Next upgrade???

[us11csalyer]

I currently have:

i5-2500k with stock heat/fan
2 sticks of 4gig ddr3 1333 ram (not sure of specs)
asus 7870 stock
corsair tx750 enthusiast series v2
ocz agility 3 60GB SSD
WD green series 500GB 7200 sata2 HDD
Cheap off brand mid tower case with 1 80mm front, 1 120mm rear/side

ASUS P8Z68-v lx. 2 pci-2 16 2.0 with x8, x8 for crossfire

*Please no advice on monitor upgrade. <<<This upgrade will come later.

I can safely push my cpu/gpu to score in the low P7200 area on 3d mark 11.

Should I upgrade my HDD to a sata3 or
should I upgrade case or
should I upgrade motherboard?

I don't intend on crossfiring. I am thinking maybe a 120GB SSD for games. (120GB is in my budget area) I am also thinking if I upgraded the case I'd have better airflow and get one that has top mounts for radiator. Upgrading the motherboard if it is true that a top model one will allow me to run cpu at lower voltage and run cpu cooler. Something about better power management???

 

[Josh Weston]

I'd get the SSD first, then a new case, then a good air cooler like the Noctua NH-D14. See what kind of clock you can reach on your board, and if it's well below par you can think about upgrading your board later.
A SATA II WD Green drive is just fine, as I don't think that the drive could surmount SATA II's bandwidth.

 

[us11csalyer]

on my board and stock cpu fan/sink i can do 4.4Ghz and hit 71c with no crash after 12 hours of intel burn

 

[Josh Weston]

Sounds like your motherboard is just fine, then. Also means you'd get an even better clock with a better cooling system, though.
I stand by what I said before.

 

[seumasbeathan]

I agree with Josh, get a nice Crucial M4 and then a nice case later on

 

[yassarikhan786]

Yeah, an SSD would make the biggest difference to your current setup