BUY A GOOD MONITOR.

What good is a nice computer if you can't see what it can do?

So... what's your monitor atm ?

I'll get newer cpu+mobo, monitor isn't a priority. You could get it later when your hardware will gain something from it, because with your current rig i don't know if you can handle/master games in 1080p resolution...

upgrading CPU without upgrading mobo will be a waste of money - you will get old technology that will start bottlenecking you again right away.

When you have sufficient funds upgrade Mobo + CPU. Then it depends on games - it will be enough for a lot of titles, but your GPU may be stopping you from playing some of the newest next-gen titles in high quality. If you don't mind and may play lower quality / skip few games you cannot run / focus on not newest titles, but games 1+ years old - prioritize monitor for best experience from these games. If you wan't to focus on newest titles prioritize GPU as your next upgrade.

Prioritizing buying a 1080p monitor isn't good if your rig can't run it. I would know, I can't play half my games at my monitor's native resolution. Upgrade the CPU and mobo ASAP, and then work towards a GPU. THEN you get the 1080p monitor, and it'll be more worth it when you have a rig that can actually run things at 1080p.

Intel Core i5 3570K @ 3.40GHz with ASUSTeK COMPUTER INC. P8Z77-V LX (LGA1155) works well for me. Its a wee bit old now but still works well. not sure about compatibility with the rest of your rig but worth a look :)

Buy scratch cards and hope to win enough to buy a whole new rig with monitor.

Sorry had to make that joke. :p

How many do you want to spend? I see no use in upgrading your current rig. Keep the HDD(maybe also the GPU for start) and switch to a new Set Up. Maybe first keep your current Monitor but switch ASAP when you see a nice deal. If you are from Germany i have an 27" Monitor for sell (unused xD)

Your GPU can still run new games quite decently, so I'd buy a new CPU+motherboard as it seems they'll soon die anyway. I think it's better to be playing games in 720p with steady 60+ fps, than struggling in 1080p. You can buy a new monitor later, that SyncMaster is still okay. :)

If you go the route of a new CPU, I would do a new motherboard in tandem. These two components really should be matched well so that they can fully function. When I upgraded my PC a few months back I put some new components with my previous motherboard (I flashed it to the latest bios and by all manufacturer's specifications they were to work together just fine) but my computer would experience hard freezing and require hard resets. Some times that would happen within 5 minutes of startup and other times it may take 2 hours. Ultimately I ended up getting a new motherboard to mount all the other new components to.

My personal preference would be upgrading hardware before a monitor. While you say yours may not be top-notch, it certainly sounds like a monitor that is plenty fine.

Also, just a last thought, if it's just a little noise coming from the CPU fan could it be as simple and cheap as a new cooling mount? :)

Depends on what game that you want to play.

Don't be like me, I had to buy all of new part except my harddisk only to play witcher 3 in high setting.

Buy CPU+MOBO as soon as possible, aiming for a better GPU later this year... cos', u know... Fallout 4 is coming... =D

Hi-five from this land where taxes make gaming a pain in the ass...Hue hue br... ;)

Always start upgrading the bottleneck.
So, CPU (+ mobo)

Readed whole post and poll.

My opinion:

• monitor with 1080p is number 1, but YOU CAN ALWAYS WAIT for cheaper prices and discounts ;)
• my rule for new CPU:
  1. I have new equipment
  2. I am enjoying myself for 3 - 5 years (let's say 4)
  3. Oh noes! It is 4th year!
  4. Looking for new one - it take a few days on forums.
  5. New equipment for ~ $ 1.100 with is really good (but not the best: $ 1.600 - 2.700 :P )

I am poor.
Yes.
Really.
Yes.
I am buying games on 96+% discount only.
I really like games :D

