Need some help regarding my next upgrade

Hi!

I'm currently using an AMD Phenom II X6 1090T at stock clocks with the stock cooler. I am going to upgrade my PC and was thinking about going for an Intel build this time around.

The CPU I'm currently considering is the core i7 3770.

The 3770 has 4cores/8threads and my current 1090T has 6cores/6threads.


Questions:

i) Does the 1090T hold any advantages over the 3770 due to having a higher number of cores?
ii) Are there any games that can take advantage of the six cores? How will the 3770 perform with the upcoming game titles, considering that it is a quad-core?
iii) How long do you suppose I'll be able to run games at max settings with the 3770, considering a possible GPU upgrade in the near future?
iv) what are the differences between x79 and z77? which would be a better option for gaming purposes?
v) How would an ASUS Sabertooth Z77 be for overclocking? According to ASUS site, it has a 8+4+2 phase design. will it be good enough to achieve ~4.2 GHz with the 3770?
vi) are 'non-K' CPUs overclockable? if so, what speed can I hope to achieve with a 3770 combined with a good PSU and a liquid cooler (possibly Corsair H80)?


My sole purpose for the upgrade is gaming at max settings and I wont be able to upgrade for at least another 3 years. I'm currently using 1920x1080 screen but hope to upgrade to 2560x1440 in the near future. So please keep these points in mind and advise accordingly.


I'm very much open to suggestions.

Thanks a lot! I really appreciate the help!

Thanks a lot for the replies everyone! I have quite a few more inquiries about my upgrade, so please bear with me!

AFAIK 'non-k' versions have locked multipliers, but are still overclockable. Am I wrong about this? This concerns me because 'k' version of 3770 is not available in my country.But even without overclocking, turbo will provide me with 3.9 GHz at least, right?

It seems like I'm set with the mobo, Sabertooth Z77 will probably be the better option. x8 slots wont be a bottleneck even if I SLI/CF, so thats good.

About GPU :
I had been considering a GTX 690 until now, but seeing that it has only 2GB of effective memory, now it doesnt seem very "future-proof" to me, esp considering that a few games cross the 2GB limit.
I have found out that EVGA has 4GB versions of GTX 680. I am considering two of them in SLI right now. How does that sound?


Please note the following :
i) I have never used CF/SLI setups before, so it'd really help if you could tell me about its demerits (heat issues, excessive stuttering etc.)
ii) I am currently not biased towards any brand, so feel free to suggest the option that you think would be best for me.
iii) Before ruling out the need for 4GB buffer, please consider the fact that I want to run ALL upcoming titles, port or not, at max settings (full MSAA/FXAA) @2560x1440 resolution @60+ FPS for the next 3 years.

I cannot stress enough on how important the bolded part is.

A little recap : I had been considering the MSI R7970 Lightning until I checked out some benchmarks and found out that the 690 rules over any other card when it comes to FPS. Thats when I thought about going for it. But now this VRAM issue has come up.

Also another issue that I have noticed being discussed about is whether its AMD thats better or Nvidia when judging solely on the basis of Image Quality and color reproduction. Please enlighten me about this as well.


Lastly, I cannot afford to run into any sort of bottlenecks within the next 3 years, esp after I spend a fortune. I know its impossible to predict what the future holds, but still, suggest/advise me as much a future-proof setup that can be built right now.


Thanks a lot! I really appreciate all of you taking the time to help me with this!

I have another question.

Is there any LGA1155 motherboard that can fully utilize a 3-way crossfire setup with 3 7970s? The CPU still has to be 3770 though.

What I've come across is that LGA1155 CPUs only provides 16-lane pcie lanes in total, so a 3-way crossfire setup would not be compatible with it. Am I right?

What would I have to do in order to use a 3-way crossfire setup and assure that the setup will use the GPUs to its full potential?


Thanks a lot!