Upgrade or Buy New

[jamiestaton]

Hi guys, this is my first time posting here so please be gentle, I am fairly computer savvy but not to any great extent.
Ok here is the thing, I am after a gaming PC to play the likes of COD, Battlefield and other graphic intensive games at max level,
Here is my current spec

Intel Core2 Quad CPU Q8300 @ 2.50GHz
NVIDIA GeForce GTS 250 1GB
3 GB DDR2 Ram

I have a 1 TB hardrive i guess I could use with the new system and I had to buy a new power supply 750W which I imagine should be sufficient and my current case which is a Gigabyte GZ-X1-BPD Tower.
I know my RAM is fairly low for gaming so I would be hoping to upgrade to a motherboard that has the capacity for 16gb in the future with me possibly putting 8gb in the meantime.
My graphics card is maybe 2 years old,
My questions are... Is my system so obsolete that I should bin the whole friggin thing and start from scratch or can i salvage some of my existing parts and maybe just replace the graphics card or the processor.
Can I buy a new motherboard and processor and use my existing graphics card for the time being?
Is it the RAM that is the problem with newer games or is it my graphics?

 

[manofchalk]

To upgrade the rig in any significant way, you will pretty much need a whole new rig.
You could re-use the HDD, optical (if its SATA) and the case (though I would replace it). Everything else will end up being replaced.

No one thing is the problem with the rig, its actually quite balanced and would have been a decent performer back in the day. Its just that they are all old parts and have become outdated.

If you only have the cash to upgrade the rig. Maybe get something like a HD7750 or 7770, any better than that and I suspect the card will be bottlenecked by the rest of the system.
If you have the cash for a new system, I suggest you do that. If you want advice on a new rig, fill out this form. It will give us the info needed to best help you.
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/353572-31-build-upgrade-advice

 

[jamiestaton]

Thankyou very much for the timely response, the graphics card is a little out of my budget I guess and I would like to stick to an Intel based system if possible.
Would you recommend and i5 processor if I were to go down the Intel route?
Also is there a graphics card maybe in the £100 range that would fulfill my needs?
I have seen a pre built system for around £700 that may do the trick so I dont really want to be spending £500 and keeping my existing parts when I could totally start afresh.
See.. The wife is a problem as she has my balls in her purse and im only looking at spending maybe £300, otherwise I'll be looking at the finance options for a complete system over a few years.

 

[jamiestaton]

ooh I just got that post when i was filling out the previous reply, I will fill out the form.
Many thanks, cant believe how fast you guys have replied, its like 4 in the morning here lol

 

[manofchalk]

3:30PM on the Island Continent.
G'day mate