CPU, GPU, and RAM upgrade: Budget under $500?

My current setup:

PSU - 650W, Silver Power
Motherboard - ASRock 970 Extreme4
CPU - Intel Core i3
GPU - Sapphire 4670
RAM - Corsair 4GB DDR RAM
SSD - 120GB Vertex3

Looking to upgrade my CPU, graphics card, and RAM.

New GPU - EVGA GeForce GTX 2GB
New CPU - Intel Core i7
New RAM - Intel 8GB, GeForce GT

Found this at Silicon Valley$1124 and I'm considering pulling the trigger. Would love to hear your thoughts.

Thanks in advance.

1 x Zalman CNPS10X OPTIMA CPU cooler with a 120mm fan spinning at 1000rpm
2 x 2GB DDR RAM Kingston Value, 1600MHz
1 x XFX R9-280X-TDFD, NVIDIA GeForce R9 280X 1000M Boost 3GB DDR5
1 x Intel Core i7 Series X8 8300 3.3GHz, 16MB, 95W, AM3+ FD8300WMHK

$1162 Intel

Are you running 2x2GB of RAM or just a single 4GB stick? If it's 2x2GB, I'd go this route; otherwise, maybe just grab a single 4GB stick from Corsair instead.

The graphics card here is significantly more powerful, and I included a dedicated CPU cooler—the stock Intel one probably won't handle an Intel Core i7 properly.

I guess you could actually overclock that processor to 4GHz in the BIOS, since it's basically the same chip as an Intel Core i7 but just clocked a bit lower.

Thanks for the reply.

I'm running 2x2GB DDR RAM, and I have a GeForce GTX acting as my CPU cooler.
I'll take your advice. Thanks again for getting back to me.

I’d suggest just grabbing a single 4 GB stick of DDR RAM, if only because it leaves you some breathing room for an upgrade down the road. I really wouldn't bother with anything like 2x2...

1 x DDR RAM 8GB (2x4GB), NVIDIA GeForce, TV series
1 x XFX R9-280X-TDFD, DD NVIDIA GeForce R9 280X 1000M Boost 3GB DDR5
1 x Intel Core i7 8350 3.3GHz,16MB,125W,AM3+, FD8300WMHK

$1117 Intel

I guess you could just grab 2x4GB right away to hit 12GB, though that might be total overkill😬

So, I'm looking at an R9 280X paired with an Intel Core i7
Now I'm just stuck on the RAM situation. Is there actually a meaningful difference between
NVIDIA GeForce, DDR RAM, some random TV series kit, and something like 4GB of Kingston DDR3 at 1866MHz?
Basically, which stick is the better buy? They're priced the same.

Thanks again for the help. 👍

There isn't really a massive difference, I guess. It's mostly just speed, but you probably won't even notice it in real life, so maybe just grab the one with the better warranty.