Gameing Rig, What needs to be done

[centralhigh76]

Ellow Guys!,

Alright I need to 'Perfect' my gaming rig and I don't know what needs to be added to make it the best for gaming (ex. 2GB more RAM, New Graphics Card, ect.) Also, What order should they be upgraded (Priority) (ex. Get at least 1GB RAM before the next Graphics Card)

Specs:
APEVIA 500XSPX 500Watt
Intel Core 2 Quad Q9450 @ 2.66GHz
EVGA NFORCE 680I SLI 775mb (SEE 'Motherboard & CPU)
3GB DDR2 RAM
2x 1 TB 7200 RPM
NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GTX 1GB
Creative X-fi Sound Blaster Titanium Edition
Windows XP Professional SP3 32bit
SIGMA Unicorn Case

Motherboard & CPU:
BEFORE YOU MAKE ANY COMMENTS REGARDING THE COMPATIBILITY READ THIS!
I know that the Q9450 and the 680I do not work together the company that built my computer put them together and contacting them regarding this issue they said this 'In our eyes these 2 components are compatible to sell and do not void any warranty regarding theses 2 products' they went on to say 'Due to the fact that we see them as compatible we can not help you' I WILL be purchasing the NVIDIA® nForce® 790i Ultra SLI motherboard later this year.

Things to Update/Upgrade:
I will be updating my Motherboard later this year to the NVIDIA® nForce® 790i Ultra SLI.

I want to upgrade my Graphics card; When I say this a lot of people tell me its a great card but never why (It was great at its time but now its too old and lacking the power) What will be a good card to Upgrade too. I want something new so I don't need to get a new one in 3 years, so that rules out the 9800GTX (In my mind unless you disagree).

RAM I need more RAM 3GB is ok but, I want at least 4GB or more.

Anything else you think I need to upgrade let me know.

Recomendations:
Recomend any Motherboards, Graphics Cards, and RAM to me as I am not the best at knowing wahts good and what is not. ALSO!! If you recomend something make sure it will work with my existing setup OR Say what would be reqired.

The specs are for gaming and thats all i need them to do. I'm not an overclocker and all my other work (Final Cut Pro, Sony Vegas, Photoshop, ect.) i do on another computer that is made for it (12GB RAM HOLLY S%#*) The Game(s) I mostly play (Other than BF2 R) is ARMA 2/A2OA, and FSX so it needs power.

NOTE:
If you could try to keep the structure of how I have it setup that would be great

Thanks a TON Guys,
Mike

[Brainlaag]

Hey mate,
well IMO you should upgrade your GPU (ex. 480GTX/470GTX/295GTX....-->only if you have a lot of money *HD5970*/HD5870/HD5850) and a bit more RAM would not hurt (3x2GB DDR3..or +3GB DDR2). About your CPU, well Im not so familiar with the Intel Q-series, but you should consider an upgrade to an i5 (works with your Board) in like half a year/year

TIPP: If you upgrade your GPU make sure you get a stronger power pack around 700W-800W(CORSAIR best IMO)

Edit: Sry I haven't seen that you are about to buy a Nvidia Board, forget the ATi cards then.

Short list:
CPU: Intel i7 960/930/870
GPU: Nvidia GeForce 480/470/295 GTX
Motherboard: Asus Rampage III Extreme/Asus Maximus III Extreme/Asus Sabertooth/MSI Titan/MSI Big Bang-Fuzion *Asus Rampage II Extreme-->still damn good (yeah I know I LUV Asus)
Power Supply: Corsair AX850/HX850/TX850
Fan:Corsair Air Series A70
Memory: OCZ 3x2 GB DDR3 Triple Channel 1600MHz Fatal1ty/OCZ 4x2GB DDR3 Dual Channel 1800MHz Platinum

You can have everything, it depends only on your wallet

[centralhigh76]

I'm going to keep the cpu I don't need to upgrade to an i5 or i7 yet. My CPU is only 3years old and of nice quality. The main factors to me are the GPU and the Motherboard. I would like to avoid upgrading the power supply if possible but yes I know it needs to be upgraded. Ive priced out a new one $300 for a 900 WATT (Go big or Go home right, lol, If i'm going to upgrade it I don't want to upgrade later)

With my New Motherboard will the power supply need to be upgraded?

I looked at the cost of the 480GTX that is out of my price range (and I would need a new psu) Any thing else is the $300 - $100 price range.

Ive looked at more RAM but thats not on the top of my list. (2GB 2GB 1GB 1GB Will be the new arrangement)

[boom50cal]

GTX460 FTW. It's like the new "8800" cards. Crazy powerful, two of them beat a single GTX480( EVGA GTX 460 SLI vs GTX 480 - Reviews - Reviews - Fudzilla ) and they are ALOT less power consuming, and less heat too. The 1GB versions are the way to go for single cards, I don't think it matters too much in an SLI situation. Can be found for $200 - $350 I think. Check out newegg.com for them. Don't get the cards that are like $30 more for factory OCing. Or get two HD5770's. They have been doing really good everywhere for quite awhile.

[charliegrs]

I know your saying you want to increase your RAM, but doesnt win XP only support 3 gigs max? Im pretty sure thats the case. You may want to upgrade to windows 7 I think it supports up to 4 gigs. Im not 100 percent sure on any of this, but you will definitly want to check and make sure before you spend any money on RAM.

[centralhigh76]

charliegrs thanks for the tip ill look into it I would LOVE to upgrade to windows 7 BUT (always the but) in order to keep my files i would need to upgrade to vista then win7 because the great and powerful Microsoft has made it that way (but I can check with my computer techs that I take my computer in to and see what they think) Is it easier to upgrade windows 32bit to 64bit. Also would 64bit be able to hold more ram i cant find an answer on google.

The max RAM Windows XP 32 can hold is 4GB RAM, as for the sam as Windows 7

So if the RAM limit is true then HOW THE HECK DO PEOPLE HAVE 8GB+ OF RAM!!!!