Need Opinions, Should I Upgrade?

Well I've been thinking about upgrading my video card. But whats stopping me is the issue of Athlon Xp systems being bottlenecks for the latest video card. I was thinking of getting a 6600gt or maybe a 6800GS PCI express so I dont have to bother with a bottleneck. Also upgrading to PCI express motherboard would require the use of socket 939 or 754 (getting a 939) but I have heard on articles that the socket will be replaced by socket 940 soon.
Soooo....

1.Should I just stick with getting a new AGP card and leaving the system as is or should I just build an Athlon 64 system socket 939 system?

2.If I were to upgrade the AGP card (say 6800GS AGP) how long would I not have to worry about upgrading?

3.If I did upgrade my overall system to run socket 939 cpus, would be be any different from socket 940's?

4.Should I wait for socket 940's?

My system specs on sig. I will be using the system for gaming(COD2, AOE 3,etc) encoding, etc. If I go the socket 939 route it will take me about 1month to buy all the parts. After this upgrade, I'm not planning to upgrade for awhile.

I don't believe in the waiting game, if I was you I would get myself an Asrock S939 board a 165 dual core Opteron keep the memory you got in the sig and get an 7800 card for 300$ and you are set for a while. In the future you can upgrade the memory and get a new video card but that dual core opteron will hold for a long time IMO.
I don't see anything ground breaking with the new socket as DDR2 timings are way too loose to benifit AMD architecture.

sadly with my budget I wouldnt be able to afford a dual core CPU and a 7800gtx together. The cpu I'm thinking of getting is an Athlon 64. The gpu I'm still thinking about. As for the motherboard, I looked at reviews and I'm going to buy the MB soon.

Tell us exactly what is your budget and I'll see what I can dig out.

Ok, I may have some info that could help you decide.
First off, I am cheap and get about 90 percent of my stuff used when others upgrade.
One complication is that I use linux, not Windows, so I am less inclined towards ATI (lousy drivers.)

I recently got an a64 myself, but the rest of my stuff is socket A, including my main system.
The main rig (@2326mhz) has an agp 6600gt right now and it does fantastic.
I have had an NVidia FX5900 (sucked), ATI 9800 (sucked) and a number of Ti4200s in it.
The Ti's all did about as well as the FX5900, and better than the 9800.
Some of this is due to the limited support for DX9 features, some is due to lousy ATI drivers for linux.

The agp 6600gt does just fine.

My 5900 DOES do great in the a64 system (@2550mhz) I just built, due to the added cpu power, but in the socket A system it really was no better than a good Ti4200.

An agp 6600gt should be a good upgrade, even in an "older", agp system.
Personally, I think it would do you just fine until you are ready to lay out cash for a complete cpu/mobo upgrade.

EDIT-
a bit more info:
My two best systems are the socket A @2326 (6600gt) and the a64 @2550 (fx5900).
The a64 is definitely faster but it is NOT what I consider "enough faster" to justify the cost. The whole "bang for the buck" thing.

If you do a lot of cpu intensive stuff and really NEED the extra power, then it might well be worth it for you. I don't, usually.
For gaming purposes, a fast Socket A and decent 6600gt should do just fine for a while yet. I'm not a hardcore gamer, but I do it enough that I like to have at least one or two machines that can stand up at LANs: both of those systems can, and both use agp cards.

1.Should I just stick with getting a new AGP card and leaving the system as is or should I just build an Athlon 64 system socket 939 system?

I'd say build a skt939 system, the mobo would be $100, and the an Opteron 144 or 146 would be around $150-200

2.If I were to upgrade the AGP card (say 6800GS AGP) how long would I not have to worry about upgrading?

Depends on the kind of games you play and the resolution and eye candy and stuff. A 6800GS AGP should be able to run 1280x1024 with high settings and maybe 2xAA on a Opteron 144 or 146

3.If I did upgrade my overall system to run socket 939 cpus, would be be any different from socket 940's?

I doubt there'll be huge differences from the skt939 or the sktAMD(skt940) ones. It'll take a while before it starts becoming better, they'll have too many new fixes and stuff, you can be safe with skt939 for a while.

4.Should I wait for socket 940's?

Nah, once sktAM2 comes out, it'll be out with the more expensive CPUs and stuff, it'll take a year or so for it to calm down more.

my budget would be around 300-400 for now. If I waited around a month or 2 I would have $500 to spend.

That is kinda tight but let me see what I can dig up....
Ok, at monarch a 3200 Venice and an Asrock will set you back 254$ and the rest is for the vid card.
You keep the memory you got right now, PSU, HD.
Thats the best advice I can give you, as for a vid card I would get either a X800GTO or an X800XL or a 6600GT for around 150$ and a Dual 6600 can be found for 250$ if that it your cup of tea.
So what do you think?

yup im good with all that, thnx for your guys help.

so i guess a geforce 6600gt would be fine for my gaming needs? I play mostly with detail setting set to there best at 1024x768 or 1024x???? resolution with no or very little AA.

When at home I game on my Socket A/6600gt machine at 1280x1024 (native lcd res) and eye candy pretty much all the way up...in linux.

Not sure just what the framerates are, really, but games look great and have no stutter or playability issues.

If that is the priority, and you'd rather have a few bucks in your pocket than bleeding edge tech, get a good agp card. My 6600gt does me just fine even before I overclock it.

If your saving $100 a month. Wait for May of next year. The new socket should be out and then the crazy "got to have it" prices should level out. By then you will have enough for a killer rig to last for 3 years or so.

Keep an eye on video prices then you will know the time to stirke. That will be the most in your upgrade cost. The rest will be like eating pie.

DDR2 prices may drop a bit once AMD transitions over(about $150 for a entry level set). CPU will run you about $250+* or so. Board might cost about $150(*give or take on the market). The rest is for video. You might add cost with goodies and other products to make it look nicer or meet your needs.

Keep saving for the time and the upgrade will be much more of a viable option.