I finally need to upgrade, need help

[Lord of Shadows]

I bought bf3 and it doesnt run on my AMD s939 3400+ / AMD 3850hd AGP / 2gb ddr system, last time I really researched computer hardware was back when doom3 came out so I'm a bit out of the loop.

I have unlimited budget, (I still dont want to get screwed though, no 8gb cache extreme editions etc) A major concern I have is future upgradability. I dont want to be stuck upgrading everything again in a year, I'd rather just drop in a new cpu / gfx into my existing system and go.

I think intel is at the end of life with it's current socket and is moving to LGA-2011 right? I dont want to get a mb / cpu combo that I cant upgrade in the future because of a socket change. Any idea when the new socket is coming out? (I kinda want to play BF3 *right now*, but I'm willing to wait a month or two for a motherboard if it will save me loads of trouble in the future.

Looking at how long ago AM3 was released it seems as though it wouldnt be a good idea to get that right away.

Also what is the best gfx to get? I'd rather get a fast single gpu solution than one of those weird dual gpu's on a single card energy monsters.

I also want an SSD, which one of these dont suck? (I'm fine with relatively small hd space 64gb-128gb will be good for me)

Thanks for any help you can give me!




-- from the faq --
1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
Hardcore Gaming

2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
Unlimited, dont want to spend $500 extra for small performance gains though

3) Which country do you live in? If the U.S, please tell us the state and city if possible.
Dfw, Texas

4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, RAM, case, etc. The word "Everything" is not a valid answer. Please list out all the parts you'll need.
I need mb, cpu, ram, gfx, ssd hd

5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
Case and SILVERSTONE OP650 PSU.

6) Will you be overclocking?
Definitely if it is *stable*

7) What is the max resolution of your monitor? What size is it?
My monitor sucks, dont worry about it though

8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
ASAP, but willing to wait a couple months if it will be worth it

9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? USB 3.0? SATA 6Gb/s? eSATA? Onboard video? etc.
I'd like raid for my existing two sata 160gb drives, and SLI

10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If yes, what OS? Is it 32bit or 64bit?
I have a windows 7 64 bit cd that is transferable

 

[Lord of Shadows]

I just found out about the AMD FX-8150, any suggestions on a motherboard and gfx to complement this?

Edit:
GIGABYTE GA-990FXA-UD7 - I'm liking this motherboard feature and looks wise.

I'll research gfx cards while at work tomorrow. I have an old xfx pci-e graphics card that is comparable in speed to my hd3850 that I may attempt to use until the next gfx refresh. So far looking at bf3 benchmarks I'm not liking the frame rate I'll be getting with a single gtx 580 or ati hd6970 (I want like 100+ fps in 1600x1200)

 

[Forceman]

Unless you are a really dedicated AMD fan, don't bother with the FX-8150. It is outperformed by the 2500K and 2600K at a similar price point. And socket 2011 comes out soon, but it doesn't offer any compelling advantages over the existing SB chips (and existing motherboards will [mostly] support the new Ivy Bridge chips when they come out next year). Your best bet bang for the buck is a 2500K, Z68 motherboard, 8GB of DDR3-1600 (or -1333) and a 6970 or GTX 570.

 

[Dangman]

I think intel is at the end of life with it's current socket and is moving to LGA-2011 right?

Incorrect. Socket 2011 is basically a complement to the Intel's current socket LGA 1155. Intel now has a two socket policy: One socket (LGA 1155) for mainstream performance and another socket (LGA 2011) for high-end performance. As Forceman noted, you really don't need socket 2011 for a gaming setup unless you just want a massive epeen.

I dont want to get a mb / cpu combo that I cant upgrade in the future because of a socket change. Any idea when the new socket is coming out?

Socket 2011 is coming out this month supposedly. But again, not worth it in your case.

Also what is the best gfx to get? I'd rather get a fast single gpu solution than one of those weird dual gpu's on a single card energy monsters.

......
I'll research gfx cards while at work tomorrow. I have an old xfx pci-e graphics card that is comparable in speed to my hd3850 that I may attempt to use until the next gfx refresh. So far looking at bf3 benchmarks I'm not liking the frame rate I'll be getting with a single gtx 580 or ati hd6970 (I want like 100+ fps in 1600x1200)

Unfortunately due to your rather extreme requirement, a single GPU is probably not going to work out here. You basically need two GPUs and even then you won't get past 100 FPS unless you're willing to turn down a lot of settings.

