Upgrading CPU-mobo-GPU-memory for $700-$800

[zass]

Hello,

I have a fairly old system, built circa 2003. I would like to upgrade it to play Aion. My budget is 700-800. I would like to make this system fairly easy to upgrade when prices go down in the future (add memory, add a second video card for crossfire support)

Current system:
Mainboard : ASUSTeK Computer Inc. K8V
Chipset : VIA K8T800 (VT8383)
Processor : AMD Athlon 64 3200+ @ 2000 MHz
Physical Memory : 3072 MB (3 x 1024 DDR-SDRAM )
Video Card : ATI RADEON 9600 Series (Microsoft Corporation - WDDM)
Hard Disk : Maxtor (82 GB)
Hard Disk : SAMSUNG (160 GB)
DVD-Rom Drive : _NEC DVD_RW ND-2500A ATA Device
Monitor Type : LG Electronics W2453 - 24 inches
Network Card : Marvell Semiconductor (Was: Galileo Technology Ltd) Yukon 88E8001/8003/8010 PCI Gigabit Ethernet Controller (Copper)
Operating System : Windows 7 Ultimate Professional 6.01.7100

My candidates for upgrade are:
CPU: $189: AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition Deneb 3.2GHz 4
Video Card : $260: SAPPHIRE 100282SR Radeon HD 5850
Memory: $100: OCZ Obsidian 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600
Motherboard: $130: ASUS M4A78T-E AM3 AMD 790GX HDMI ATX AMD Motherboard

I did some double checking and found that my current power supply is 20 pin, and the candidate motherboard is 24 pin. So I'd probably have to throw in a power supply too
Power: $50: CORSAIR CMPSU-400CX 400W ATX12V

total : $729

Main uses
Gaming - Aion
Video processing - streaming media to xbox 360

What do you guys think? This way I can add more memory later, and I can always get a second 5850 card for crossfire when they get cheap (like $100 or so). I went for a cheap power supply, but still by corsair.

Any thoughts? I did the most research on CPU/video card, and the least research on Motherboard, Memory, and power supply. Any thoughts welcome, and I'd love to hear specifics on:
* Am I getting the right motherboard for this system?
* Is there a problem with cheap the power suppy?
* Am I overlooking anything in memory? I kind of just clicked on the first link I saw on newegg that looked good.
* Am I forgetting anything else?
* Is there a better deal to be had for the price?
* Thoughts on getting this fairly higher end video card vs going for two cheaper ones via crossfire?
Many thanks for your time!

 

[WR2]

Radeon HD 5850 and CORSAIR CMPSU-400CX 400W PSU are a mis-match. You'll want a good 500W PSU for a 5850 video card.
CORSAIR CMPSU-550VX 550W has an excellent price today $69.99 after $30.00 Mail-In Rebate using a $10 off w/ promo code EMCMLLM64 , ends 10/3

Since you have that ASUS M4A78T-E AM3 AMD 790GX CF MB on your list are you thinking TWO 5850?
I think you'll want to bump up the PSU size for one that includes 4 PCI-e power connectors.

 

[hunter315]

I would suggest this PSU, it will handle 2 5850s with power to spare
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139006&Tpk=750tx
for an AMD system you want dual channel memory not triple channel, this memory have tighter timings and is dual channel so it will boost performance
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231279
the 5850 will hopefully drop in price soon but as it stands it is an excellent value

 

[zass]

Thanks for the really helpful replies!