Upgrade advice?

[AstroCat]

Current System:
CPU: AMD Athlon 64 4000+ San Diego 2.4GHz Socket 939 Processor
MB: Asus A8N-SLI Premium
Video: EVGA 768-P2-N831-AR GeForce 8800GTX 768MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP
Case: Antec Solution SLK3000-B Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
PS: ENERMAX Noisetaker EG701AX-VE SFMA(24P) EPS12V 600W Power Supply
HS: Thermalright XP-120 CPU Cooling Heatsink
Fans: 3 x Acoustifan 120mm 1 on the Heatsink and 2 in the case (back and front)
HD1 OS/Aps: SAMSUNG SpinPoint P Series SP1614C 160GB 7200 RPM Serial ATA150 Hard Drive
HD2 Media: Maxtor DiamondMax 10 6L300S0 300GB 7200 RPM Serial ATA150 Hard Drive
Memory: CORSAIR XMS 2GB (2 x 1GB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM DDR 400 (PC 3200) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model Twinx2048-3200c2
Sound: Creative 70SB046A00000 7.1 Channels PCI Interface Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeGamer Fatal1ty Professional Series
DVDR: LITE-ON 20X DVD±R DVD Burner With 12X DVD-RAM Write Black SATA Model LH-20A1S

Looking to finally upgrade but I am having a hard time this time around picking a time to "jump in".
Should I wait for X48 or go for a X38 with DDR3 now? Thinking 6850 or 6600 IC or wait?

I admit gaming is a big driving factor in my upgrade.

New 2007 system (So far)
CPU:
MB:
Video: EVGA 768-P2-N831-AR GeForce 8800GTX 768MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP
PS: CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX ATX12V / EPS12V 750W (Not yet purchased)
Memory: (4G)
HD1 OS/Apps: Western Digital Raptor WD1500ADFD 150GB 10,000 RPM Serial ATA150 (Not yet purchased)
part1: winxp 15G (OS plus misc)
part2: Vista64 25G (OS plus misc)
part3: Games 90G (Games)
part4: Apps 20G (10gig per OS, I usually burn 4-5gig for apps max, so that's double for both, should be fine)
HD2 Media: Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD7500AAKS 750GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s
DVDR: LITE-ON 20X DVD±R DVD Burner with 12X DVD-RAM write LightScribe Technology Black E-IDE/ATAPI Model LH-20A1H-185
Sound: Creative 70SB046A00000 7.1 Channels PCI Interface Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeGamer Fatal1ty Professional Series
Heatsink: Thermalright Ultra-120 eXtreme
Case: Antec P182
Fans for CPU and Case: (1 x Scythe S-FLEX SFF21E 120mm 1200RPM for CPU, 3 x Scythe S-FLEX SFF21D 120mm 800RPM for case fans)

My budget for CPU/MB/Mem/HD1/PS I hope to keep around $1500, but I could go higher if needed.

Thanks for any advice!

 

[MarcVenice]

Tbh, your rig is pretty up to date, the CPU shouldn't really be struggling with games jusyt yet. I'd wait till phenom and penryn come out. DDR3 is a waste of money. If you want a kickass PSU, go for the etasis 750w for 100$ AR at newegg.com.

 

[AstroCat]

I am thinking I need to wait till the new ICs in Jan. Then make the upgrade, maybe to the Q9550? I haven't upgraded in a while so I got the bug. If I can just wait a couple more months!

 

[MarcVenice]

Thing is, you've got 1 hell of a videocard, and a decent CPU. Of course a dual or quad would be a better match for the 8800gtx, but I doubt many if any games aren't performing good enough. You could for example buy the case and the PSU though. I got the p182 myself and I love it, and I plan on using it for my next build. The psu should easily last 5 years as well and comes for 100$ AR right now. If you want a raptor, which is nothing more then a noisy HD if you ask me, then you could buy it right now, and enjoy it, and reuse it in your new rig. As for mobo/cpu I'd rather wait though. You could also buy the thermalright ultra 120 Extreme btw, and overclock the hell out of your CPU.