Motherboard Question?

[Kameha]

Any motherboard suggestions?

I just got an Intel Core i5-3550 Ivy Bridge 3.3GHz (3.7GHz Turbo) processor. I was wondering what Motherboard would be a good investment, and have the capability to upgrade to a newer processor in the next 6 months. I realize Haswell might be a different socket, I just want to make the best decision.

I appreciate all the feedback!

[Saithes]

Sadly there won't be anymore CPU's released on LGA 1155. My recommendation though if you ever plan to get an i7 3770K or i5 3570K down the road would probably be one with a Z77 Chipset such as the ASRock Extreme4 Z77 Motherboard.

[Kameha]

Yea, that is a sad day. Now, I have never heard of ASRock is that new? I saw that on Newegg but was a bit hesitant.

[Saithes]

Yea, that is a sad day. Now, I have never heard of ASRock is that new? I saw that on Newegg but was a bit hesitant.

ASRock use to be a subsidiary of ASUS but in about 2010 became independent and began releasing higher end motherboards. Their boards are probably one of the most recommended boards since their prices aren't outrageous much like Asus and the quality is essentially the same.

[chazus]

To be honest, I probably wouldn't bother upgrading to a 3570K from a 3350. The performance benefit exists, but not worth the cost. I would stick with the 3350, and then jump to Haswell/Broadwell, depending on when you decide to actually make that jump.

Look at it this way.

$270 for 3570K + Cooler = ~15% performance increase
$350 for 4670K + Board + Cooler = ~30% performance increase

[Kameha]

To be honest, I probably wouldn't bother upgrading to a 3570K from a 3350. The performance benefit exists, but not worth the cost. I would stick with the 3350, and then jump to Haswell/Broadwell, depending on when you decide to actually make that jump.

Look at it this way.

$270 for 3570K + Cooler = ~15% performance increase
$350 for 4670K + Board + Cooler = ~30% performance increase

I like the way you explain it.

A little about my problem, I am experiencing 5fps to 15fps in 25 mans with all settings as low as possible depending on the encounter. In the world and in dungeons I am at 50 -60, really no problem. My processor performance in the task manager while raiding sits at 75-90%, I am extremely frustrated and am now convinced it has to be the CPU, because I have upgraded the video card, memory, and HD. Any opinions on this topic would be great!

Here are my current specs:

Processor: I3 540 @ 3.07ghz
Video Card: Nvidia GeForce GTX 660 Ti
Memory: Gskill DDR3-1600 16gigs
HD: Kingston HyperX SSD 120gb


With that being said, do you have any opinion on motherboard that would go well with my 3550?

Also, the reason I am getting the 3550 is because I have acquired it thru ways of no expense to me which is why I went this route =D.

Thanks for all your help!

[slasher0161]

Just about any msi, gigabyte, asrock, asus board that is Z77.

[chazus]

If you want to get a 3570K, get a Z75/Z77 board
If you want to get a 4670K, get a Z87 board when they come out (I wonder if there will be a Z85 version)