Need help with a computer upgrade

[Rhunyor]

Hello, everyone. I was hoping to get some help with an upgrade I'm thinking about doing with my PC. I'm pretty much a novice when it comes to such things and have gotten a lot of help from friends in the past, so I apologize if I do not understand tech terms as well as others. Anyway, I'm aiming to get my PC on par for the games coming out these days (specifically PS2) and any help any of you can give me would be much appreciated.

1. Are you building this computer yourself or having one built for you (Like HP, Alienware, or even a small shop)?

I'm building the computer for myself

2. What is your budget and does that include shipping/taxes?

I am trying to stay under $400

3. Where do you live (Please list town, state, and country)?

My current residence is Ohio in the U.S.

4. What do you need this computer to do (like gaming, Photoshop, and so on)?

Gaming

5. What parts will you need for the computer? List what parts specifically, saying you need everything will not do.

Power supply, RAM, maybe a new Motherboard/CPU if I can afford it/ it is necessary

6. Are you reusing any parts for this computer? If so say what parts (make and model).

This is what I am running on at the moment. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883107657 I have upgraded the video card to a Nvidia GeForce GTX 260 and it has a new case (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119216) I am also reusing my hard drive

7. What kind of monitor/resolution do you have or want to get to use for the computer?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824176161

8. Do you have already have a OS or do you need one? What OS is that?

I am running on Windows Vista 64bit Home edition

9. What are you looking for the motherboard to have feature wise? Like SLI, Crossfire, Firewire, USB 3.0, Sata 6.0 Gb/s, and so on.

I honestly have no idea. I simply want the new components to work with the reused ones and not bottleneck.

10. Any plans to overclock the CPU or GPU?

No.

11. What time kind of time frame are you planning on ordering these parts?
Hopefully soon. Perhaps within the next week or 2.

Thanks again for any help you all can give me. Let me know if you need any more information to assist you with my upgrade :)

[Goku]

Your system right now is well balanced. A CPU upgrade won't be of much benefit to you. You can upgrade the video card, but you will start to run into a bottleneck due to how low clocked your Q6600 compared to say a Q9650 (3GHz vs 2.4GHz). I am pretty certain your current rig will be playable with the game. Not on the higher settings, but a mix of low/med most likely.

I think you maybe best off saving an additional $500 to upgrade your whole computer. You could aim to get a Haswell (next generation Intel CPU) system come next Spring along with a better card as well due to next gen being out by then.

If you must upgrade now I would probably wait for the 660 Ti to be released and get a new PSU with that. Then possibly get a new CPU/mobo/ram when you can afford it. That would be another $300-$350 depending on what you are looking at getting.

[Rhunyor]

Would you recommend getting more RAM until then or would it go to waste because of my other components? I was hoping to get my system to at least 8g because it seems to be about the recommended no-a-days. Also, if it would be beneficial to get it, would it make a difference in the FPS/ offer me more options with graphics settings on games?

[Goku]

You can't put DDR3 into your system. DDR2 is what you need. That costs $50 for 4GB and normally mixing ram isn't the best idea as it can cause stability issues. With that you are possibly looking at $100 for 8GB, and that isn't worthwhile whatsoever. You won't really see a improvement in any games either.

Either look into a 660 Ti if you plan on upgrading to a new CPU within the next year or just save up for a whole new comp IMO. Another option is to just grab a GTX 560 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814500225). You will notice a boost with that I do know in all games, probably not worth spending the extra money on a Ti version either.

[Rhunyor]

Thanks for all of the help. It is very much appreciated.

[Goku]

Of course. If you have any further questions feel free to ask.