System upgrade...

[EdBruno]

Current specs:

Western Digital Caviar Blue WD6400AAKS 640GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5"

LITE-ON 20X DVD±R DVD Burner with LightScribe Black SATA Model LH-20A1L-

ARCTIC COOLING Freezer 7 Pro Rev.2 92mm Fluid Dynamic CPU Cooler

ASUS P5Q Pro LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard

G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F2-6400CL5D-4GBPQ

ASUS EAH4850/HTDI/512M Radeon HD 4850 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express

Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Kentsfield 2.4GHz LGA 775 Quad-Core Processor BX80562Q6600

CORSAIR Enthusiast Series CMPSU-650TX 650W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Compatible ...

Antec Nine Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

Windows Vista x64 OEM

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1. What YOUR PC will be used for. That means what types of tasks you'll be performing.

Gaming, web surfing, home office. Mostly gaming (Bad Company 2, COD Black Ops, etc...).

2. What YOUR budget is. A price range is acceptable as long as it's not more than a 20% spread

~$1000.00 USD

3. What country YOU will be buying YOUR parts from.

USA

4. IF YOU have a brand preference. That means, are you an Intel-Fanboy, AMD-Fanboy, ATI-Fanboy, nVidia-Fanboy, Seagate-Fanboy, WD-Fanboy, etc.

No preference.

5. If YOU intend on using any of YOUR current parts, and if so, what those parts are.

Please tell me what's worth salvaging from my current build.

6. IF YOU have searched and/or read similar threads.

Have looked...but not sure what to do.

7. IF YOU plan on overclocking or run the system at default speeds.

Default

8. What resolution YOU plan on gaming with.

1680x1050

9. WHEN do you plan to build it?

< 6 months

 

[Numenorean]

You don't need to upgrade.

You could buy a new top of the line video card or do an SLI setup if you are finding that your system won't play the games you want.

You could probably overclock that CPU to at least 2.8-3GHz fairly easily.

You could buy an SSD.

 

[NEWYORKJETS000]

why do you not like yours now? why do you want to upgrade..

 

[EdBruno]

why do you not like yours now? why do you want to upgrade..

I'd like to be able to play games on higher(est) settings. Can't do that now, can only play smoothly on lowest settings.

 

[Numenorean]

I'd like to be able to play games on higher(est) settings. Can't do that now, can only play smoothly on lowest settings.

I really doubt that it's your CPU holding you back. Pop in a high end card for playing on high end settings. Or pop two in and SLI them.

 

[mnewsham]

9. WHEN do you plan to build it?

< 6 months

keep reading other threads, in 6 months BD will be out and Z68 will be close. No point in specific just yet.

 

[mfenn]

keep reading other threads, in 6 months BD will be out and Z68 will be close. No point in specific just yet.

This.

OP, your core system is fine, you just need a GPU upgrade. Toss a 6950 or GTX 570 into your current system and call it a day.

 

[fffblackmage]

First thing to do is upgrade the graphics card. Much cheaper than buying an entire system along with the graphics card. If that really doesn't work, then do the whole system upgrade.

 

[EdBruno]

This.

OP, your core system is fine, you just need a GPU upgrade. Toss a 6950 or GTX 570 into your current system and call it a day.

So, just checking... my Corsair 650TX power supply is strong enough to handle either of these cards?

Thanks!

 

[Numenorean]

So, just checking... my Corsair 650TX power supply is strong enough to handle either of these cards?

Thanks!

You could probably power two of them without issue.

 

[mfenn]

So, just checking... my Corsair 650TX power supply is strong enough to handle either of these cards?

Thanks!

Yep, you should be fine.