Good motherboard, although if you don't plan on SLI/crossfire you could drop to a board with only 1 PCI express slot and save some money.

As for processors, the I3's are only dual core parts, where as most of the I5's are quad core. So I would suggest an i5 and the 2500k is a great part.

I am a fan of Coolermaster cases. (Have 2 myself from my current and previous computer) Don't have the Haf 912 but it looks decent. If I recall the 2.5/ssd cage is removable if you have a larger PSU. And the middle HD cage is also removable to help with airflow.

I'm not a fan of AMD/ATI so I can't tell you about that choice.

I suggest you also look into a decent PSU to go along with these parts. Dunno what you currently have, but if you have the money it would be advisable.

 

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The PSU I have currently Is a Corsair TX 750, and It's fine.

 

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I chose ATI as the videocard due to price/performance ratio the 6870 is on top of the charts!

 

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So do you guys think this a worthwhile upgrade or should I keep my Phenom II x4 925, and just upgrade the mobo/gpu?

 

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For gaming, your GTS 450 is hurting you a lot more than your PII X4 925. If you aren't itching to spend money on new everything, then I'd just get a better video card first and give that a try. That alone will be a big improvement.

It was so my brother could actually use Protools bla, bla BSOD's on his machine tryed everything needs new machine so I was gonna upgrade and swap out also you said you've been having problems with ATI?

 

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Most of the issues I have with ATI are typically Crossfire related and I imagine Nvidia has some of those issues too. For someone using a single card I think ATI should be just as good as Nvidia.

Nvidia does have an advantage of having an inside relationship with many game developers. Nvidia essentially pays them to give them exclusive access to the game. They get their drivers ready ahead of time. Meanwhile ATI is left on the outside having to wait for the game to be released before they can start working on the drivers. Example, Skyrim launched two and a half weeks ago, Nvidia had optimized drivers for it before launch, ATI just released them today. Sometimes it works in reverse, but much less frequently.

For single cards, it's usually not going to matter a lot how quickly optimized drivers come out. But for Crossfire/SLI it's a pretty big deal. So I would only say be hesitant about ATI if you tend to play games as they are released and are using Crossfire.


PS. I should mention I've been using ATI for the last 3 years now (4870 X2 and now dual unlocked 6950s). I read Nvidia forums, but I tend to focus more on the ATI problems since they are first hand for me. So when I'm crying in despair at how I wish God would kindly strike me dead if I ever buy ATI again, it may not necessarily be the best advice for everyone else. And I usually feel a little guilty afterwards.

Do you think I'd notice a difference going from a PII X4 to a Intel Core I5-2500k or should I make it cheaper on my self and just buy my brother a 60$ dual core athlon

 

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You could get by without upgrade it, but you'll certainly feel a difference going up to an i5-2500.

Ok and do you think the HAF 912 is a good case and will the 6870 play skyrim on high settings?

 

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