Upgrading PC (~$1500 budget) - Hardware & Software

I plan on going with a full AMD/ATI setup (CPU and GPU.) My budget is ~$1500 (though I will probably not need all of it.) Current Specs: Motherboard: ASUS M4A87TD EVO RAM: 8GB DDR3 CPU: AMD Phenom II X4 965 ~3.4GHZ GPU: ATI Sapphire Radeon HD 5870 I have plenty of hard-drive space so I am not worried about that. I am also not worried about upgrading the RAM but if I want a more powerful processor I'll need to upgrade to a motherboard with a CPU socket beyond AM3. I've also been looking at this card. If there is a beefier ATI card let me know: [url]http://www.amazon.com/Sapphire-PCI-Express-Edition-Graphics-21207-00-50G/dp/B00CJ4KALE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1378675291&sr=8-1&keywords=SAPPHIRE+HD+7990[/url] Apparently a new batch of ATI video cards will be released later this month or next month, so I'm not sure if--considering I want to go as powerful as I possibly can (within the realm of ATI/AMD parts)--I should wait or upgrade to that card now. I am also looking for a good gaming mouse (fingertip grip) and keyboard, but these are secondary and will only be purchased if I have remaining funds.

First of all ATI does not exist anymore. It's all AMD, ATI was bought out a long time ago, and they stopped branding their products as ATI. Second of all don't limit yourself. The 7990 is a great video card, but the top of the line AMD processors aren't very good for gaming. I don't know what your doing, but if the main purpose is gaming you want to go with an i5-4670k. If your main purpose is something more along the lines of streaming than the best choice is an i7-4770k. The 8350 is a good choice, but for $1500 the 4770k is a better choice.

Yeah, I know, I figured I'd throw ATI in there for those who may be behind on such matters. I prefer AMD because it is more price efficient. I've done some talking and research and I've decided on this video card: [url]http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161412[/url]

I recommend Gigabyte's: [url]http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125413[/url] AMD is not always more price efficient. In a matter of video cards, you get pretty much the same price for the same performance. In CPUs you get lower price ... [I]for lower performance[/I]. AMD CPUs just aren't good for gaming. I don't know what your doing because you haven't said anything on the matter, but the fact is AMD will not always be more price efficient, nor will Intel, nor will Nvidia.

May I ask why you recommend Gigabyte's version? The version I linked scored highest in benchmarks: [url]http://www.tomshardware.com/charts/2012-vga-gpgpu/19-Tom-s-Hardware-Index-C-Extreme,2977.html[/url] I was looking for advice about processors, but I've been considering this: [url]http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819113284[/url]

If you like Tom's Hardware, I'd suggest the article, [url]http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-cpu-review-overclock,3106-4.html[/url] Which quite definitively states there's just no good reason to buy an AMD processor for gaming purposes on a $1500 setup (which appears to be what you're interested in).

I only want to spend that much money if I have to. Yes, you do pay less for lower performance, but the performance-to-price ratio is better on AMD. Thanks for the suggestions though, I think I've got it figured out now.