OK, I've been meaning to make an upgrade to my CPU but I want to run some ideas by you guys.
I've been holding off on doing a CPU upgrade because 1) I have an i5-750 that uses a socket that is out of date at this point, meaning 2) I need a new mobo, but since I have a mATX-sized case that is frankly way too small in the 4+ years of me owning this PC that means 3) I need a new case.
So about 1), I've OC'd my CPU up to about 3.6 or 3.7 GHz, about the highest it could go while still maintaining system stability. I knew they could go up to 4.2ish so I was a bit disappointed that my CPU couldn't take it (I do have an aftermarket cooling solution that keeps temperature within reason, so that's not the issue, it's just the CPU). It's a midrange CPU that's 4+ years old, so I think it's getting long in the tooth, but I'm just not sure how much of a difference it would make. It's most obvious when I try to run anything on Dolphin, as it struggles even on some of my easier-to-emulate GC games. Forget about CPU-heavy Wii games like SMG2. Regular PC games I do fine on. I already have a GTX 770 and am booting off an SSD, and since most games aren't that CPU-bound I don't get very many instances where a regular PC game is being bottlenecked by the CPU. But, again, 4+ year old midrange CPU and it very much struggles in CPU-bound applications. How much of an improvement would I expect to see if I get a good (better than midrange but not top-of-the-line) CPU? Are CPUs expected to be refreshed soon?
So about 2), when a case is advertised as "mid-size", does that mean any size mobo will work or can it only be a mid-size mobo?
And about 3), I'm eyeing the
NZXT Source 210, mostly because of the price but also because I've used NZXT as my previous mATX case and it's been fantastic. Any other recommendations in this price range?