Upgrading PC, Need Help

[qfrmcpt310]

Hey guys, I posted a thread about a month back asking for help on trying to upgrade my system for more current games and to get max settings on a game like NBA 2k12. I have the money now to do so and wanted some help with buying some parts for my system. Mind you that I'm not looking to build a super computer, I'm just trying to play a game like Arkham City or Crysis 2 over 17 fps.
Anyways, here is what I've come up with after researching a bit:

This mobo works within my price range and I've read I can upgrade to Bulldozer with this board(Im a noob so that's as much as I know )
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6813128510

I originally planned to go with the significantly cheaper Phenom x2, but I don't want to do overclocking an whatnot. Im also aware of the dual-core vs Quad, so maybe you guys can tell me if I should shell out the extra dough or just get the x2.
http://www.amazon.com/AMD-HDZ955FBGMBOX ... y_e_text_b

I was going to get 8 gigs of ram, but I have read it isn't a necessity, so is 4 gigs fine?
http://www.amazon.com/Kingston-Technolo ... 697&sr=8-1

Edit:
Forgot to mention the video card I was looking at was the 6770. Though I've read the 6790 was significantly better. Any thoughts?

Im pretty sure I'll need another power supply and a aftermarket cooler so which would you recommend? Thanks in advance guys

[ixcuincle]

It should be fine. 4 gigs will be alright, but I don't know if it'll run NBA 2k12 on Max.

Have also been thinking of getting a new computer, but for Battlefield 3. Been having some similar quandaries, because I hear good things about the Intel 2500k quad core chip, but I saw some other quad core chips from AMD which were cheaper.

[qfrmcpt310]

Guess I might go w/ the 8gb of ram then.

I also thought about upgrading for BF3. Maybe you should go AMD, I've read a lot of good reviews and most of the gameplay I've watched on youtube of BF3 have been played on the x4 with a decent gfx card.

[AMenace]

I hear good things about the Intel 2500k quad core chip.

He isn't planning on overclocking the cpu, so it depends on whether he wants to spend another $100 to go down the Intel road (australian dollars), but the AMD Phenom X4 955 is a great budget option, and what I plan on using when building my PC in time for christmas. But then again, the 2500k would give me a 4 cores at 4.8ghz if I overclocked it, as to 3.8ghz for the AMD X4.

As for choice in graphics card, depending on how far your budget can go, what about the ATI radeon 6870? You can find it for $180AU, I would say for the jump in performance it's worth the extra 50 dollars.

All up you're looking at about $750AU for the AMD Phenom X4, ATI Radeon 6870, 8gb of ram, your chosen motherboard, 1tb hard drive, case, power supply (I'm guessing you already have a monitor and dvd drive from your old pc.

[benji]

Make sure you pick up some of this:

[JaoSming]

It should be fine. 4 gigs will be alright, but I don't know if it'll run NBA 2k12 on Max.

I ran 2K9/10/11/12 on Max with my computer when it had 3 gigs ram, a 8800GT and a Q6600 quad. For BF though, you'll want more.

[ixcuincle]

Alright.

Which is more important if I were to upgrade for BF3, the processor or the card? The 2500k is more expensive than AMD Phenom II equivalents, was wondering if I could just fill in a AMD Phenom II as a processor and get a better card.

[JaoSming]

I think BF3 is one of those games were a strong processor is required....dont quote me on that though cause I dont know for sure

[Bnicolas13]

I think BF3 is one of those games were a strong processor is required....dont quote me on that though cause I dont know for sure

I'm pretty sure you're right. I know people couldn't play it well on a dual core, but could max it on a quad core.

[ixcuincle]

The Phenom II is either quad or six-core, so there should be no problem there.

[Patr1ck]

There isn't much reason to go over dual core right now. Most apps and games don't even use more than two. But if you want it for the future, go quad.

Get 8gb of ram, and use 4gb as a ram disk. Put your paging file on it. If you want to go for 16, you could copy a game on it and run the game from ram for a nice performance increase.