Hi all, I've been meaning to upgrade my PC for some time, but every time I look into it I get overwhelmed and put it off....so I thought i'd ask for some help from the experts! I have built a PC before....in 2006. This is pretty much still the PC i'm using today (new monitor) but it slows to a crawl with any real multitasking. I used to be a PC gamer, but I now I play a bit of 360 and that's about it. I use my PC for surfing the net, managing media and a bit of work (office etc). Gaming is really not the focus. So i'm looking to upgrade my motherboard, CPU and RAM and i'm also thinking of getting an SSD. I intend to keep my case, PSU, keyboard, mouse, monitor (new) and storage drives which are:
- Dell U2312HM Monitor - 23" 1920 x 1080
- Lian Li PC-7B Plus II Mid Tower case (can fit up to ATX)
- Coolermaster 500W PSU (Not 100% on model).
- Seagate Barracuda 2TB 7200rpm HDD
- Microsoft wireless keyboard and mouse - I'm not really on a tight budget, but I don't see great benefit on spending a lot because I don't think my needs demand it!
I don't intend to purchase a discrete GPU because I think integrated graphics will do.
Here are the main questions i'm toying with:
1) AMD or Intel? I understand intel CPUs better, I find the AMD lineup some what more confusing.
2) If I go intel, how much would I benefit from an i5 over an i3?
3) If i'm not really gaming, how much impact does the graphics have on 'productivity' performance?
4) Would there be any benefit of an A series AMD APU over a Core i3/i5?
5) Will an SSD make a significant difference?
I guess once i've narrowed down AMD vs Intel, then i'll start thinking about specific CPUs, motherboards etc and I may have some more questions. For anyone that takes the time to reply, let me say thank you in advance!