Sounds to me that you have to take care of than CPU fan first! Having your entire case vibrate is a bad thing for all components and especially for the HDD. I have no idea how familiar you're with fan maintenance (I'll assume you built your PC yourself and didn't buy a pre-built one), but I'd take the fan off, open it and put some lube in it. It might fix the noise and vibrations and it might not. REMEMBER TO PUT SOME THERMAL PASTE BEFORE ATTACHING THE HEATSINK AND FAN BACK TO THE CPU! If that doesn't help or you don't want to mess with the fan, I'd recommend getting an aftermarket CPU cooler (I assume, you're currently with the Boxed version - the cooler that came with you CPU). It would be wise to choose one that's compatible with both Intel and AMD CPUs. Most are, but there are some exceptions, so pay close attention to the specs! It's VERY IMPORTANT to check the combined heatsink+fan height, because some models might be too tall for your case! A good model from a price/performance point is the Thermalright True Spirit 120M. It will both cool your CPU better and while doing so be MUCH quieter than the BOX CPU fans. This would not only solve your problem for the time being, but you would also be able to reuse the cooler with a new CPU later.

EDIT: The fact that you CPU fan is noisy and vibrating doesn't in any way mean that your CPU is dying. At most, it would be overheating, but not dying, because it should throttle automatically, even if your fan stops.

As for the monitor, deciding to get a new one would would inevitably mean playing on a higher resolution which would mean that, depending on the games you play, you would have to buy a new video card (which while much faster than your current one, would still be bottlenecked by your older CPU). That said, if you manage to patch things up with only a CPU cooler, you could go for a new monitor, especially if you mostly play older games.

When you finally decide to upgrade, I'd recommend changing both your CPU and mobo to at least a current top model Intel i5 (or an equivalent AMD, if you have to have an AMD) to have some headroom for the future, since you obviously don't upgrade often. An obvious advantage to replacing the mobo in your case would be having USB 3.0 support (unless you already have an add-on card for that).

P.S. You really shouldn't be using a WD Green disk for a system drive. These series are meant for storage drives and have variable RPM and therefore MUCH higher seek times. Those things are a big bottleneck when it comes to random access operations which is exactly what an OS frequently does. My recommendation in this respect would be preferably an SSD for a system drive or, if that's too expensive, go with WD Black or Blue (in this order). For storage, it's much better to get a WD Red than WD Green. The Reds are more reliable.

If you want me to be honest the only thing that doesn't need upgrade from your PC is your PSU
Prioritize Big Monitor (good for watching boobs too)
MOBO+CPU
GPU+CASE
RAM
HDD -> SSD

It is also a matter of what you play...
when you play new fps and stuff you should buy a new cpu and a new board soon and also think about a new gpu IF you want to play in 1080p
if you just play indiegames, point&clicks and stuff than your cpu is still good next year and a new monitor should be the thing to work at first...

normaly you can say in hardware: if you need it, buy it, if you can wait, then wait.
That is because if you buy today you will find a better setup for same price in 6 weeks (or month).
On monitors there are not so much pricechanges so you could buy a monitor and maybe safe money to spend later even more...

It is hard to give you specific hardwaretipps cause we don't know, how much you would like to spend

that HDD has to go "green"= slow...good for storage thats about it, then i would look at an intel i5 or i7 if you can afford it and a new motherboard to match and a new shiny case to wrap it all up in.your rams likely fine but personally i have a thing about only using matching dimms i would rather just use the hyperx and loose the extra 4Gb from the other set ny removing it :) just my two cents.

I'd prioritize to get a MOBO+CPU in the beginning as most people said. After that you could upgrade your GPU (if you are willing to do so) along with a bigger case (if you have space cable management issues) and last I'd go for the monitor.
Even though a big monitor is a pleasure experience to have, there is no point in getting it if your PC can't withstand it.
Sidenote: I can't see why you'd need a 8-core CPU (if the PC is meant for gaming)

Anyway that's the order in which I'd upgrade

• CPU+MOBO (If you are not afraid getting a used one you can probably find a good deal of a bundle which contains them both)
• GPU+CASE (Even though your GPU is a decent one, I think it will have some issues on higher resolution, especially on 1080p)
• Monitor (That would be the last upgrade and I'd definitely go for a 1080p one around 24" with an IPS panel )

I can't know about your region-pricing so I can't tell much but if you will have some budget left, I'd go with a SSD as well. It's an inexpensive choice which gives you a boost in your experience with the OS.

