i7 Wanted: New motherboard?

i5s are strong. But what is your overall budget and from where do you intend to buy?

Will you need a new case?

You may need a new power supply, depending on what you have now--if you intend to upgrade the graphics card.

I'll certainly need a new graphics card. I might need a new case too? If so that'd mean a whole new computer. Budget? No figures in mind. I just don't want to spend more than I really need to. If an i5 with my present motherboard and a mid-range graphics card will do the job with no slowdown then all's the better!

Is your current PC home-built or store-bought?

If store-bought, a change in the motherboard will probably require a new Windows license.

On the other hand, if you don't change motherboards, you are severely limited on how much you can upgrade the processor.

The current case is probably OK, but may have issues. Is it an ATX case or micro ATX?

It was bought from a store, so nope, I don't have a Windows 7 disk.

It's a full size case made by HP if that helps any?

What exact model HP?

If it is a "micro-ATX" case, you will be restricted to micro ATX motherboards. If it is an ATX case, you can use ATX or micro-ATX motherboards.

Since it is an HP, it came with an OEM version of Windows. If you change motherboards, plan on buying a new copy of Windows.

HERE's mine. Same case an' all.

More details:

http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/d...roduct=4228021


Here are full details of the motherboard you have:

Motherboard Specifications, MS-7613 (Iona-GL8E) HP Pavilion Elite HPE-340uk Desktop PC - HP Customer Care (United States - English)

It's a micro-ATX case.

The specs say this:

Motherboard supports the following processor upgrades:

Intel Core i7-8xx (Lynnfield core)
Intel Core i5-7xx (Lynnfield core)
Intel Core i5-6xx (Clarkdale core)
Intel Core i3-5xx (Clarkdale core)

Intel H57 Express chipset

Supports up to 16 GB of DDR3 RAM

DIMM types:

PC3-10600 (DDR3-1333)
PC3-8500 (DDR3-1066)


It has a 460 watt PSU, which is good enough for most graphics cards if it is of decent quality.

Hmm, it aint lookin' good. If the motherboard will only take up to i7-800's then the best I can find is the 880, which is under the 3Ghz I really need to get the most out of the graphics without slowdown. That really means a new computer if I'm realistic.