Computer Upgrade Advices budget around 1000-1500

[dj41490]

Hi i want to upgrade my computer for better gaming experiences, pretty frustrated from running games on minimum specs and long @$$ loading period but I am a totally noob in this field, so some advices would be nice and appreciated. My budget is approximately $1000-1500, since I already have a keyboard (logitech g15), mouse (logitech mx518), monitor (samsung 2433bw 24" LCD), speakers ( logitech Z cinema surround sound speakers 2.1), case, dvd drive and power supply (Antec Earthwatts EA750), all the budget would be spend on CPU (currently Intel Core2 Quad Q9400 2.66GHz), RAMs, motherboard, graphic card, SSD and hard drives, I am not sure what brand or model to buy and I heard compatibility of the components are pretty important. Any suggestions? Also, is water cooling a lot better than air cooling and is it necessary? ( better in cooling? More quiet?) thanks guys

 

[clutchc]

Before you give up on your LGA775 Quad Core, let me suggest a better graphic card. If you are gaming at 1920x1080 resolution with integrated graphics, a simple GFX card upgrade will make it feel like a new machine... at a fraction of the cost. The Q9400 can easily handle a HD 7850: http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=100007709%20600286767%20600298542&IsNodeId=1&bop=And&Order=RATING&PageSize=20