Out of the Comp. building for a while...

So I've obviously been out of computer building for a while now. I need to upgrade my computer soon so it's going to be rough for me. There are a couple things that I could use some help with:

If anyone could help me with what all has gotten better since I've last built it would be great (ie: upgrade to SSDs/speeds, pricing/GB, faster CPUs/GPUs, what will be released soon, etc.).

My current specs are as follows:

I was thinking about upgrading to an Intel CPU/Board since I think everything else is just about covered, but my budget is really thin (like ~$500). I would rather get from my local Micro Center since their sales tax is 3.5% and Newegg is 7% sales tax. Other options are TigerDirect or Xoxide (xoxide is mainly cases & cooling).

 

A while back they had 3770ks on sale for $230 at microcenter. Might want to check that out. Then you can get a $100 or so mobo and a SSD.

 

I was looking at that. The 3770 is still $230 and a ASRock Z77 Mobo is $130... With taxes it runs to be $372.58. That leaves a decent amount of room for an SSD. What's the most recent though?

 

Intel, Crucial, Corsair, Samsung SSD IMO. Sandisk is ok too.

Couple that with an i5 3470/3570k(or if microcentre still does that deak i7 3770/k) & board.

 

So... Right now, Microcenter is offering me an i5 3570K and ASRock board for $279.43 (CPU = 189.99, Z77 at $79.99 + Taxes). It's either that or $229.99 for the i7 and $129.99 for the board.

 

Well what do you plan on doing with the computer?

 

Mainly gaming, and occasionally running 3D rendering (Cinema 4D).

 

You should be fine with a 3570k then