Possible upgrade

[Thresh25]

So I'm getting that year and a half itch where I want to upgrade. (hopefully it's that, and not from the girl next door). My build is in my sig and what I'm thinking is keeping everything except the motherboard, cpu, and ram, and upgrading to a new i7 or i5 build.

I've been out of the loop a little bit as when I built my pc last year only the i7s were out. So I'm not sure the huge difference in performance. I need the cheapest (in price not quality) i7 or i5 motherboard, cpu, and ram. This is where I'm also confused, which socket is best, 1156 or 1366?

Also confused here, whish is better?
Newegg.com - Intel Core i5-650 Clarkdale 3.2GHz 4MB L3 Cache LGA 1156 73W Dual-Core Desktop Processor BX80616I5650

or

Newegg.com - Intel Core i5-750 Lynnfield 2.66GHz 8MB L3 Cache LGA 1156 95W Quad-Core Processor BX80605I5750

The first one's speed is better but is 4mb cache vs 8mb. I've never really understood what that meant so feel free to teach me why whatver is better.

So I need a mobo cpu, and ram, and pricing for that. thanks in advance

edit* I never considered the i3s as well. are they faster than what ive got?
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=5581943&CatId=22
Theres one for example

 

[Abstract Hero]

The i5 750 is a quad core not a dual core so that's why its better and the cache is like the cpus personal ram its how much it can prep and shove through the processor at a time.
Considering you want an upgrade from a phenom II x3 I would say your wanting something closer to a quad i5 or higher.
Do you have an official budget or is it the lowest price for a decent upgrade?

 

[Thresh25]

What i'm trying to do is spend like 450-500 and then sell my current cpu ram and mobo to my brother for like 200 bucks. I'm retarded though didn't even read that one was a dual and quad. I definitely want a quad. I also need the cheapest upgrade though as funds are limited. With my budget I'm not sure if this is possible, and I'm so out of the loop as to what goes with what now I wasn't sure how much I need to spend.

 

[patonb]

The i5 650s a waste. It has an intergrated gpu, so unlessd you run on board skip it for the 750.

My thoughts on 1156 vs 1366 is that unless you want 6 core beasts or the top teir stuff, stick with the 1156. They come in i3/5/7 and the i7s can be just as powerful as the 1366 models.
I3s are dual cores, i5 are duals AND quads, and i7s are quads with hyperthreading.

For you, i5 would be the best option, the 750 is basically the new version of the core 2 quads.
More cache means faster basicaly, its sorta how much the chip can think, so it can think 2 times as much as the 650.
You don't want an i3, if youre coming from the x3.

Now, for mobos..... gotta ask someone else.

 

[Trotter]

Intel Core i5-750 Lynnfield 2.66GHz LGA 1156 95W Quad-Core Processor BX80605I5750
&
GIGABYTE GA-P55-USB3 LGA 1156 Intel P55 USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
$295

Newegg.com - G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL7D-4GBRM
$105

Total = $400

And yes, I do accept gratuities.

 

[Thresh25]

Dang that is a sick sick deal! I did not think it could be done with a 400 dollar budget. Back when i was building you needed like 6 or 3 gigs of ram for the i7s, not true for i5s?

Also, in the specs of the mobo it says

Memory Standard DDR3 2200/1333/1066/800

That ram is 1600, will it run fine?

Also,
Expansion Slots
PCI Express 2.0 x16 1 x PCI Express x16 slot, running at x16 (PCIEX16)
PCI Express x16 1 x PCI Express x16 slot, running at x4 (PCIEX4_X1)*
* When the PCIEX1_2 slot is populated with an expansion card, the PCIEX4_X1 slot will operate at up to x1 mode.

Is that important if I wanted to crossfire at a later date? Will it bottleneck since the second card would be running slow?

Last thing would be if anyone could do an equally good build for less but as I'm looking on the egg and tiger it appears thats the best deal

 

[Fat.Clown]

not true for i5s?

correct

That ram is 1600, will it run fine?

yes


G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-4GBRL
$10 off w/ promo code EMCYVNP52, ends 7/29
$99.99-10 = $89.99

Is that important if I wanted to crossfire at a later date? Will it bottleneck since the second card would be running slow?

I think so... the 2nd slot only runs at 4x (which is 25%)
the second card may be crippled quite a bit.

 

[syn_sic]

Dang that is a sick sick deal! I did not think it could be done with a 400 dollar budget. Back when i was building you needed like 6 or 3 gigs of ram for the i7s, not true for i5s?

Also, in the specs of the mobo it says

Memory Standard DDR3 2200/1333/1066/800

That ram is 1600, will it run fine?

Also,
Expansion Slots
PCI Express 2.0 x16 1 x PCI Express x16 slot, running at x16 (PCIEX16)
PCI Express x16 1 x PCI Express x16 slot, running at x4 (PCIEX4_X1)*
* When the PCIEX1_2 slot is populated with an expansion card, the PCIEX4_X1 slot will operate at up to x1 mode.

Is that important if I wanted to crossfire at a later date? Will it bottleneck since the second card would be running slow?

Last thing would be if anyone could do an equally good build for less but as I'm looking on the egg and tiger it appears thats the best deal

that RAM is set at 1066MHz by default. The ram will operate at 1333, however you can go into your bios and change it to 1600MHz.

 

[Trotter]

Newegg.com - G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-4GBRL
Timing 9-9-9-24-2N

Newegg.com - G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL7D-4GBRM
Timing 7-8-7-24-2N

That's worth the extra $15 to me.

Is that important if I wanted to crossfire at a later date?

A single, more powerful card will always beat crossfire.

 

[Thresh25]

All right so I'm pretty sure I'm going to do this.

Here's what I got

Newegg.com - Computer Parts, PC Components, Laptop Computers, LED LCD TV, Digital Cameras and more!

plus
Newegg.com - G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-4GBRL
or maybe this
Newegg.com - G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL7D-4GBRM

I have a few questions now however. First off will this be a noticeable increase in performance, I have an phenom II x3 BE that can overclock well, does this overclock well?

Also, I am on vista now but will be switching to windows 7. Now, will I have to erase everything off my hard drive? Or will i be able to pop in a new mobo, cpu, and ram and plug everything in and just do a few updates and go? What is the best way to do this? Thanks in advance