I'm having trouble with figuring out the difference between these CPU deals and spec?

[Spiffs]

Hi I haven't posted on these forums since 4 years ago when I built my first pc lol, but now I need an upgrade... anyways, I can't figure out the difference between these three CPU deals:

this is the one that Rob suggests buying on the main site. http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B004EBUXHQ/qid=1008036386/sr=8-4/mysuperpc-20

I need help knowing if this one is the same as above because it's on the Canadian site and it's cheaper. http://www.amazon.ca/Intel-i5-2500K-Processor-3-3GHz-LGA1155/dp/B004EBUXHQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1322428853&sr=8-1

And finally, I can not figure out if this last one is the same as the top 2 because it's way cheaper even though it has the same name... ?? http://www.canadacomputers.com/product_info.php?cPath=4_65&item_id=035531

Note: I would prefer to buy the last option because it's cheapest and there is a $30 discount until tomorrow lol, but I have no problem buying the top 2 if they are better.

Thanks :P

[ARchamps]

The top 2 are the same. The only difference is the fact that they are from different sites (US and Canada). The one from Canada Computers doesn't have the unlocked multiplier 2500 vs 2500K). The 2500K allows you to easiliy overclock. If you don't plan on over clocking, then go for the non-K version. The difference is pretty big actually. When I bought my 2500K, it was only a $10 difference and allows you to easily hit 4.5 GHz!

Hope that helps!

[Spiffs]

Ohh okay I see, but would I need to buy a better fan or heatsink for the CPU if I overclock it to that level?

[RickyTick]

Ohh okay I see, but would I need to buy a better fan or heatsink for the CPU if I overclock it to that level?

Yes.

[Spiffs]

ok thanks guys, I'm probably not going to overclock because the CPU that I have now is the intel core 2 duo 2.66GHz, so upgrading to the i5 2500 3.3GHz is already a big improvement. If I buy it tomorrow it will be $30 dollars off which makes it a better deal than 2500k in my opinion.

One last question about compatibility though, when I upgrade to this new CPU will I have to buy a new motherboard to support it because my current one is 4 years old.
specs of old motherboard: Asus P5K-E WiFi-AP Socket 775 Intel P35 ICH9R Chipset Dual-Channel DDR2 1066/800/667Mhz GigaLAN 2x PCIe x16 eSATA/SATA 3.0Gb/s Firewire 10x USB 2.0

(I'm also thinking of getting the nvidia gtx 560 graphics card, and possibly 4GB RAM from G. SKILL ripjaws)

[ARchamps]

You need a new motherboard that supports 1155 Socket. There are 2 types of chipsets: H67, P67 and z68 (newer). You can get a H67 or P67 motherboard for approx $100-130.

[RickyTick]

You will also have to purchase a new Windows license.

[Spiffs]

You will also have to purchase a new Windows license.

Whoa really? howcome?

I'm still on windows XP haha

[RickyTick]

I really depends on which license version you have. Usually the Windows license is "attached" to the motherboard, so a new mobo indicates a new computer, so that usually requires a new Windows purchase.

[Spiffs]

Oh I see, damn.

How would I go about doing this then? I would like to keep my old hard drive because of all the data

Is this link (http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/XPrepairinstall.htm#RI) any good at helping me out?... or is there a better guide

[ARchamps]

Time to upgrade to Windows 7 ;)

[Spiffs]

Time to upgrade to Windows 7 ;)

lol yea I think I will with this build, I heard that 64 bit is the way to go these days.

Sorry for all the questions, but I've managed to confuse myself even more by finding out that I need to get windows 7 and possibly a new hard drive in order to transfer my old data to the new computer. This is turning out to be more expensive than I thought haha

Sooo how do I actually transfer my data to a new hard drive from the old one? and do you know of any cheap hard drives? (maybe 500gb-1TB around $100 or less lol. I don't care if it's refurbished, it's all about the price at this point :P)

[RickyTick]

You shouldn't have to replace the hard drive just to have a new OS. What hard drive do you have now? Is anything wrong with it?

[Spiffs]

There's nothing wrong with the one I have now, but I don't have an external hard drive to store my data for the transfer and upgrade to windows 7. My thinking behind getting a new one with 1tb of space is that I need an upgrade on space anyways, so I would use the 1tb one in the new computer. After getting my files back from the old drive, I would just sell it along with my other replaced parts to a local shop that buys that stuff. Btw, my drive is this: Western Digital Caviar (WD5000AAKS) 500GB SATAII 7200RPM 16MB Buffer

Is this a good idea or is there an easier or cheaper way? (I need more space since I'm running low on my 500gb currently, and I figured that I might as well buy a new hard drive since I have to do a clean install with upgrading to windows 7)

[RickyTick]

The WD Caviar Blue is a good drive. You shouldn't have any problem selling it if that's what you want to do. Personally, I'd probably put it in the new computer and use it for storage or something.

Nothing wrong with buying a newer-bigger-faster hard drive for a clean install. I would suggest either the WD Caviar Black 1TB or the Samsung F3 1TB. Whichever one happens to be on sale.