need some expert advice on how to spend my money

but heres what i know

OS windows 7 home premium
Case i dont know
Processor 1155 (i think i learned this today so dont be mad if thats not what a processor is)
RAM i have 8gb 2x2gb and 1x4gb but i want more hopefully 16 but if i cant then 12 wil do. for now.
video card either twin frozr 3 or the one that u guys said for $300
motherboard one with 4 (or more) slots of ram sticks and 2 (or more) slots for video card. who knows, maybe i will sli or crossfire later ( i believe thats the term used for making 2 cards work together)
keyboard spreaking of keyboard ive been really pissed that mine only can click 4, or sometimes 2 buttons at once depending on which bottons i press.
mouse i already have one
power supply if this will supply enough, then this Newegg.com - SeaSonic S12II 520 Bronze 520W ATX12V V2.3 / EPS 12V V2.91 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power Supply
modem i already have one
sound card i dont know what this is
hard drives i have a 1tb internal and 1tb external.
SSD i dont know what this is

What do you and your so-called friend use to decide who has the best computer?

Who boots fastest?

Who can run the most VMs?

Who can run Super Pi the fastest?

Who has the most flashing lights?

Who can open Excel the quickest?

Who can shut down the fastest?

etc etc.

You are apparently in competition with your friend so likely have special requirements.

In all seriousness, you need to be a bit realistic considering your budget, knowledge, and goals.

If all you care about is gaming, then just get the latest rage in video cards, upgrade the PSU, and be done with it. You will be king of the hill-------------------------------------------------very temporarily.

competition is based on
Who can run more games at max graphics better?
Who boots fastest?
Who has the most flashing lights?
and who has the coolest looking machine.
now what i really want is the gaming but i also want to have those cool little LED's inside the pc that make it look cool

Paronomasia said:

competition is based on
Who can run more games at max graphics better?
Who boots fastest?
Who has the most flashing lights?
and who has the coolest looking machine.
now what i really want is the gaming but i also want to have those cool little LED's inside the pc that make it look cool

Call me clairvoyant.

That's what I thought you would say.

Get these items for gaming bragging rights.

Video card upgrade, maybe 400 dollars

PSU upgrade, maybe 100 to 150 dollars. 500 Watts for single graphics card; 850 for SLI/Crossfire.

Get this item for flashing LEDs:

More flashing LEDs; expense unknown.

Get this item for fast booting:

SSD. Any of them will boot faster than a hard drive.

You can get an SSD for under 100.

Roll all of that around in your budget calculator.

How about a 100 dollar SSD and 300 dollars worth of flashing LEDs? You would make your friend look like a chump in boot speed and coolness.

Would that be better than blowing 400 on a gaming improvement??

I don't know which you think is more important.

-.- youre purposley doing this.
i liked james's help better.
i have no idea what i want, i just want my computer to be better. i dont know anyhting about computers but ive been learning a lot. forget about my friend, about the led's about everything and just help me with this:
i have around $500 so spend on a computer upgrade, you know my specs, i want a graphics card, a motherboard, ram, psu, and if i happen to get an extra $10 il buy some Christmas lights and stick them inside my computer!

Paronomasia said:

i have around $500 so spend on a computer upgrade, you know my specs, i want a graphics card, a motherboard, ram, psu

Difficult at that budget.

Motherboard; good brand without unnecessary stuff: 140

PSU: big enough to handle powerful graphics card: 100

RAM: 8 GB plus whatever you already have: 40

That's 280, leaving you only 220 for a graphics card.

And that excludes a new case.

And you say "I have no idea what I want".

i thought we were going to make the computer open untill i can afford a case
and there was a 520w 80plus bronze for $70

ok i think we can all agree on the psu
Newegg.com - SeaSonic S12II 520 Bronze 520W ATX12V V2.3 / EPS 12V V2.91 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power Supply
then i will buy 2x4gb ram, i think we can all agree on this too
Newegg.com - CORSAIR Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model CMZ8GX3M2A1600C9R
thats $120

That's a good PSU and good RAM. The PSU would be good enough for any single video card. Seasonic is a good brand.

Corsair RAM is also good. You could probably save a few bucks by avoiding RAM with heat spreaders if you don't need them for the coolness factor.

Find a decent P67 or Z68 socket 1155 motherboard (Asus or Gigabyte) for say 150 max and then blow all the rest of the money on a video card.

If you are not going to use a case, get an ATX motherboard.

If you are going to try to use your case, get a micro ATX motherboard.

can you please help me pick out the best motherboard for the price? as i have trouble discerning the specs on the motherboard. i dont want a micro, it sounds less powerfull and with less options