Upgrade or Replace?

[cheap engineeer]

I'm considering replacing my current PC but was wondering if it would be worth it to upgrade it instead. Here is my rig:

Intel Q6600 GO
2 gigs of Corsiar XMS DDR2800
Nvidia Geforce 8800GT


Now, the issue is that I started with a Dell PC, so I am unable to overclock. Would it be worth buying a new MB, HS, and possibly another 2 gigs of ram or a whole new i5 rig? I use the PC for mostly gaming at 1920X1080 resolution. Thanks for any input.

 

[loneninja]

Your 8800GT is the bottleneck at that resolution in almost any game you play when using a stock Q6600. Sure a faster processor could help some in a few games, but if you looking for a real fps boast and any kind of increase in visual settings, a better gpu like a 5850 will be a much better upgrade.

 

[Bluescreendeath]

If you buy a new mobo, you can re-use your CPU, RAM, GPU, hard drive, DVD drive, and maybe the power supply. If you go for a system, you can't reuse your CPU or RAM (maybe RAM if you go for a DDR2 AMD system).

Overclocking will bring your performance up to slightly under i5 levels, while i5s are more future proof and overclock very well.

It's up to you - do you have a large budget?