Looking for Upgrade Advice

[Jeffmart10]

Been out of the upgrade loop awhile and so I'm hoping for some advice.

I have the following hardware:

ABIT IP35 Pro LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard

MSI NX8800GT 512M OC GeForce 8800 GT 512MB

Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Wolfdale 3.0GHz

G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400)

I'm looking for inexpensive upgrades in advance of Skyrim. Any obvious bang for the buck?
Is it even worth upgrading or should I wait until the next release cycle for graphics cards etc?

 

[HardwareGuru]

Depends on your budget for this upgrade. What size monitor do you have and its resolution? Also, what parts will you be reusing? List the parts

 

[Jeffmart10]

Actually I have an old 19 inch Sony Trinitron CRT taking up half my desk

Not sure what parts I'll reuse, I was hoping to get some advice on where I would get the most bang for the buck on this system.

Sub $500 budget definitely, but I'm really asking where my dollars can have the most impact.

I was thinking maybe just a video card, a GeForce GTX 560 1GB. Would this be a waste of money? Would the money be better spent on a CPU or Motherboard upgrade?

 

[HardwareGuru]

Your cpu, mobo is pretty dated. I feel it would be best you upgrade your cpu and mobo and graphics. What power supply do you have?

For $500 budget, I'd go AMD Phenom II X4 955 cpu + AMD AM3 mobo, G Skill 2x4GB DDR3 RAM, Radeon 6870 1 GB video and possibly a new power supply also. This should meet your $500 budget