I also want an SSD, which one of these dont suck? (I'm fine with relatively small hd space 64gb-128gb will be good for me))

I recommend these SSDs:
$115 - Crucial M4 CT064M4SSD2 2.5" 64GB SSD
$140 - Crucial M4 CT064M4SSD2CCA 2.5" 64GB SSD w/ USB to SATA Adapter and Drive Cloning software
$202 - Crucial M4 CT128M4SSD2 2.5" 128GB SSD
$229 - Crucial M4 CT128M4SSD2CCA 2.5" 128GB SSD w/ USB to SATA Adapter and Drive Cloning software
$380 - Crucial M4 CT256M4SSD2 2.5" 256GB SSD
$425 - Crucial M4 CT256M4SSD2CCA 2.5" 256GB SSD w/ USB to SATA Adapter and Drive Cloning software

9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? USB 3.0? SATA 6Gb/s? eSATA? Onboard video? etc.
I'd like raid for my existing two sata 160gb drives, and SLI

Even with the high-cost of hard drives now, you would be better off with a new 1TB drive rather than use those old 160GB drives in RAID 0 as many current 1TB drives can and will outperform those 160GB drives in RAID 0. I recommend something like this drive:
$156 - Hitachi Desktar 7K1000.D HDS721010DLE630 1TB SATA 6.0Gb/s Hard Drive

I just found out about the AMD FX-8150, any suggestions on a motherboard and gfx to complement this?

Edit:
GIGABYTE GA-990FXA-UD7 - I'm liking this motherboard feature and looks wise.

As Forceman noted, you would have to be a hardcore AMD fan in order for that purchase to make any sense whatsoever. Intel holds the crown for best price to performance as well as performance in general right now.

 

[Forceman]

If you live near the Dallas Microcenter, they have a great deal now on 2500Ks and Z68 motherboards where you can get $60 off - so I'd look to buy there. If you are going to run SLI/CrossFire (to get the framerates you want), you'll also need to upgrade the power supply to something beefier than a 620W.

So something like this:
$179.99 Intel i5-2500K
$89.99 Gigabyte GA-Z68X-UD3H-B3 (after discount)

or:
$119.99 ASUS P8Z68-V (after discount)

 

[Lord of Shadows]

I went with the amd fx sry... first impressions irrational emotional bias or whatever

That and I read this:
http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/2124146/intel-s-haswell-chip-socket

Time will tell if I made an epic fail

Anyway here's what I ordered: (despite my credit card's fraud protection)

$234.99 - $20 rebate - GIGABYTE GA-990FXA-UD7 http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0055QYKRI/ref=oh_o01_s01_i00_details
$239.99 AMD FX-8150 FX 8-Core Black Edition Processor (FD8150FRGUBOX) http://www.amazon.com/AMD-FX-8150-8...1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1320972873&sr=1-1

The above two had a $10 combo discount

$349.99 - $20 rebate XFX HD6970 http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004GCIZ5A/ref=oh_o00_s00_i00_details
$114.99 Crucial M4 CT064M4SSD2 2.5" 64GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148441

I didnt do much research on the ram, but they are the cheapest I found: (So cheap I figured I might as well get 16gb) [ I learned from my cas 2 geil ddr500 ram that mhz isnt worth the trouble. Never was stable at ddr500]
44.99 G.SKILL Sniper 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-8GBSR http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231416

If you read closely you will see a $5 promo code per item,
$5 off w/ promo code EMCJJKB23, ends 11/14

so it came out to be: $79.98 for ram (saw it in the RAM section)

If you can save me some cash by buying at different stores I'd appreciate it

All shipping was free
Total after rebates and instant discounts: $969.94

I tried using hardocp buy through links on everything, but may have missed it for the cpu/mobo combo

Edit: Darn, I just read the hardocp review for the motherboard yesterday, I looked at some motherboardorg reviews on youtube and read the first paragraph of the review, before the point where he says this isnt one of those boards.

 

[engiNURD]

wow... the inq... haven't been there in a long time, lol.

anyhow, it's your money, so as long as you've made an informed decision, then you're good to go. good luck with the build.