Upgrading old rig

[kiteohatto]

Hi folks, just registered after lurking for a while. I want to hear your opinions on this upgrade.

I built my rig a couple of years ago and it's falling behind now in both games and 3d.

I currently have:
CPU: q6600 o/c @ 3.2ghz
Mobo: p35 neo2 motherboard
Ram: 4gb of ddr2 6400 patriot ram(1gbx4)
GPU: sapphire 4850 512mb card
PSU: powercool 550w PSU(cheap replacement when my last one broke and i urgently needed another one)
CASE: Antec 900(older version)

Now...i wish to upgrade and i have my eyes set on 6950 2gb( i've picked it over 560 ti since i don't care much for physX)

I will upgrade part by part so....my options are:

1. Get gfx card
2. Get a MUCH better PSU and stay with 4850 for now(be it modular or not it will last for a while)
3. Upgrade 4gb to 8gb of ddr2(my mobo has limitations)
4. Get a new mobo for ddr3 and an i5/i7


TLDR: cpu+mobo>ram+psu>gfx vs gfx now and the rest later.

Also, how different are amd and intel quad chipsets in this generation, i dont mind trying something new if its a little bit cheaper.

I do 3d stuff in max/zbrush with a bit of photoshop on the side, but i also play games(battlefield 3 open beta REALLY struggles with my 4850 on low).

I play at 1680x1050. In the future i will have 3 29".


Thanks a lot for reading and i wish to hear your opinions.

 

[inzone]

What is your budget ? If you have the money the way to go would be to do it all at once.

 

[megamanx00]

As long as that PSU is decent it should be enough for a 6950. I say go for the 6950 and perhaps overclock your CPU a little more. If you have a tower cooler with one fan then add a second fan to help ^_^.

 

[kiteohatto]

What is your budget ? If you have the money the way to go would be to do it all at once.

The budget is around £500 total or so but i want to see improvements as soon as i can really. I can't buy it all at once since the cash piles up overtime

 

[kiteohatto]

As long as that PSU is decent it should be enough for a 6950. I say go for the 6950 and perhaps overclock your CPU a little more. If you have a tower cooler with one fan then add a second fan to help ^_^.

Well i have Tuniq Tower cooler on my CPU, i dont have as much faith as you in my PSU but i will get the info and link it in my initial post.