Hope I managed to helped even a little bit :)

the gtx 660 should be above the min req for all AAA games out this year

1. Buy a good CPU cooler, Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO or even better, and overclock your CPU, 3 GHz is not enough for some games if you are planning to play 1080p resolution.

2. Buy a better monitor, 24 inches at least. Personally, I like IPS panels, Dell has good monitors of this kind.

3. The last upgrade should be the graphic card if you have enough budget after steps 1 and 2.

I dont know if you'll read this, but here it goes:

• why do you want an 8 core micro? (except you're doing some heavy rendering or video editing, none game uses -or takes advantage- of such processing capacity. 2-4 at best.

• your vga IS outdated but isn't quite the most important thing, as let's say DirectX support. Must be dx11 and soon we'll have dx12 here. Devs and their shoddy unoptimized ports take alot of vRAM so they want you to have like 3-6 gb of it. Crazy! when in fact you could run them with alot less, see console hardware, they use an AMD 7890, wasn't it?

• Now I haven't checked your mobo specs, but since I have this and I don't quite feel it to be chocking, I'd say you're not in a hurry either, specially since new gen tech is around the corner and either you buy those OR the current one will have to drop price tag, sounds good to WAIT and see what happens, PLUS you can still save up some more for even better YAY factor!
  Here's my rig:
  Phenom II x6 1055T+CM Hyper212+
  Asus M4A785TD-V Evo
  2x8Gb DDR3 Corsair Vengeance
  Sapphire HD7850 2Gb OC
  CM690 (1st gen case)
  IPS LG 23 (1080 native lcd)
  LogitechMX518 awesome mouse

Oh and yes, SSD is becoming a must now, I don't have any yet so that's dragging perf down, mainly wating like 5 mins to SO to start.
Have in mind that a native res fullHD will use more resources than your current one, so even if you buy it now and can't fully use it, it will be still a good purchase for future rig. If you dont need or don't have the huge pile of cash for 4k rig then dont. I don't know where you're from, but here in Argentina, is hard as f*ck to get stuff, both in hardware and digital form, US dollar restrictions and customs limit for imports.

EDIT: huh! I just checked your hw and you're even more updated than I (just a notch tho :P) and vga is pretty similar too. You can play in medium or high even on latest games, not BAK tho, that's TRASH, not even titans can handle that sh!t.

Save up, wait a bit and think about what you wanna use it for, that's more important. I also consider if it's worh it to upgrade, even if I should move to intel, like an i7 in a near future or stick with AMD for better prices and good performance, as they did so far. It depends on the next government changes and imports/customs politics, right now entry of new products is quite thin and prices are like 12 to 1, so yeah..

I've read the OP, but honestly, I skipped all the posts below. In any case, looking at your configuration, you should really consider the possibilities in correlation (!) each upgrade gives you.

1) Let's take the CPU into account:
For your current 720p monitor, the CPU is the part that bottlenecks - especially in strategy or open world with load of details, or online-multiplayer - the more players, the higher the CPU-load. Those rely highly on CPU-speed and threading, while racing-games, shooters in single player or coop, platformers and such don't tax the CPU much. In a higher resolution, the CPU won't bottleneck as much as the graphics card will do. In any case, take into account what you're playing and what you're going to be playing.

An upgrade to an FX-8320 (8350 or 81XX are pointless, FX-8350 would only be ok if the price difference to the 8320 is less than $20) whilst keeping the mainboard is a temporal solution, but upgrading it in ~2 years should be planned. It all depends on what you're playing and which quality is alright to you. Is reducing CPU-taxing details like, for instance, traffic depth and amount in open world games acceptable to you or do you always have to have maximum settings enabled, without the slightest framedrop below a certain threshold you choose?

An Upgrade of the CPU now wouldn't be the greatest - Intel's new generation, including DDR4-RAM which can be used on platforms later on, if upgrading before getting to DDR5 memory as a standard, is expected to launch in August, with good availability in September - October - might be worth the wait instead of going for an "old" platform now.

