also should I go with the Cooler Master Pro 212 or possibly something else? Im still not sold on the liquid cooling idea yet (even tho there are self made kits already prepared).

Any other tid bits of advice, I will gladly receive & consider.

 

[I'm your huckleberry]

3570k has better performance/thread. Thus, a 3570k vs a 2500k at the same speeds, the 3570k wins. However, the 2500k can overclock farther. In the end, when both are pushed to their limits, they are about even. I would get the 3570k due to its other features such as pcie 3.0 support (even though it is useless atm) and native usb 3.0 support. Also, considering you would not likely overclock to the limit, then that is not a problem either.

2x4gb is plenty for gaming. It is even overkill, but it is so cheap, it doesn't hurt. No reason to rush to 16gb unless you need it for rendering or some other intensive program. I would strongly recommend the samsung 2x4gb 1600 kit which is amazing.

I assume you mean the CoolerMaster Hyper 212 Plus, not Pro. It is a great budget cooler with amazing performance for the price. It will allow you to get a solid overclock without going overboard. The self contained water cooling units are decent, with the benefit of clearing up space over your motherboard. There performance is usually worse than air coolers at the same price though. They still aren't bad deals though by any means.

 

[ch3co]

I agree with everything said above, with one addition. If you're planning on getting a 2500K, go for a Z68 mobo. IMO Z77 seem to be made with Ivy Bridge in mind (Only PCI-E 3.0 slots, more USB 3.0, etc). So if you were to get the 3570K, go for a Z77, otherwise, go Z68.

For the price (I wouldn't recommend paying less than $110 unless you're skint), I would recommend either the Asrock Extreme3 Gen3, or the Gigabyte GA-Z68A-D3H-B3. If you're gonna get the Ivy Bridge, go Z77. I'd say either the Gigabyte GA-Z77-D3H or the Asrock Extreme4.

One thing to consider: from what I've seen, it appears lost of Z77 mobos in the $100-130 range only have one PCI-E 3.0 slot, and then one PCI-E 2.0 slot. Which is fine if you're only using one graphics card. But if you ever wanna add another, there will be a large difference in speed, especially when using IVB, since it will actually utilize those x3.0 lanes. So what you'll have is one card that has significantly faster bandwidth than the other.

Speaking of graphics cards, are you planning on upgrading that as well?

 

[I'm your huckleberry]

GA-Z77-D3H is one of those boards that lacks a second pcie slot that is atleast x8 speed. However, it doesn't really matter since it lacks sli support. Probably not one of the best boards to consider. The asrock z77 extreme4 is definitely better bang for your buck with more features.

And unless you get top of the line, x8 or even x4 is likely to make little difference as most cards can't saturate the lanes.

 

[pillar]

I will admit that I have looked into those ASRock mobos. Seeing as how theres more z77 mobos available, I think ill go that route. I did check out those z68 mobos, but not diggin the gigabyte do to the 3 pci-e slots. Also the power connector is exactly in the same spot as my current mobo (also a gigabyte mobo). I think ill wait to see when the ASRock extreme3 gen3 becomes available again (out of stock right now).

 

[ch3co]

What is your budget for this? And also, are you doing a beans new build with all beand new components, or are you upgrading an existing build.

 

[pillar]

All im doing is upgrading the cpu, motherboard & memory. Just simply tryin 2 keep my system as close to current gen as possible.