Upgrading my game system

[Deadeye]

First of all, it is possible that you remember me from a few months back, when I also made a post. I'm sorry if making another post this soon is bothersome, I just felt like it would be a lot cleaner just to make a new thread since I have some different questions.
My current 2 year old system is
Case: Cooler Master Centurion 590
Mobo: Asus P5K
CPU: Intel E8400
GFX: XFX GF8800 GTX 768MB
Memory: Kingston 4GB DDR2 (2x2GB) PC6400 800Mhz CL5
HD: Samsung Spinpoint F1 750GB
PSU: Corsair 650TX
Monitor: Samsung Syncmaster 226BW (22inch)

1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
Mostly higher end gaming, I would like to play the new games that come out at reasonably high settings. Apart from that I don't do a lot of much requiring tasks.
2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
My budget I can't really express in dollars since I'm from Europa and dollar/euro conversion doesn't really work for computer parts. But say 400-600 dollars, for the sake of it.
3) Where do you live? The Netherlands, Europe. You don't have to bother with looking for stores in Europe or something, I'll just look up the parts myself. The only thing is I would be grateful if you wouldn't link combodeals, since those obviously don't work for me
4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, RAM, case, etc. "Everything" is not a valid answer. Please list out all the parts you'll need.
What I need depends on what I'll talk about later, but it's either a GFX card and a CPU, or a GFX card, a CPU, a mobo and a set of ddr3 ram. Oh, and possibly a new monitor, but that's not included in the budget.
5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
Case: Cooler Master Centurion 590
- Possibly Mobo: Asus P5K
- Possibly Memory: Kingston 4GB DDR2 (2x2GB) PC6400 800Mhz CL5
HD: Samsung Spinpoint F1 750GB
PSU: Corsair 650TX
Monitor: Samsung Syncmaster 226BW (22inch)

6) Will you be overclocking?
Slightly maybe, but not really.
7) What size monitor do you have and/or plan to have?
I have a 22 Inch right now (1680x1050), but I am wondering if getting a bigger one would make for a better gaming experience.
8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
Soon tm, depending on what I will pick.
9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? etc.
I honestly don't really need a lot of features. SLI and Crossfire I don't think I'll use, and apart from that I really only need a PCI slot to put my TV tuner card in.
10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If yes, what OS? 32bit or 64bit?
I have a windows 7 x64 copy waiting.

Now, GFX wise, I'm undecided between the 460GTX and the HD5850. In my country, the price difference between the two is about 50 dollars, with the former being the cheaper one. Is the (as far as I know) not too huge performance gain worth that money?
CPU and Mobo wise, it gets a bit more complicated. (well, for me anyway, I doubt it's difficult for you guys) Originally I was planning on getting a new Mobo with a 4gb set of DDR3 ram and a x4 955 Black edition. Now they told me, that it would be smarter to just get a second hand Q9xxx model and re use my current mobo and ram. That way I would save a decent amount of money, if I get a good deal on the Q9xxx. What are your thoughts on that? Just get some fresh new parts, or stick with the relatively old hardware? Another small point that I was wondering about is the fact that if I stick with my old motherboard, a p35 one, will I have trouble with the fact that it only has pci-e x16 instead of pci-e 2.0? Since the GFX card will sure be a pci-e 2.0 card. I know that it is in fact backwards compatible, but is the performance loss even noticeable? On the dutch forum they told me it is about 1-2%, but frankly I don't really believe that, could someone help clear this out?
Thanks a bunch, in advance.

 

[Dangman]

Now, GFX wise, I'm undecided between the 460GTX and the HD5850. In my country, the price difference between the two is about 50 dollars, with the former being the cheaper one. Is the (as far as I know) not too huge performance gain worth that money?

Personally, I think it's worth the price. But that's me.

