CPU & mainboard Upgrade

[Piando]

Hey everyone!

I'd like to upgrade my PC as I have serious fps problems while playing WoW. In LFR I run with 2 fps infight and I have the feeling that my CPU is to blame (won't be a problem with my GPU, it's a geforce GTX 660 Ti).

Currently I own a Intel Core 2 Duo E7300 @ 2.66GHz. I'm thinking of buying at least an i5, probably i5-3570 @ 3.4 Ghz. As my mainboard does not have the right socket for the CPU of my choice I need to upgrade that aswell!

Now my questions:
1) which mainboard would you recommend?
2) currently I have just 3 GB of RAM, should I upgrade that, too?
3) may the problems have another cause? I play with lowest settings possible and even reduced the resolution without a real improvement. just asking, maybe I can spare that money

Further information (as recommended in the sticky thread, thanks chaud!):
budget: up to 400€
resolution: 1920 x 1080
games: mainly WoW, I'd be pleased to play w/o these fps problems. sometimes other games (GTA IV, BF3, Skyrim...)
country: germany
new OS: yes (64 bit, if I upgrade my RAM)

I guess that I could buy even cheaper components but I'd like them to be quiet powerful so that I can use them for a while!

I hope I made myself clear and thank you in advance!

[Sorphius]

I don't know a German site for prices, but I know that in the USA you can get an i5-3570k and an AsRock Z77 Extreme4 Mobo combo for around $330-350. That would leave a little extra left over for a RAM upgrade (albeit none for the new 64-bit OS you want).

[Fluorescent0]

For most games a Haswell i3 is perfectly fine. Grab a B85/H81/H87 motherboard (the cheapest you can get from a reputable manufacturer such as MSI, Asrock, Asus or Gigabyte), an i3-4130 or 4330 (~10% more performance) and 8GB of DDR3 1.5V RAM and you're good to go.

[Perne]

You seem to be in a similar situation as myself. Most of my components are fairly new, video card, power supply, etc, but my cpu and motherboard are around 6 years old now. That being said, here's a quick pick list of just a cpu, mobo, and ram, since upgrading a dated mobo will require new ram.

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/17c5v

Since the new i3 was mentioned, here's a build with that cpu and compatible mobo and ram:

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1GiPZ

Edit: Keep in mind the first build with the i5 is an unlocked processor, so you'll be able to oc if you so desire. The i3, as far as i know, is locked and cannot be overclocked.

[Evil Inside]

You could get something like a i5 3570k + mobo for around $300, keep in mind that you'll also have to upgrade your ram.

[Deleted]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor (€195.92 @ Amazon Deutschland)
CPU Cooler: Scythe BIG Shuriken 2 Rev. B 45.5 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler (€36.99 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Pro4 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard (€79.98 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (€61.83 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Total: €374.72
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-09-22 10:15 CEST+0200)

Should cover everything for the next few years.