Should I upgrade my mobo for my gaming system?

[Infernograve]

Hi, this is my first post here, and I am looking for some advice. I have about $270 to spend on upgrades, and I was wondering if a new motherboard would be worth the money. My specs:


Mobo: PEGATRON CORPORATION NARRA5 (Socket AM2)

CPU: AMD Athlon II X3 450

RAM: 2.00 GB Single-Channel DDR2 @ 401MHz (6-6-6-18)

GPU: 1024MB GeForce 9800 GT (PNY) (a 1920x1080 monitor, and a 1366x768)

HD: 244GB Hitachi Hitachi HDT721025SLA SCSI Disk Device (ATA)

Also, I am running Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit.

I realize that I need more RAM, and I was wondering if an upgrade to DDR3 would be worth it.
I'm also upgrading the GPU and power supply, if that matters.
I will be using this for gaming.

Thanks in advance.

 

[clutchc]

If this is your motherboard... http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/document?cc=us&lc=en&docname=c01701270#N153
... then you are limited to 2 x 2GB sticks of DDR2 PC2-6400 memory (800MHZ). That would be the first thing you should upgrade. Always try to buy/install dual channel memory in pairs.
You really only need the 32 bit version of Win7 because of the board's 4GB limitation, but that's not important right now.

Since you say you will use the machine for gaming, spend the remainder of your budget on a good graphics card.

 

[tsnor]

No
Your MB is OK and the processor is OK. The next upgrade is retiring the GeForce 9800 GT. That's what's holding you back the most right now. Spend the money you have on video. In a year or two you should swap the MB, memory and CPU for new ones. (DDR2 won't work on modern board at that time).

Spend $170 plus of your total "about $270 to spend" on a high end GPU from this list. http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/fastest-graphics-card-radeon-geforce,3085-3.html The remaining $$s can go towards the power supply you plan to purchase.