I need better hardware! what do i get next?

First of all, have you already purchased these items, or added them to your list of items you want to buy? If you don't already have those items we can make some revisions.

the 8x isn't a problem unless you have a two 4870 X2 or GTX 295.

you really didn't think when you bought your build, you should have gotten a q9550 and a better mobo and PSU.

So best idea would be to get a Silverstone 750w PSU and a Gigabyte or ASUS 4 series chipset motherboard, maybe a DDR3 one with ddr3 ram if you want to upgrade to a newer PC later or want to overclock further.

i plan to get another 4870. but since you said the 8x in cf wont bottleneck my performance why should i get a new mobo?

IMHO, before you worry about Crossfire, you need to buy a better motherboard. ECS are simply the worst of the cheapest, or cheapest of the worst, however you want to look at it. If I was even thinking of dual graphic cards, and ECS motherboard simply does not fit into that class of gaming rig.

PS, The only PC part you could buy that is possibly worse than an ECS motherboard is a Rosewill power supply.

Rosewill and ECS, I certainly do not mean to offend you, but you could not possibly do worse to start a gaming platform with these parts.

ok so get a new motherboard and power supply. any other suggestions or is the other hardware good enough?

Yeah get a good CPU cooler, you don't need that specific cooler though, there are a lot of good ones out there. Look for these and see if you can afford them, after you buy a new PSU and motherboard: Coolermaster V8, Noctua NH-U12P, Xigmatek S1283 Dark Knight (comes with backplate), Xigamatek HDT-S1283+Xigmatek LGA 775 Crossbow backplate, Sunbeam Core Contact Freezer, Scythe Mugen 2, Akasa Nero AK-967, Thermalright Ultra 120 Extreme.

Now on the MB, Since you want Xfire later, look for a Gigabyte GA-EP45-UD3P or Asus P5Q Pro

On the PSU, look for a ~750W PSU from PC Power & Cooling, Corsair, Silverstone, Seasonic, Thermaltake Toughpower, Enermax, Antec.

so just to confirm. since the second pci express is only 8x it wont affect my my performance? also thanks for all the tips from everyone im prolly gonna purchase a couple of these items. im still trying to understand all this like the mobo i bought was compatible with all my parts and said gaming motherboard with crossfire so i just assumed it was good im quickly learning with pc hardware things arent always as they seem but i guess the only way to learn is to screw up a couple times. or i couldve just asked you guys and saved myself some cash lol

ok so just a couple more questions. first is my memory good enough? and second should i bother going to 8g? is it that big of a diferance? also i forgot to mention i will be running my games (wheelman,assassins creed, cod5 and crysis) in 1920x1080 res so do i need another 4870 or should i just bye another to future proof? thanks for the help

sorry ive been away. anyways what would you suggest 2 4850's in cf or 2 4770's cf? i can afford either

since my moniter is 1080 should i be getting 1g versions of these cards?

ok last question if i buy a 4850x2 then add another 4850, from the specs i provided can i do that? and 2nd will i get much better performance?

well the reason i ask is because ive heard many people say the 4850x2 is better than 4850 cf. is that true or is it only by a little?