please help with an upgrade....

[aceace]

hello all.. well i'm not a complete newb when it comes to PC's But i feel overwhelmed with all the options and information thats out there.. here is my predicament
I'm a gamer and i'm looking to get the best graphics and the best performance i could get.. here is my current rig.

CPU: Amd Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core 5200+ 2.61

Memory: A-DATA 4.00GB 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit

Motherboard: ASUS M2N-SLI Deluxe AM2 NVIDIA nForce 570 SLI MCP ATX AMD Motherboard
(new Bio's support AM2+)

Video Card: ZOTAC ZT-98XES2P-FCP GeForce 9800 GTX 512MB 256-bit GDDR3

Power Supply: Antec True Power Trio 650w

I'm a complete Newb to over clocking since i fried my last pc when i tried it for the 1st time.. so i'm a little scared

i run my games at 1680 X 1050

I'm looking to upgrade my CPU but im unsure wither to go with a Dual Core with a Higher Speed or to Get a quad-core...

here are the 2 candidates i have...

Either:AMD Phenom 9850 BLACK EDITION 2.5GHz Socket AM2+ 125W Quad-Core Processor

or

AMD Athlon 64 X2 6000+ Windsor 3.0GHz Socket AM2 125W Dual-Core Processor

which should i get.. also whats a good air cooling fan just in case i decide to Over Clock.. any input would greatly appreciated..
I'm torn and confused between the two...

 

[Shadow703793]

You'd be better off with the X2 6000.

For a good HSF I recommend the XIGMATEK S1283.

 

[aceace]

You'd be better off with the X2 6000.

For a good HSF I recommend the XIGMATEK S1283.

thank you so much... so you think i'd get better performance fromthe x2 6000.. even with games that support multithreading?

 

[Mondoman]

I don't think you'll see much if any noticeable gaming difference with that little of a CPU upgrade (either one).

 

[aevm]

I don't think you'll see much if any noticeable gaming difference with that little of a CPU upgrade (either one).

Agreed. Your money would be better spent on a second video card. Your PSU and MB already support that.

 

[aceace]

Agreed. Your money would be better spent on a second video card. Your PSU and MB already support that.

ok then well i have another question.. i was reading that my motherboard only supports sli at 8x on both ports will it hurt the performance if i have 2 of those same cards running on SLI at 8X what do you guys recommend? also my Power Supply Is only 650w is that enough juice to run 2 of these video cards?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814500039

 

[jimmysmitty]

^The difference between x8 and x16 is minimal. I remember a article on it and the difference didn't show until like x4 or x2.

 

[Shawnhath]

You'd be better off with the X2 6000.

For a good HSF I recommend the XIGMATEK S1283.

MEASURE BEFORE YOU BUY THE S1283!!!!
I have an Antec 900 and I have less than 2cm clearance with no side fan...
IMO It's an extremely good HSF

 

[aevm]

The Antec TruePower Trio 650W is certified by nVidia for two 8800GT. No worries there.
http://www.slizone.com/object/slizone_build_psu.html

I don't know how much the 8x+8x issue affects the 8800GT cards, sorry. Still, even if the MB becomes a bottleneck, I think you'll see an improvement. For example an 8800GTX works fine in a PCI-E 1.0 slot at 8x, it only loses a few percentage points of speed.