CPU and Mobo wise, it gets a bit more complicated. (well, for me anyway, I doubt it's difficult for you guys) Originally I was planning on getting a new Mobo with a 4gb set of DDR3 ram and a x4 955 Black edition. Now they told me, that it would be smarter to just get a second hand Q9xxx model and re use my current mobo and ram. That way I would save a decent amount of money, if I get a good deal on the Q9xxx. What are your thoughts on that? Just get some fresh new parts, or stick with the relatively old hardware?

It really depends on which Q9xxx CPU you're getting and how much it's gonna cost. For example, if you get the Q9550 for the same price as the AMD Phenom II 955, that's a good enough upgrade. However, if it's the Q9300 for the same price as the Phenom II 955, that's a stupid waste of money. If you can get the Q9450 for 75% of the price of a Phenom II 955, that's a good enough upgrade as well.

So basically it all depends on which Q9xxx CPU and how much it is.

Also note that you don't have to get DDR3 RAM and socket AM3 for that Phenom II 955. You can get a socket AM2+ motherboard and reuse your DDR2 RAM:
$80 - Gigabyte GA-MA785GM-US2H AM2+ AMD 785G mATX Motherboard

So the costs of upgrading isn't as high as it can be.

Another small point that I was wondering about is the fact that if I stick with my old motherboard, a p35 one, will I have trouble with the fact that it only has pci-e x16 instead of pci-e 2.0? Since the GFX card will sure be a pci-e 2.0 card. I know that it is in fact backwards compatible, but is the performance loss even noticeable? On the dutch forum they told me it is about 1-2%, but frankly I don't really believe that, could someone help clear this out?
Thanks a bunch, in advance.

The performance loss is not noticeable at all. No difference at all.

 

[Deadeye]

Thanks for that reply, sure does shed some light on the questions!
To be honest, I'd think of myself as a fool not to follow your advice, so I think I'll be getting that HD5850. About the Q9xxx, I understand your point. I'm afraid there's quite some interest in those parts on the forum where we do those deals in my country, the price of a Q9450 is even a bit higher than that of an X4 955, while the Q9550 is like 130% of the price of an X4 955. I suppose it wouldn't really be worth the effort in that case. Thanks so much for pointing that about about AM2, is there really a reason for me to get some DDR3 and an AM3 socket mobo instead? Assuming I take the X4 955, that is.
Also, on the computer I received from my company, surprise surprise a dell, I also recieved a 23 inch Dell ST2310. I can't find a lot of information about it, but something tells me that the higher resolution isn't worth the performance loss over my 22 inch Syncmaster?

 

[Dangman]

I suppose it wouldn't really be worth the effort in that case. Thanks so much for pointing that about about AM2, is there really a reason for me to get some DDR3 and an AM3 socket mobo instead? Assuming I take the X4 955, that is.

The only real advantage that AM3 and DDR3 has over AM2+ and DDR2 RAM is a higher chance of being compatible with AMD's new Bulldozer CPUs. With that said, AM3 motherboards do tend to have SATA 6Gb/s and USB 3.0.

Also, on the computer I received from my company, surprise surprise a dell, I also recieved a 23 inch Dell ST2310. I can't find a lot of information about it, but something tells me that the higher resolution isn't worth the performance loss over my 22 inch Syncmaster?

Up to you actually. Some people want that extra real estate for work/web browsing/etc whereas some people want a lower res for higher FPS. Really depends on your needs

 

[engiNURD]

psh, use both monitors, why choose only one? lol. game on whichever one you like the best, and multitask with the other monitor.

 

[Deadeye]

I'd love to be able to do that, but I'm gonna have to stick one monitor into the work computer, which is kind of a general around the house computer. But I just might get a second one in the future!
Thanks a bunch for the advice, and although it may sound a bit ignorant, especially with all the great advice you've been giving, but I found a Q9550 only 10 euro's more than what a X4 955 BE is going to cost me, so I'll be picking that one up. I am going to go with the HD5850 like you recommended tho, so, thanks again, really is an amazingly helpful community here!