Contemplating an upgade, would like some opinions on part selection

so i will start with my current build. (in sig)

Asus P5K3
Q6600 @3.6GHz
Corsair DDR3 - 1600MHz
GTX280 std.
Antec TPQ-1000w PSU

currently watercooled. everything is in a single loop and in series.
D5 -> Dtek FuZion GFX2 (GTX280) -> Dtek FuZion V1 (q6600) -> MCR320 -> MCR220 -> microres.

my system is great, but im getting the upgrade bug. i want to move up a bit, but not sure on a few things.

first up. the processor. im almost certain that i want to move up to a q9650, for 45nm, less heat, and higher clocks. i dont think i want to move up to i7 JUST yet, mainly because of price. i want to be somewhere in the 4.0-4.2GHz range. is this a reasonable expectation for a q9650? what stepping should i be looking for to achieve this goal? i'm out f thelop on 45nm stuff.

next the MB. while i know my current MB will be fine with a q9650, im not sure i could get the clocks i want out of it. and i have a few qualities im looking for:

• must support DDR3-1600
• good OCer for q9650
• have at least 1 PCIe x1 slot, 2 will be even better(this is for tuner cards) looking to use the HVR-2250
• support SLI. ive never done SLI before, but with prices falling, i may want to add a 2nd GTX280 later
• not retarded expensive

now i've always been an Asus kind of guy as far as boards go. never had problems with it, but most of the good ones are intel chipsets, which for s775 none of them support SLI. so im looking like im stuck with an nVidia board. suggestions? anything to lookout for? ive never owned an nVidia board before.

also, IF i delve into SLI at some point. keep a single loop like i have it? with just the second card? or break it up into 2 loops. the GPUs on the 220 and CPU on the 320? or maybe something different? thoughts on cooling the NB, worth it for my goals?

thanks!

edit: now i'm more thinking about going the SSD route for the OS drive. scroll down for more info.

Would help to know what you do with it. After all I have read, A Q6600 is still a winner hands down. You just won't see enough raw power from a Q9XXX or i7 to justify the upgrades.

Most peoples advise is, if your gonna do any upgrading, let it be in the Monitor/SSD Areas.

this machine is a gaming box and media server. i play crysis, bioshock, L4D, portal, CSS, and HL2 series.

one the media server side. its used for storing and serving up DVD rips and music. i also transcode and rip DVDs with it. and when i get a new tuner card it will record and stream digital/HD tv.

its interesting that you mention upgrading the monitor and SSD. i currently have a Samsung 204B 20.1" monitor with 1600x1200res. i wold like to move up to a 24" 1920x1200 monitor. i LOVE to dell S-PVA monitors but they are a bit pricey. not sure of other monitors. the aesthetics of the monitor plays a big factor for me. i hate monitors with thick elaborate borders. i like a simple thin border. which is why i like my current monitor and dell monitors.

as far as SSDs. im not too sure. they just dont have enough space yet. im curretly using a 640GB WD blue drive for the OS. with my OS, and games/apps installed im floating around 60GB. i do like the intel SSDs and 2 80G drives in raid0 sounds like a good performer but 160GB in ssds are still quite expensive.

im still open to opinions on monitors and SSDs if you think those will benefit me more.

If you're considering both a CPU and motherboard upgrade, you might as well go the i7 route. A Q9650 already costs more than an i7 920 and to pick up a decent X58 motherboard would cost only a bit more, but for that you get a much higher performing and more future proof system.

If your going to upgrade, why not upgrade to a i7? You would be able to really OC with water cooling and you would definately get it into the 4ghz range.

If I were you I would hold off. Just WAIT!

Your system is more than good enough for now. If I were you Id nab a GTX300 when it comes out and then do some minor things maybe a i7 if you really want it (i dont think its worth it, the quad you have is plenty), perhaps 2 SSD Vertex's Raided 0 for the OS.

but after that just wait till the next big CPU jump happens.

mainly im holding off on i7 due to cost. mbs (good ones) are still pretty pricey. and i would have to get new memory as well.

maybe i will wait to upgrade the proc and board.

but now you guys have me thinking about SSDs. from what i hear the intel SSDs are the best out right now. is that right? or is that only for the extreme ones? i would want at least 120-180GB of space for the OS drive. since all my games and apps would take up 60-80 of that, and i want some free space. whilei may not need all the space i dont like to run with my rive 90% full. i want some extra space for updates and future apps. plus i have 2x1TB drives for movie storage.

would i better with 2x 80GB intel drives? or 2x 60GB OCZ drives? or maybe even 3x OCZ drives?

what about mounting? obviously there are adapters to fit 2.5" into 3.5" bays. but are there any special adapter that let you fit 2 or 3 into a single 3.5" bay? they are pretty thin, but can they be stacked? do you have to worry about overheating or anything?

bump