Yet another upgrade or build

[bmacster]

First time poster here and hate to do the super noob question but I am at a split.

I just got my tax return and I want to upgrade the system. I don't do any hardcore gaming, other than C&C, SimCity4, and I may dabble at a few other upcoming titles. At most, I'd like to play the new SimCity at nearly full graphics and maybe even Flight Simulator 9/X at high/ultra detail.

I am running the following currently;

Gigabyte GA-EP45-UDR3
Intel E5200/stock fan
8GB DDR2/Ballistix
EVGA 9800 GTX+
Antec Basiq 500w PS
Windows 7 Pro
RAID 0 WD 500GB blue drives

I am considering doing a full upgrade but I'd like to save me some coin.

I am looking at the 7850 or 7870 and a Intel Q8500 (New on Ebay)

Upgrade Budget is $500 *extra will go towards a camera or SSD or WD black 1tb*

If I do a new system, again the follow above will be the goal and my old system will become a home storage server with 4TB of space. Budget for that per the commander (ie, wife) is $1000 but would like me to get back into photography.

Thoughts?? Thanks!

 

[bmacster]

One other question.

Since I am looking at getting back into photography to some degree, how big is the average 20mp photo nowadays? Should I look at some additional storage now (only using 40% of my overall space)

 

[guanyu210379]

Upgrade path:
- Any "used" LGA775 quadcores in ebay Q6600, Q8200, Q9300, etc....no new stuffs...new stuffs do not worth the price anymore....cheapest you can find
- 1TB HDD (optional, no really necessary for your 40% data storage usage)
- HD7850 or HD7870...budget dependent
- SSD (optional for your budget, will give a huge performance boost)
From those upgrades, you can keep everything if you decide to do new rig except the processor.

I would recommend not to build a new rig at the moment to save money and wait.
Those 775 quads can still perform decently.