Upgrading.. good idea?

[audioscribbler]

Hi guys, I'm thinking of upgrading. After much deliberation (and thanks to everyone who replied to my other thread) I have decided to go to these parts:

E8400 Processor
P35 Motherboard
4870 GFX Card
4 GB Ram
610 PSU

What is everybody's opinions? At the moment I have:

Intel(R) Core(TM)2 CPU 6300 @ 1.86GHz
Core Speed 1861.6 MHz (7.0 x 265.9 MHz)
Graphic Interface PCI-Express
Memory Type DDR2
Memory Size 3072 MBytes
Channels Dual
Memory Frequency 199.5 MHz (4:3)

Anything to add/change to this? Any further advice before I go ahead and upgrade? I have a 24" monitor and I would like to place some of the latest games (I understand that I would need a more expensive system to get ultimate qualty, but 'good' quality would be great). Thanks.

Edit: I have just got Windows 64bit, so I plan to probably buy another gig RAM.

 

[GSDog]

It looks pretty good to me but there are a few things that I would change.

I'd upgrade the P35 motherboard to a P45. Look at the Asus P5Q P45 motherboards.
Go for the 1GB version of the ATI 4870 GFX card if you're going to be playing games on a 24".
Which PSU is the 610W? Make sure it's a decent reliable brand like Corsair.
What brand and speed is the RAM?

You should be able to play most/all of the latest games at max settings with that setup, even on a 24" monitor. I am about to buy a very similar setup.

 

[audioscribbler]

It looks pretty good to me but there are a few things that I would change.

I'd upgrade the P35 motherboard to a P45. Look at the Asus P5Q P45 motherboards.
Go for the 1GB version of the ATI 4870 GFX card if you're going to be playing games on a 24".
Which PSU is the 610W? Make sure it's a decent reliable brand like Corsair.
What brand and speed is the RAM?

You should be able to play most/all of the latest games at max settings with that setup, even on a 24" monitor. I am about to buy a very similar setup.

Thanks for the speedy reply. To be honest, I've been told that the 45 is important if I'm looking at crossfire in the future? is that rubbish? Much perfomance gain getting a 45? I do plan to go for the 1GB 4870 ^^ Idd, at that resolution will need the extra. The PSU I'm planning on getting is this one

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-002-PP

Not sure on RAM brand yet! I have 3 gig of bog standard DDR2... should I keep or go for fresh new 4 gig of RAM?

 

[PwnDirect]

Thanks for the speedy reply. To be honest, I've been told that the 45 is important if I'm looking at crossfire in the future? is that rubbish? Much perfomance gain getting a 45? I do plan to go for the 1GB 4870 ^^ Idd, at that resolution will need the extra. The PSU I'm planning on getting is this one

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-002-PP

Not sure on RAM brand yet! I have 3 gig of bog standard DDR2... should I keep or go for fresh new 4 gig of RAM?

If ypu pan on going crossfire you want a x48 mobo tbh
Also for crossfire a 750w pcp&c would be a safer bet.

As for ram what speed & freq is it & what os are you running
But tbh your better of buying fresh as its so cheap at the mo

 

[GSDog]

Thanks for the speedy reply. To be honest, I've been told that the 45 is important if I'm looking at crossfire in the future? is that rubbish? Much perfomance gain getting a 45? I do plan to go for the 1GB 4870 ^^ Idd, at that resolution will need the extra. The PSU I'm planning on getting is this one

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-002-PP

Not sure on RAM brand yet! I have 3 gig of bog standard DDR2... should I keep or go for fresh new 4 gig of RAM?

P45 is definitely worth it if you plan on throwing in another 4870 in the future in crossfire. It will be more future proof and the P45 isn't too much more than the P35 boards.

I'd swap that PSU for the Corsair HX 620W Modular. It will keep your case much tidier, improve airflow and it is extremely reliable. It will also be enough to power your rig easily + another 4870 card in crossfire if you wanted.

It's up to you if you want to keep your current 3GB RAM or not. I would personally sell it and buy a new pair of 2X2GB DDR2 6400 or 8000/8500 ram.