CPU upgrade ?

[slick2004]

Im running a Intel core duo 8500 right now, i think the base speed is 3.16 or so, im planning on possibly building a new system for gaming only, would a quad core intel chip be better even though the speed is lower than i have now? What would I upgrade to to improve performance? im presently running with 4gb of ocz 1066 ram and 260 gtx card on an asus p5ql pro board w/ xp pro

 

[BolleY2K]

Your system is fine - why do you want to upgrade?

Only real upgrade would be I7 - new board, new ram, new cpu - less gain than you probably think...

 

[myocardia]

Read this, grasshopper.

 

[OILFIELDTRASH]

overclock cpu that you have now
more performance for free

 

[Leyawiin]

Originally posted by: OILFIELDTRASH
overclock cpu that you have now
more performance for free

The O.P. could definitely get a lot more mileage out of that excellent CPU. Make sure it has an good cooler, OC it and it would be very, very competitive with today's best quads in gaming.

 

[LoneNinja]

Your CPU is still high end as far as gaming goes, why build a new machine for only a few more fps?

 

[cusideabelincoln]

There's probably like few games that would significantly benefit from you switching to quad core. Even then, most of those few games probably wouldn't give you a noticeable improvement or a better gaming experience, as when compared to a dual core framerates are still quite high.

You shouldn't upgrade until you're current machine can't handle the games you're currently playing. If this is the case for you, then what games are you playing?

 

[zsdersw]

There are potential upgrades to your system that would yield nice performance gains, but none of them are CPUs. How about faster/higher bandwidth HDD/SSD?