What to upgrade

[Firetower]

This is my current setup what should I upgrade?

1. What YOUR PC will be used for. That means what types of tasks you'll be performing.
Gaming, BF3, WoW, COD,CS

2. What YOUR budget is. A price range is acceptable as long as it's not more than a 20% spread
500$

3. What country YOU will be buying YOUR parts from.
US

4. IF YOU have a brand preference. That means, are you an Intel-Fanboy, AMD-Fanboy, ATI-Fanboy, nVidia-Fanboy, Seagate-Fanboy, WD-Fanboy, etc.
No

5. If YOU intend on using any of YOUR current parts, and if so, what those parts are.
Here is my system, what should I Upgrade?

Case (Mid size case)
CPU: Intel i5 760
Mobo:GIGABYTE GA-H55N-USB3 LGA 1156 Intel H55 HDMI USB 3.0 Mini ITX Intel Motherboard
PS: SeaSonic X750
Memory: G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333
GPU: MSI N460GTX CYCLONE 1GD5/OC GeForce GTX 460
HD: Samsung 830 256GB


*

7. IF YOU plan on overclocking or run the system at default speeds.
default
8. What resolution will you be using?
1920x1080
9. WHEN do you plan to build it?
Note that it is usually not cost or time effective to choose your build more than a month before you actually plan to be using it.
tomorrow

 

[lehtv]

What's your case?

There's not much point in upgrading the graphics card unless you're willing to overclock the i5-760.

The other option is to increase your budget slightly and spend $300 on a CPU+mobo upgrade first and then upgrade the graphics.

What I would do: Get an aftermarket cooler and overclock the i5 to 3.6-4.0GHz. Upgrade to Sapphire 7950 Vapor-X $305 after rebate, includes three free games (limited offer). In games not heavy on the CPU, you will see about double the framerate over that GTX 460. In 2013, upgrade to Intel Haswell and OC the Vapor-X to 1050MHz+.

 

[Firetower]

I have a : Corsair Vengeance Series C70 Military Green Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

and

Silverstone FT02

 

[riversend]

What is going on in games right now that is not acceptable? What do you hope to achieve?

With nothing else to go on, lehtv's suggestion is a good one. The i5 you have is not too bad and you could squeeze more out of it to get you to Haswell. The graphics card would help now and still be very nice for the next couple of years.

 

[Termie]

Your cpu at stock is probably sufficient for a 7870-class gpu. BF3 multiplayer needs a lot of cpu power, single player needs almost none. Overclock to 3.5 or above and you'll be able to utilize a 7950 or equivalent in BF3 multiplayer. Because the 7950 is dropping in price, it might be a good investment if you intend to upgrade the platform but don't want to overclock now.

The other games are all cpu-limited, so don't upgrade the gpu for them.

 

[lehtv]

Overclock to 3.5 or above and you'll be able to utilize a 7950 or equivalent in BF3 multiplayer.

Only to a degree... I have an i7-920 @ 2.8GHz (can't get stable above that anymore). This should be comparable to an OC'd i5-760 given HyperThreading which BF3 benefits from. I recently bought Sapphire Vapor-X 7950, it is heavily bottlenecked in 64-player conquest. In intense scenarios, I get stuck at 50fps at around 50-70% GPU usage. FPS stays the same if I turn settings down. At least half the time I get 60fps, but the same is true with the GTX 560 Ti I upgraded from.

I probably won't be upgrading my CPU just for BF3 though, the improvement in GPU heavy games is great.

 

[Firetower]

I will OC my i5 760 and upgrade the GPU since I will be going Intel Haswell.

I might have to get a new mobo since mine is a little itx thing.

Any recommendations on a cooler for this thing?

 

[Termie]

I will OC my i5 760 and upgrade the GPU since I will be going Intel Haswell.

I might have to get a new mobo since mine is a little itx thing.

Any recommendations on a cooler for this thing?

Don't bother buying a new 1156 motherboard. They are basically not available new, and a waste of money used, if you're going to upgrade in 6 months. Feel free to get a 7950 but don't exist expect much of an increase in performance in BF3 for now.

Edit: one better option than buying an 1156 motherboard is trading for one. There are probably many people trying to repurpose an 1156 cpu in a small case.

 

[mfenn]

Agree with Termie. Overclock all that you can on your H55, which should be a decent bit since it is equivalent to a P55 board with the same power delivery. Do not, under any circumstances pay more than ~$30-40 on a new 1156 board. Beyond that amount, you're better off just buying a Sandy/Ivy setup.