The x79 is an enthusiast platform and is not compatible with the 3770k. With the x79 your options are the 3820 , 3930K (6 cores), and the 3970x (6 cores). The cost of going this route is significantly higher, but again your dealing with an enthusiast platform. If you want the 3770k, you want to get a z77 motherboard. I would go the z77 route and up that graphics card to at least a 770.
Thanks for the advice! See that's always something I would forget to check, that's why I come to you GAF <3.
This, plus bear in mind that the 3770K is the fastest of all the Ivy Bridge CPUs, so that is as far as that motherboard will go.
That said, it's a stellar CPU and could easily last a few years with the right overclocking and comparable video card.
What is your budget? Fill out the survey in the OP so we can answer your questions better.
Sorry, I totally skipped over that survey!
Current specs -
GIGABYTE AM3+ AMD 760G Micro ATX
ADATA Premier Srs 4GB 240Pin DDR3 1333 x 2
AMD ATHLON II X4 640 3.0GHZ AM3 CPU
Radeon HD 7750
1TB SATA HDD
Budget - $1500 - $2000
Main use - Gaming, Emulation (PS2/Wii) and General Usage are all I'm interested in I don't need 3D/Model work, video editing or anything like that.
Monitor - 1920x1080, no plans to upgrade until something beyond 1080p becomes the "Standard"
Specific games - I want to be able to run Total War: Rome 2 at max settings while maintaining 60 FPS. Metro: Last Light is also a good visual benchmark for something I'd like to achieve at high settings with 60 FPS. I'd like to have the option to enable things like PHYSX without bringing my system to an absolute crawl.
Reuse parts - Only my optical drive and 1TB SATA HDD
When - I want to have it ready for Rome 2's release in September.
Overclocking - I've never really done it...so maybe?
So based on these answers... should I take Smokey's advice on the z77 + 3770k and a 770, or is there a better configuration?
Thanks again GAF.