I've never done this before, so I have loads of questions.... My spec is in my sig.
 
Is upgrading the processor more important than the mobo? I see there are Haswell's that have the same socket as mine. I also see Mobos that I would guess are upgrades that use DDR3. I expect to get 16gb more for 32 gb.
 
While SSD's were a decided performance boost, it still seems the system could breathe easier. I am looking at getting away from my mobo (P8p67 Rev 3.1) that seems a bit long in the tooth. I do almost all ITB work with large libraries. A UAD Apollo (likely USB) is in my future as well. I have had zero problems with Asus, so recommendations from their stable are appreciated. I currently use a RME 9632, UAD Duo pcie in the hardware dept.
 
Would a upgrade from my i7 2600k be in order if I make the mobo move? Which? I guess that would also mean upgrade to DDR4 RAM? This will likely get pricey quick. But I won't know if I don't ask... Thanks

 If I had your system and were considering an upgrade I would upgrade motherboard, cpu and memory. The next generation cpus aren't compatible with older motherboards.
Some vendors regularly offer cpu/motherboard combination deals, so you would be getting the motherboard matched for the cpu. These come at different price points depending on the level of hardware you want/need. Good luck!

Thanks much for the info! I guess I need to do some digging to get to the best fit for my setup. Anyone that knows of a great value for mobo/cpu ' I'm all ears....

I have an i5 2500K and had the same motherboard as you (P8P67).  I had problems constantly with stuttering even at the highest buffer and with disabling the interent, etc.
 
over Christmas break, I decided to upgrade my motherboard, but kept the processor and RAM that I had (DDR3 - 16G).  I did this because of a couple of reasons:
 
I didn't upgrade the processor because to upgrade it would have cost $250 to $300, and from everything I saw, the benefit of going from a 2500K to a 4690 or 4790 was not going to give me the performance increase I thought would be worth the cost of the processor.
 
I kept the RAM for the same reason.  yes, I'd get an increase in performance if I got some faster RAM and more of it, but again my cost vs. performance increase just didn't seem to be in the right ratio to me.
 
so, I kept my processor and RAM and upgraded to the best board I could find with the latest technology I could find which supported that processor (and was wasn't cost prohibitive).  so I ordered an ASROCK Z77 Extreme4.
 
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157293
 
looks like they're out of stock on this one, now.  hope that doesn't mean that's the end of line for them, but bottom line, I would look for a Z77 chipset motherboard or better (just make sure it supports the 1155 socket if you decide to keep the 2600K)
 
I also added an SSD in place of my OS drive.  I bought a Samsung EVO 850 500M.
 
again, using my EXISTING 2500K and 16G DDR3 with a new ASROCK Z77 and a 500M SSD, my system ROCKS now!  I spent $300 total on the SSD and the motherboard and the difference is PHENOMENAL!
 
the new motherboard doesn't have any of the DPC latency problems I had before and the SSD is just awesome!
 
just my experience.

Thanks very much Starise and Beagle. I appreciate getting multiple options for upgrading. I'm debating financially whether to go next gen or not, as it is pretty costly. Was the removal/install of the processor difficult, Beagle?

I am in the process of switching over to the ASROC Z77 Extreme4 as well.  Right now I am running a 3.0 GHz i3 processor with 8 GB RAM.  I do not do a lot of MIDI so it should be OK.  I am doing this because my old Gigabyte AMD setup was noisey.  I could hear the hard drives through the monitors.  The noise would NOT be on any of the mixes, but it was annoying just the same.  Plus the ASROCK is in my Antec Sonata case which is known for being very quiet!
 
I put in a 256GB SSD for the OS and will put in a 250g SSD for samples in the future.  Right now I am using an older 500GB hard drive for everything else and it seems fine.
I am happy so far.
 
 

I have two ASRock Z77 boards with i7 3770 CPU's and 16GB of RAM.  Both work flawlessly (better than either an ASUS P8 Z77 motherboard or a Gigabyte Z77 motherboard) but if I were to upgrade it would involve a current generation motherboard and CPU, not the old Z77's (and CPU's) which are becoming hard to find. 
 
   

jshep0102
Thanks very much Starise and Beagle. I appreciate getting multiple options for upgrading. I'm debating financially whether to go next gen or not, as it is pretty costly. Was the removal/install of the processor difficult, Beagle?

that's a great question and was my NUMBER ONE concern about the entire upgrade.
it went just FINE!  it was a lot easier than I imagined! 
I just googled a youtube video or two of the process before I started and it was very easy to do.
once you get the processor removed, make sure and clean the old thermal grease residue from the top of the processor and the bottom of the heatsink.  i just used common isopropyl alcohol and it worked well.
also make sure and put NEW thermal grease on the processor before putting the heatsink back on it on the new board.

I am doing a 40 track project with just one soft synth ( granted it's a loaded Steven Slate Drums kit), with EVERY track other than the synth frozen. 1024 buffers. System can hardly stay alive to export the project. I have to do something. It sounds phenominal, but it's not gonna get me to point B when the going gets tough.

jshep0102
I am doing a 40 track project with just one soft synth ( granted it's a loaded Steven Slate Drums kit), with EVERY track other than the synth frozen. 1024 buffers. System can hardly stay alive to export the project. I have to do something. It sounds phenominal, but it's not gonna get me to point B when the going gets tough.

I was at the same point.  My system wasn't that bad 4 years ago when I built it new, but even after loading a fresh copy of win7 and starting from scratch on the 1T drive this past summer, I was still having problems with stuttering at 1024 buffers and running a couple of synths.
 
I have absolutely no problem with that same project now.
 
I don't disagree with those above who have advised you to get a newer processor and a newer motherboard.  the Z77 is an older chipset now.  if you can afford a newer 6th gen i7 and LGA 1151 H170 (or better yet Q170!) motherboard and DDR4, then absolutely go for it! 
 
personally, I couldn't justify the cost of upgrading that much, so I compromised and I'm still very happy with the result for what I paid for the upgrade.