Summer upgrade advice

[Chi_D]

Hi, I'm looking to upgrade around June/July (Possible early B day treat )so I thought I'll start looking for some components.

My current system:

Amd+3200
gigabyte Mboard
17" LG monitor <-- will use as dual monitor
Seagtgate 160GB <--keep
Geforce 5200fx
Thermaltake Case Tsunami <--looking to keep
Thermaltake 480W butterfly <--Not usable for upgrade?
2gig Ram curical brand
Win XP


My main usage would be gaming and applications like Zbrush, 3ds max, Photoshop and Painter. I'm looking for a mid-high range PC and would like some advice on components please:

Cpu - Quad pro 6600?
Mboard - No idea yet
Graphics - No idea yet (Should be able to handle UT3, Gears of war 2 etc)
Ram - No idea yet
Power supply - No idea yet (to fit in my Tsunami)
Monitor - 20"-22" plus
Win vista - I don't have internet at home, does this require internet to install?

Im not sure about doing any overcloacking since I don't know much about doing that yet. Thanks in advance.

 

[Chi_D]

I've just had a quick read on the hothardware site and says the Phenom X3 8750 is roughly on par with Core 2 Duo E6850 or E8400, and cheaper than the Q6600 and Q9300 (in dollars as of 23rd April). Whats the performance difference between these CPUs?

What new Graphics card are being released this summer? I'm looking around the £200 mark, possibly 9800 series.

 

[Chi_D]

I don't have much internet time at university; I know there are many people in this forum who know their tech stuff and so I appreicate any info from you guys. I think dual core is enough but the applications like 3ds max and zbrush would benefit more from the quad and future apps and games.