Help choosing motherboard for: Gaming/Animation/Modeling

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.