Advice for first upgrade in a while

[RebelScum]

q8400/750I/4gbDDR2/winXP/GTX 260
22" LG 1080p
budget:$350-500

About to head into my next semester and I am going to be stuck in the dorms for one more year, meaning a lot of video-game-time.

I am going to get win7 for dx11 for BF3, skyrim, dead island

GPU: 6850 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161363 $170
win7: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116986 $100
ram: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820104127 $100
SSD: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820139415 $100

im booting xp off of a HD with no room left on it, boot up/opening programs is too slow, graphics dont support DX11, those are the two main problems im trying to address.

suggestions for what i should do are much appreciated

 

[Emerald]

the ram you chose is DDR3.

does your motherboard support DDR3 memory since you are listing DDR2 in the first line of your post

what type of PSU do you have?

 

[wintermint]

On top of that, he won't even need 12gb ram. 8gb can be found for around $60 before MIR and 4gb for around $35 before MIR

 

[RebelScum]

I thought it did support DDR3, but alas only DDR2 is supported. I was going to try and wait to upgrade my mobo once i upgrade to bulldozer.

Should I put more money into a GPU now and forget the Ram?
Should I wait for bulldozer to upgrade my MB/cpu?

I am not in the loop and chips and cards get outdated so quickly it is hard to tell when I should upgrade...

Any, and all help is very appreciated.

 

[Emerald]

I think for your current build the GPU will be overkill since the CPU will not allow it to reach max speed.

it might be worth waiting until you upgrade the MOBO to buy the GPU. It might even come down in price by then.

 

[rockyjohn]

How about this:

1. Clean your system to improve performance - Have you cleaned the registry lately, removed unnecessay programs that load at startup, defragged your HD. and dumped tempory files on the browser and elsewhere?
2. Purchase a new 1 TB HD now and move all your data to it, and perhaps some application programs if necessary. When you build your new system, just transer the drive over. You may have to remove and reload the apps so they integrate with the system, but not the data. (I am assuming you will get an SSD for the OS and maybe some apps only and will still need a fast HD for it. - Also note that todays HDs are probably faster than the older one you have, but can't be sure since I don't know your vintage)
3. Purchase a new GPU now - why delay the benefit of it. And even if it does not run at full speed now it could give you a nice bump in performance.

Then wait on the rest for bulldozer. Also PCIe 3.0 is just happening now - ASRock just announced the first mobo to have it and others should come soon.

4 GB memory should be fine for now - and no use upgrading it without the Win 7 - I am assuming you have 32 bit now and will be getting 64 bit,

 

[RebelScum]

Thanks for the advice John, that sounds like a good plan