Worth the upgrade?

[Cursed]

I'm currently running a Zotac 8800GT 512MB card in my PC that I got last year, and it seems to be pretty good. Soon I am hoping to extensively upgrade my PC (Basically get a new one, minus RAM, HDD and Optical drives since they are all new anyway). I am wondering if it is worth keeping my 8800GT, or getting this GTX 260 896MB card for the games that I play.

Currently my specs are:
4GB 800MHz DDR2,
AMD Athlon 64 X2 5000+ at stock clocks,
Crappy Dell motherboard with one 16x PCI Express,
Zotac 8800GT 512MB GDDR3.

I am also wondering if my current processor would hold the card back (Although I am planning in getting a C2D/C2Q for my new build once I have the money.) The games I play are:

GTA IV (This is the main game I play),
GRID,
Half Life 2,
Test Drive Unlimited,
Sega Rally,
Crysis,
GTA San Andreas/ Vice City/ GTA3

 

[evilsofa]

If you are running an 8800GT in a 1x PCI-E slot, I think moving up to a new motherboard will make a huge difference by itself, so I suggest you get the new motherboard and see how things are then. Since you're running at 1680x1050, the 8800GT does a pretty good job and a lot of people are happy with that, but the GTX 260 is a significant upgrade and would let you put almost everything at max settings.

For GTA IV specifically, see the HardOCP GTA IV Gameplay review - I linked the page for 1680x1050. The GTX 260 is there, and consider the 8800GT to be a notch slower than the 4850. For GTA IV, I'm pretty sure you'd want the GTX 260.

 

[Cursed]

Thanks for the advice. I just noticed I put PCIe x1, I should have said one PCIe x16 slot. I looked on eBuyer for some new parts that I hope to buy eventually (When I can get the money). I need some upgrades anyway since my case is from 2006, my Motherboard is a Dell one so it won't overclock, and my CPU is crap for gaming.

 

[Reza]

I agree with evilsofa, a decent mobo and a c2d would be better for you than a 260. Your probably not even seeing the ture power of your 8800 GT due to bottle necking from the cpu. Off note, if your ok with used parts you can find good mobo c2d bundles on the FS forums here for a very good price

 

[spicey]

Get a quad core with that 8800GT and GTA IV will play very nicely. Concentrate on getting a new mobo and CPU before the gfx card, you are seriously CPU limited. You can use the PC6400 in your new build.

Trust me a 8800GT with a quad is sufficient/excellent for most games that have come out recently (at 1680 x 1050 anyway)

Btw, the mobo you have picked out a Ebuyer is not RAID compatible, if this is a consideration to you?