Hello guys!

It has been quite a bit SINCE I was planning on upgrading my PC , and now when my PC says to me that my hard drive is going to die and I need to backup it , for me it's a good time to upgrade my PC.

Have been checking Inet , reading reviews , trying to get into the hardware details ... But I'd rather go with your opinion and tips for that matter .

For what I have is this :
Intel core 2 DUO 3.00 GHZ
4 GB ram (A scan showed an issue with my ram)
Motherboard : X48T-A
Graphic adapter : GTX 560 ti , love it and I don't plan on upgrading it anytime soon.
Case , Had to cut some stuff to insert my GTX 560 there , Yeah it was funny. :>
OS: Win7 64bit.

What I want to upgrade :
GPU
Motherboard
RAM
Hard drive
Case

Now the story starts with me going to the shop with this list:
Intel Core i7 3820 3.6Ghz s2011 10MB L3 Cache , tray
Motherboard : Gigabyte Z68XP-UD4 s1155 Core i3/i5/i7, Intel Z68, DDR3 2133, 2xPCI-E, HDMI
RAM G.Skill 4x4GB DDR3 2133Mhz Ares Quad Channel CL9-11-10
CASE : Sharkoon Tauron White ATX Case
Hard drive : Western Digital Red 1TB 64MB Sata III WD10EFRX

First he said that the motherboard is not compatible with the GPU, second that I don't really need the 2133 and could go with 1333 instead and at the end he put up with this list for me :
Intel Core i7 3770 3.4Ghz s1155 8MB, GPU Core , tray
Motherboard : ASUS P8Z77-V LGA1155 Core i3/i5/i7, Intel Z77, DDR3 , XMP, 3xPCI-E, VGA, HDMI, DVI, DP
RAM: G.Skill 2x8GB DDR3 1333Mhz Ripjaws X Dual Channel CL9-9-9-24
GPU FAN: Arctic freezer 13 Pro
Hard dirve : same
Case : same

Now I know he is a salesman , I don't trust salesmen ... I'd rather go with a pro advice before I rush with my wallet .

My budget is around the $1,000 +/- , I tend to work with 3Dsmax , Adobe after effects / Premiere , Photoshop and play tons of games :>

I will really appreciate your help guys! thanks in advance.The line about the GPU "video card" not being compatible sounds like something I'd hear from a Best Buy sales clerk ( hopefully I am not offending anyone here with that statement, but the Best Buy in my area is full of high school aged kids with no real education on computer hardware ) and they Prey on USERS while POWER USERS ( listen and ignore most of what they have to say ) and SYSTEM ADMIN's ( like myself have to shew them away from them wasting my time, or send them off on the search for something that doesnt exist like ink cartridges for a Sunbeam 2000XTR printer.) * Have been tempted to tell them that I need a 1 D 10 T cable and see if they GET IT or not.

All the hardware you listed would work, all hardware he listed would work as well. Depends on what you want to sink into the hardware. I'd pick a CPU and look at benchmark results among other CPUs and pick out whichever one fits your needs and wallet best.

Personally I'd avoid a computer shop and buy direct online to cut out the margin they will charge you. But if you are going to have someone build this for you, you are then stuck with paying the margin & labor and stand your ground with the fact that its a PCIe Video Card that WILL work in that motherboard!Alright , thanks man.

So far I'm closing on this list:

Intel Core i7 3770 3.4Ghz s1155 8MB, GPU Core, Tray

Gigabyte Z68XP-UD4 s1155 Core i3/i5/i7, Intel Z68, DDR3 2133, 2xPCI-E, HDMI

G.Skill 4x4GB DDR3 2133Mhz Ares Quad Channel CL9-11-10

Western Digital Red 1TB 64MB Sata III WD10EFRX

TP-Link TG-3468 Gigabit 10/100/1000Mbps PCI Express Network Adapter ( I need extra slot and the motherboard got only 1 :> )

Arctic Freezer 13 Pro

Sharkoon Tauron White ATX Case


What do you think ? Any heat problems or bad combination ?

Thanks in advance. :>

Edit: Do I need any special PSU ? or 700 one is enough?