Help choosing motherboard for: Gaming/Animation/Modeling

[saphirekosmos]

Hi,I just entered college and am going to need to upgrade my computer for future classes and for my personal gaming habits. What I need help on is deciding just what motherboard would be good for what I need to do. What the computer will be used for most is the following: Gaming, Animation (2D/3D), #D Modeling, Photoshop, Rendering. I have already decided to go with the Core 2 Quad Q9650. Any advice or opinion would be very welcome and appreciated.

This is what I have now:

Intel P4 3.2GHz with hyper threading
2GB DDR 2 RAM
nVidia 9800 GT 1GB
Stock mid-size case
Windows Vista 32bit

This is what I am aiming for right now:

Intel Core 2 Quad 3.0GHz
4-8(16 if possible)GB RAM DDR2 or 3 (not sure if 3 is worth it or not)
nVidia 9800GT 1GB X2 (SLI)
Full Tower case
Windows 7 64bit

This is not set in stone, I am open to any suggestions if you have them. My budget is about 1000 for the Case, CPU, and RAM. I do not plan on getting another 9800 just yet,but want to in the future; and I can get Windows 7 for free through my school. I am planning on doing the upgrade around Christmas,before if my finances allow it.

Thank you for your time.

 

[the last resort]

i would say i7 920 and 12GB of DDR3 since you say 1000 for case CPU and RAM. Find a good X58 mobo, like the ASUS P6T or Gigabyte UD5 ( http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128362 )

I would recommend 24GB ram, but the only kit on newegg is $1200.

The Antec 1200 is a good full tower case. Also pick up a CPU cooler, such as this one:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835233029

if there is any way that you could sell the other 9800GT in the near future, the 5xxx series is coming out next month, might want to check those out.

The Intel i5's are coming out very soon also, may want to look into those.