Decide between upgrade and new build

[Beansie]

My current setup:
Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Kentsfield 2.4GHz
4GB OCZ S.O.E DDR2 800Mhz
Asus P5B-E Mobo
SeaSonic S12 Energy Plus SS-550HT 550W
EVGA GeForce 8800 GTS 640MB 320-bit GDDR3
Various HDDs.

I am wondering building a new sys would be better or just upgrading this rig a bit.

1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
Gaming, HD Video watching, HD Video processing (amateur, HD cam is sweet)
2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
$1000-1050
3) Where do you live?
USA
4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, RAM, case, etc. Please be very specific.
Depending upon new build/upgrade advice.
5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
Power supply (if possible), Case Antec P180b
6) Will you be overclocking?
mildly
7) What size monitor do you have and/or plan to have?
Dual Monitor 24inch and a 22inch
8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
Roughly a week to 2 weeks.
9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? etc.
Flexible. Would not mind Crossfire or SLI support for later upgrade but want to stick with single vid card for now.
10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If so, what OS? 32bit or 64bit?
Yes, 64-bit.

 

[HardwareGuru]

upgrading the rig a bit. O/C the cpu and new video card.

 

[Falling Anvil]

Agree, past the GPU and maybe the Mobo you should be able to squeeze a few more years out of your current build.

 

[almalino]

Agreed, upgrade is the way to go:

1. New video card for modern games.
2. More RAM = 8 GB? for HD video processing although not sure if it really needed. I do Photoshop and 4 GB is a bit on low side.

Otherwise your computer will survive next 2 years without problems I have similar setup with E6750 and similar use for the PC and it works great.

 

[engiNURD]

Do you game on the 24"? If so, pickup an HD5870 and OC the CPU to at least 3Ghz. Are you using the stock cooler? If so, pickup something better, like the CM Hyper 212+ for $30. That should get you to around 3.3Ghz if not 3.6Ghz. RAM upgrade is up to you. Your best chance to upgrade the RAM has passed, IMO, since DDR2 has doubled in price since October'09. If you really need it, go for it, otherwise, don't bother, as 4GB should still be plenty for gaming and light video editing.