Motherboard & processor upgrade questions

I just installed a ssd in my pc and thought about upgrading the motherboard & processor. This is what I have right now. ARK | Intel® Core
HIS HD 4850 iCooler IV Native HDMI 512MB(256bit) GDDR3 PCIe < Legacy Products < ?????????? ??????? < Products | ??????????? ????? HIS

GIGABYTE - Motherboard - Socket 1156 - GA-P55M-UD2 (rev. 1.0) and I was thinking about this combo or similar for around $400.00 Intel Core i5-4670 Processor and ASUS Z87-A (SLI) Socket 1150 Haswell Motherboard Bundle at TigerDirect.com I know the board is an upgrade but, not sure about the cpu and I'd like to continue using my 4850 graphics card or, is the built in graphics in the processor a better choice? Any suggestions on another better, combo in the same price range and whether or not I should reuse my 4850 graphics card would be greatly appreciated Thanks! :)

Mark Phelps said:

One thing you should know about the AMD HD-4x series cards is that AMD is not keeping up with video driver updates for Win8. I have a 4290 and am running Catalyst 13.1 "legacy" drivers -- and installing those in Win8 was a real chore.

IF you're planning on staying with Win7, you will OK video driver-wise; but, upgrading to Win8 will present video driver problems.

I plan to stay with win 7 unless, there's a reason I just have to change. I just figured the discreet graphics card would give better performance kind of like a stereo receiver vs separate power amp, preamp, and tuner I'm kind of old school that way but, it may be different with computers for all I know. Thanks! :) My main concern, is I don't want to get a combo where the processor will be less Quality than I have now.

essenbe said:

To answer your question, yes the CPU would be an upgrade, but I would suggest not using the Intel stock CPU Cooler. Get an after market cooler with it. The Stock coolers are pretty much worthless.

I know what you mean about the coolers I never use the stock ones. Thanks! :)

kbrady1979 said:

Well, here's the pickle.......the CPU listed is not an unlocked model, which means there is little to no overclocking potential, but they pair it up with a Z87 motherboard which is what overclockers use. If you don't plan on overclocking, ever, I'd get the CPU you want and pair it up with an H87 motherboard. If you DO want to OC, get a "K" series CPU and a Z87 motherboard. Also, what does your graphics card score in WEI? The Intel Integrated graphics have came a long way!

I see what your saying, it's not a logical combo. I just like a fast system but, it won't be used for any gaming other than the facebook games the wife plays. I've never tested the graphics card since all we do is browse the net. and the gaming that was mentioned. I'm not sure what an H87 board is but, I'll do some more searching. Thanks for the heads up on this combo. :)

I finally figured out what WEI was lol! and ran the test and came up with 7.3 for my score. :)