Revamping or new build

[bakerboy666]

Hey everyone so heres what im looking to do, i want to salvage as much as i can from my old computer when build a new computer but i jsut dont know what hard ware is really worth upgrading so ill give you my specs then list off what ive been thinking.
CPU - AMD phenom II 965 black edition
ram - 8gig DDR3 1600
HDD - 10krpm 1 tb ED HDD( relativley new my old one died)
GPU - dual Galaxy gtx 460's
PSU - 700W
case is a old asus alienware looking case with a ton of fans so cooling is njot a issue.

-first off i was thinking of getting a SSD for the main drive that would hold my fav games and my OS
-second i have looked at my cpu vs the I5 and I7 as well as the amd 6100 and the 8150 but cant find any good things that say its worth the money.
-third, i was looking at the xfx Double D 7750 which has nice clock features but someone recomended the GTX 660 TI to me instead, but its 3 times as much
- Fourth, i was looking into liquid cooling and people are talking about how theirs keeps the cpu temp at 59C but my current cpu runs lower than that with its set up so is it worth it?
i guess my biggest questions are the cpu and the gpu, i do have a budget for this revamp of about 600 and given my current parts i think i can build a great rig, any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Edsterr]

A few questions:
Is the 600 in £ or $?
Have you OCed your CPU or is it still at 3.4GHz?
What motherboard do you have?

If you upgrade your CPU you'll probably have to get a new motherboard, unless you get a different AMD processor.
If you were going to get a new processor, I'd recommend the i5-3570k
The rest of the money should be spent on an aftermarket fan (but only if you are going to OC), and a new GPU

 

[bakerboy666]

the 600 is $ and my cpu is overclocked to 3.9 and runs very cool in comparison to what the newer chips seem to

 

[Edsterr]

Do you know what motherboard you have?

 

[bakerboy666]

yeah this is it GIGABYTE - Motherboard - Socket AM2+ - GA-MA785GM-US2H (rev. 3.3)

 

[OhSnapWord]

Something doesn't seem right. That board is an AM2+ board. Your CPU is an AM3 CPU. While you can install an AM3 CPU in an AM2+ board and it will work, AM2+ boards do not support DDR3 RAM, only DDR2.

If that's your board, then there's no way you have DDR3 1600 RAM.

Personally, I would upgrade the board and RAM and you can overclock that CPU. The Phenom IIs are very viable chips.

 

[Edsterr]

I've had a look on newegg, as that's where I base any US priced things, and have come up with three options:

1. Keep the current CPU and mobo, and upgrade the GPU to a 670 or even a 680, if you particularly felt like spending a whole load of money. This would be best for your system in terms of a short term boost.

2. As OhSnapWord said, keep the CPU, but buy a better mobo (preferably AMD3+) and RAM. Not only will this give a slight boost, but will allow for easier upgrading in the future. Then you can spend the rest of the money on a GPU. This would be best as a sort of mid-term boost.

3. Upgrade the CPU, mobo, and RAM. For instance; a 3570k ($230), a decent 1155 mobo ($150-$200), and some 8Gb 1600 DDR3 RAM. Then might still be able to get a 7850 ($200-ish). This would be best as a long term boost.

Personally I'd go for no. 3, but of course you could still do it with an AMD CPU and mobo, I just chose the 3570k as I'm familiar with it, and don't know a great deal about AMD CPUs.

P.S. Had a quick look at Phenom 965 specs: it seems its OC tops out at around 4.0-4.2, so 3.9 is quite good. Also with that processor there would be no need for water cooling.

 

[bakerboy666]

thanks for all your help, i may have gotten the mobo wrong cuz i dont have the box anymore and the model flashes to fast at startup. im still having trouble deciding just becasue ive always been a amd guy. again thanks for all your help

 

[bakerboy666]

GIGABYTE - Motherboard - Socket AM3 - GA-MA785GMT-UD2H (rev. 1.3) this is the motherboard i was wrong about that other one

 

[Edsterr]

Well in that case all 3 of my suggested options would still be viable, but number 2 would be less so, as you would just be upgrading from AMD3 to AMD3+

Edit - Just read the part about you saying you're an AMD guy. In that case you can just change the 3570k in option 3 for a similar price/performance AMD CPU