Looking for an upgrade

Hi everyone - I could use some advice.

I am currently running a system with the following key specs:

* Intel Core 2 Extreme Q6850 3GHz (overclocked to 3.6GHz)
* 2x Nvidia GeForce 8800 Ultra (in SLI)
* 2GB RAM
* Vista 32-bit
* 10k RPM system/pagefile drive
* 7200 RPM storage/application drive

I would like to upgrade to something that's going to give me appreciably better performance at 1920x1200 resolution in most modern FPS games (Modern Warfare 2, L4D2, Borderlands, Bioshock 2, etc.) though I'm not a Crysis guy.  I also play a decent amount of World of Warcraft and other MMOs.

I already have the monitor, keyboard, and mouse.  I would prefer an optical drive that's capable of burning CDs and DVDs but do not need any Blu-ray.  I don't need any wireless networking or Bluetooth support.  I am not religious about my video card brand, I've owned nvidia and ATI both when they were good.   I'd consider liquid cooling but prefer air-cooled systems.  Case size and noise are no object to me.

I am completely out of the loop re:hardware and I'm just starting to do the research, so to the extent folks can explain their choices, I would be grateful.  My main objectives would be to have significantly better overall gaming performance in 1920x1200 than my current system, and I'd prefer for no single aspect of performance to be any worse than I already have.

I know I haven't given a budget for this yet, but I'm trying to understand where the break points are - that is, what would be the big performance differences between, say, $2k vs. $5k?  In other words, what kind of differences could I expect in 1920x1200 on a $2k system vs. a $5k system?  What is a realistic budget for being able to play all of the games listed above at 50+ FPS at highest detail settings (or possibly highest detail but with somewhat lowered AA) @ 1920x1200?

alittle over 2k after promotion

Honestly around 3k is the sweet spot

this is all you need for the games you named, there is no need for 2 x 5870, its overkill for no reason, 1 x 5870 will give 50 to 60 fps in those games and above that you will not notice the difference:

Here you go Ticket# 376490 --- Price: $2355 (To see this build click here) Price after current promotion $2355

Copy of Specifications:
Chassis Model: Special Deal Hot Seller - Cooler Master HAF 932
Exterior Finish: - Not Available
Trim Accents: - Not Available
Processor: Intel Core i7 920 2.66GHz (Quad Core)
Motherboard: EVGA X58 3X SLI (Intel X58 Chipset) (Supports Triple SLI or CrossFire)
System Memory: 6GB DDR3 1600MHz Digital Storm Certified Performance Series (Highly Recommended) (Hand Tested)
Power Supply: 1000W Corsair (Dual/Triple/Quad SLI Compatible)
Expansion Bay: - Not Available
Hard Drive Set 1: Operating System: 1x (500GB Western Digital (16MB Cache) (7200 RPM) (SATA)
Set 1 Raid Options: - Not Available
Hard Drive Set 2: Multimedia\Data: - No Thanks
Hard Drive Set 3: Backup\Misc.: - No Thanks
Optical Drive 1: DVD±R/RW/CD-R/RW (DVD Writer 22x / CD-Writer 48x)
Optical Drive 2: - No Thanks
Internet Access: High Speed Network Port (Supports High-Speed Cable / DSL / Network Connections)
Video Card: 1x ATI Radeon HD 5870 1GB
Add-on Card: - No Thanks
Sound Card: Integrated Motherboard Audio
Extreme Cooling: AIR: Stage 1: Noctua Dual 120mm Fans High Performance Cooler (Compatible With ONLY i7 Processors)
H20 Tube Color:- Not Available
Chassis Airflow: Standard Factory Chassis Fans
Internal Lighting: Internal Chassis Lighting System (Red)
Enhancements: - Not Available
Chassis Mods: - Not Available
Noise Reduction: - Not Available
Boost Processor: FREE: Stage 1: Overclock the processor between 3.3GHz to 3.9GHz (Requires Air Cooling Upgrade)
Boost Video Card: - Not Available
Boost Memory: - Not Available
Boost OS: - Not Available
Windows OS: Microsoft Windows 7 Professional (64-Bit Edition)
Restore Kit: Digital Storm Specialized Recovery System (DVD Image Based)
Virus Protection: - Not Available
Office: - Not Available
Benchmarking: - Not Available
Install/Test Game: FREE: Please include a free copy of a hot-selling game
Display: - No Thanks
Surge Shield: - No Thanks
Speakers: - No Thanks
Keyboard: - No Thanks
Mouse: - No Thanks
External Storage: - No Thanks
Exclusive T-Shirt: FREE: Digital Storm T-Shirt - Black (Large)
Priority Build: - No Thanks, Ship Within 5-10 Business Days After Order Is Successfully Processed
Warranty: 3 Year Platinum Care Extended Parts & Labor Warranty

if you want you can add a faster drive, veloci or ssd, ssd will be the fastest and the difference is in load times, faster drive will load apps/games/os faster.

but if fps you will not notice the difference between 2 x 5870 and 1 x 5870 or ssd vs HDD.

as far as future proof I couldn't disagree more, I have no reason to put an extra gpu in my system to draw power and put out heat when I don't need it at all, just so if I ever upgrade I have enough gpu, instead I would go with one gpu and then when I upgrade the monitor I will decide if I want to go with a then new gpu which should be more powerful or add a second 5870 for much cheaper at that time.

Edited by DST4ME - 22 Jan 2010 at 5:54pm

well my build is just the base to keep cost down, if he can do so, I would recommend a ssd and as you said a second larger drive for file storage as hdd2:

HDD1 = os/apps/games

HDD2 = media/personal/work file storage

Don't fill up your HDD1 more then 50%, if think you will need more room for it then pick a bigger one.

lol ok now don't build me up too high, I will just fall further

yes trim is a factor, make less work to restore the ssd's performance, the once offered here support trim from what I understand. (ocz,corsair,intel)

its simple if you can afford it then go ssd if not then veloci, if not the regular HDD.

@DST4ME,

@DST4ME,

Edited by Newbieevgaati - 23 Jan 2010 at 9:06am