i5 Puzzle Pieces: Yay or Nay

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zabak80

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I'm looking to upgrade my 2 year core 2 duo rig into something more current.

I don't use Adobe Photoshop or do major editing, but I do use CorelDraw which works fine on my current rig.

I play some L4D2 and TF2 with some simulation games thrown in, and again what I have is hanging on ok.

So I'm looking to upgrade into something more mid-range where I can get another 2 years out of it.

I will be stuffing it into my Antec Sonata with a 500w power supply and keeping my WD 6400ADKS and transferring my 4830 (just for a few months on the gpu until I upgrade that).

So, for my mobo, cpu and ram I was thinking of the following:

Core i5-750 Lynnfield $150

GIGABYTE GA-P55A-UD3P Newegg.com - GIGABYTE GA-P55A-UD3P LGA 1156 Intel P55 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard - Intel Motherboards $150

Mushkin Enhanced Blackline 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 Newegg.com - Mushkin Enhanced Blackline 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model 996782 - Desktop Memory $130

Total $430

I would like to keep it under $500 for the components.

Can someone suggest some alternatives or is what I picked ok? In two year, I will be starting from scratch so upgradeability isn't as important as lasting for 2 years with my selection.

Is the i7 worth the extra money? Is the Gigabyte board good? (I would prefer Gigabyte, maybe Asus). Is the ram sufficient? Should I go with an 8 latency? Will I notice the difference?

Thanks!!!!
 
where are you getting the i5 for $150?

edit: also, what is your current rig? which mobo/cpu/ram do you have? it might make more sense to make a minor upgrade and get a big gpu like the 5850 which, for gaming, will give you better performance. But we'd have to know exactly what parts you have to know. You may still get new mobo/cpu/ram/gpu for $500.
 
It's been so long since I looked at my cpu stats!

It's an E2180. Forget about the ram and the mobo is a gigabyte that doesn't have any upgradeable features. I don't think there is any hope for upgrading.

Microcenter has the i5 for $150 and the i7 720 for $199 and 860 for $229.

Guess that sorta makes up for not having any Fry's nearby.
 
Lookin' good... Personally I'm not a big fan of hyperthreading. Takes up a ton of more power and in most cases it doesn't improve performance by much.

Do you plan to overclock? If so I'd recommend getting a good heatsink for $40 or so.
I've got my i5 at 4ghz running 65C on load using the Scythe Mugen II.

Save as much money as possible on the motherboard and ram so that you can have some money left over for a possible future GPU upgrade.
 
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