I am thinking of upgrading my computer. I already know what I will be getting. It fits my price point. My question is will I see a significant improvement over my current setup, or just a slight improvement.  
 
 
Current setup
 
Dual core operteron @ 2.2
2 gigs of DDR PC3200 slightly oced
450 watt psu
evga 7900gt
audigy2
primary hd is a 7200rpm sata
 
 
 
Planned upgrade
 
I plan on getting:
 
Intel Dual Core E2180 (I got my brother one of these for xmas and got it from 1.8 to 3.0 ghz on stock cooling. Eventually i will pop a quad in here.
 
2 gigs of ddr2 ram (havent decided, depends on what good brand is on sale at the time of purchase)
 
 
Mobo: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6813128059
 
I will be keeping the rest of my system and just move it over.
 
 
I know that my current system is dated, but it isnt that bad. I know that the faster processor and ram will help. Will i see a significant increase though? This upgrade will cost me around $300, which is my price point. If I wont see a significant increase then it probably isnt worth it as I am not as much of a gamer as I used to be. I dont have problems running games on my current system unless i crank the graphics. mainly play CoD4, Heroes of Might and Magic 5, and Dod 1.3.
 
Thanks.

It depends on what kind of applications you are talking about. If you're talking about day-to-day simply computing (going online, check email, word processing), then you should see a moderate improvement over the Opteron. If you're talking about more intensive tasks, like video editing, adobe, photoshop, and sorts, you should see significant improvement over the Opteron.

Generally gaming and some rendering here and there. I was looking for improvements in gaming more than anything.

Then you will see significant improvement, even more so if you overclock it.

trash it
 
go ddr3 and intel chipset

Nah, DDR3 isn't worth it right now for Intel stuff. I'd go DDR2, either 800 or 1066.

Is my cpu bottlenecking my GPU, or other way around.

 
 
what a joke - why must the dragon spray on all who disagree - since i am rarely wrong!
 
I DID NOT SAY NEVER!
 
DDR3 IS NOW SELLING FOR $200 FOR GOOD RAM
4GB OF FAST DDR1600 7-7-7 CAN BE HAD FOR $300
 
DUDE!  this is all that works with the new 45nm revolution soon to hit us called nehalem. with a lifetime warranty its worth investing now!
 
you will need 3 sticks (triple channel - ram will come in sets of 3) so remember you need 3 sets - look for 6 slot ddr3 mobos ( i am guessing it only makes sense)
 
 
the dragon has spoken!

wow i am right again
 
i just went to newegg and they have 4gb of ddr3 for $200 this is 7-7-7 1333
 
run it 8-8-8 1.9v you have fsb1700 ram and 425oc
 
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6820220286
 
i amaze my self - wow the ram i have in stock is dropping like a rock - ouch!
 
nehalem will being price increase as they are ddr3 only and 3 stick sets (i an guessing 3 sets since its triple channel - how else would you do it?)

While I would love to be able to drop $200 on ram alone that is just not possible. I am in grad school and can not afford to spend that much money on a single component. I am just looking for a good bang for buck type of upgrade that will set me up for a quad core eventually.
 
I reiterate my previous question. Is my GPU the bottleneck, or is my CPU the bottleneck.  
 
Thanks for your input thus far.

how about $92?
 
you can get 1333 ddr3 for $100 now! make that $92
 
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6820145182
 
 
runs 8-8-8 with 1.7v
 
i bet you can get 7-7-7 w/ 1.8-1.85v
 
do not run ddr3 over 1.95v
 
always check the ram if its warm or hot use an air cooler - depending on your cpu cooler. most coolers fire at the rear fan and pull air over the ram

Actually, you have a point, soon with Nehalem it'll better investing in ddr3, but on the contrary, he is not in need of it since his most probable second upgrade acording to what he said is a quad core, then stay with ddr2.