An 8-core upgrade for gaming will not bring you nearly as much performance as upgrading to a 4-core i5. More cores than 4 are still not very well and broadly implemented in gaming, the games that get a notable performance-boost on more than four cores can be counted on two hands, currently. And I don't expect that to chance, since mainstream-CPUs, currently and coming, will stay 4-core. (Note that sockets as 2011-3 are not mainstream!). The FX-8-cores were taken into consideration above. But even those aren't real 8-cores (they're 4-module CPUs with 8 threads, which cripples their performance, going against a real 8-core CPU)

2) The Display:
1080p is nice and definitely an upgrade, but 1440p and 2160p screens are getting cheaper and better every day! On the mid-term, these are going to be standards, and you will probably crave for more resolution. For 1080p, the GPU is kinda alright, it will play indie-games really fine, AAA-Titles of it's time too, while you have to take some cuts in taxing AAA-Titles of the present and to come. i.e.: reduce details, anti-aliasing. In any case though, a GTX660 is able to produce graphical fidelity in an acceptable manner, but not perfectly well. When upgrading to a higher resolution monitor though, the 660 looks really, really old. 4K gaming is very, very taxing and detail reducing on current aaa-games, not really reccomendable without something like an R9 390 CF or an GTX970 SLI (although the 390 CF would perform better on a 4K screen)
Are you going to be satisfied with 1080p in the next year? A question you should as yourself.
If you keep the 720p monitor for a year or two, because you're shooting for higher resolutions, you can keep the graphics card. Because on that low resolution, even a GTX660 is "bored" with whatever you throw at it, mind badly optimized games such as Batman: Arkham Fail.
In that case: Go for a CPU-Upgrade in the neat future, see details above.

3) The GPU: I've said a lot about the GPU already. Higher resolution monitor? New GPU - that will be bottlenecked by the current CPU in most cases, sometimes just a little, sometimes severly. Even higher resolution monitor than 1080p? For 1440p, a current high-end GPU is pretty much a must have, don't go 4K with single GPU currently. In those cases, a CPU-upgrade will be crucial, whilst also paying for everything else to be new and fast -> expensive.
Upgrading the CPU to a potent intel-model (as in: go for skylake) will give you a good basis for the next 4 -6 years, again then, depending on your views on what kind of framedrops and such are tolerable. My prediction is based on the fact that every CPU-generation from intel brought about +10% more frames in games (starting with the first gen i7 CPUs from 2009) per year. That ain't much, really, a reason that older i7/i5-CPUs from the first/second generations (Sandy Bridge, Bloomfield, Lynnfield) still perform well in an higher-midrange system, not high-end though. And Intel is certainly not going to give us a CPU that increases the gaming performance for more than 15% in the near future. Why? They already have problems with the current/coming manufacturing processes, as in: heat/optimization of clock and architecture, and AMD isn't much of a competitor (unfortunately for us, because that keeps prices high and performance isn't as good as it could be in a competitive environment)

4) Case, HDD, Cooling:
First, fix the vibrating and buy a decent case. Decent cases don't have to be expensive, like the Coolermaster N300 or the Corsair Carbide 200R. Those are really solid cases, simple to handle, spacious, good manufacturing quality for around 50 bucks, depending on where you live. They also have decent (not perfect, but usable) fans included already.
As for the CPU-cooling, consider upgrading if it's causing noise and vibration. Decent coolers would be such as the coolermaster hyper 212, Hyper 412, Scythe Mugen 4, Enermax ETS-40. Best price-performance for CPU-coolers is achieved around 30 - 50, especially if you don't overclock much or don't at all. For somebody who is going to get every single mhz possible out of the CPU, there's either the enthusiast priced watercooling, or enthusiast-priced air coolers ($60-80) which I wouldn't take into consideration at this point.

Also, your WD Green HDD slows you down quite a bunch. Consider switching either for a faster drive (meh) or an SSD. While you probably know about some of the benefits of SSDs, such as faster boot, they also significantly contribute on installing-time of games and streaming content in-game. i.e.: levels will be loaded faster, cutscenes will start/end with less loading times between them, while also reducing the risk that the cutscene lags (during cutscenes, content for the level is loaded in the background, some HDDs can't provide the read-speed required to do that properly without lags)
Also, 250GB SSDs have become dirt-cheap...

Hope it helps