Upgrading system Dilemma!

[mweisman68]

APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: : Next week--- BUDGET RANGE: (e.g.:400-600$) Before / After Rebates

SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: (gaming, surfing the internet, watching movies)

PARTS NOT REQUIRED: ( keyboard, mouse, monitor, speakers, OS) *Power Supply 600w OCZ 600SXS

PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: (e.g.: newegg.com, ncix.com -- to show us selection & pricing) COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: (e.g.: Grand Fenwick)

PARTS PREFERENCES:

GIGABYTE GA-P55-UD4P LGA 1156 Intel P55 ATX Intel Motherboard

Intel Core i7 860 Lynnfield 2.8GHz LGA 1156 95W Quad-Core Processor

G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Dual Channel


OVERCLOCKING: Yes, Maybe SLI OR CROSSFIRE or both:

MONITOR RESOLUTION: ( 1280x1024


Current sys. specs.
amd Athlon 6000 x2
Gigabyte 570i sli MB
2 8800gt512 sli
22in lcd
4gb ram
600w OCZ 600SXS
win 7 64

My dilemma is i can't decide what to go with either this system: or the one above! there looks to be about 200$ difference between them but the system below i can't use my 8800gt in sli where the other i can. Would it be worth buying a new graphics card for 200$ and go with the system below or use my 8800gt in sli in the i7 860 build this is what i'm debating........ Any help would be great! Thanks

AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition Deneb 3.2GHz

GIGABYTE GA-MA790XT-UD4P AM3 DDR3 AMD 790X

G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800)

 

[OvrClkr]

This is easy, if you go AMD the only way you will be able to SLI is by purchasing a mobo with an NVDIA chipset ex: 7XXa or 980a (ASUS)....

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=2010200022%20107192495&bop=And&ShowDeactivatedMark=False&ActiveSearchResult=True&Order=RATING

If you choose to spend the extra cash on the 1156 platform then you can SLI or XFIRE but you are limited to x8/x8 on the PCI-E lanes... Not that you will bottleneck the cards but just FYI.....

 

[wathman]

if you aren't going to be doing any video encoding or other hardcore multi threaded tasks, you won't get all that much performance boost out of HT that the i7's have. If you overclock the i5 well, you will get great performance for games and such. Also, upgrading to a quad core, doing SLI, and overclocking is probably too much for a 600 Watt PSU. I'd think about upgrading to a 750 if you start noticing problems with your build once it's put together.

 

[skora]

Could you edit that first post to answer ALL the questions and remove the example placeholders. Not sure what all you need and budget or monitor resolution. All very important info needed to help get you the most PC.