CPU upgrade help!

Currently I'm running COOLER MASTER RC-690-KKN1-GP ATX mid case, Q6600 2.4GHz, Zalman heatsink, 680i Sli Motherboard, 465GTX, crucial ballistix 8gb ddr2 800 240pin, AeroCool ZERODBA-S500 modular 500W, 1x 500GB HDD, 1x750GB HDD

Obviously this just isn't quite cutting it anymore. So I'm looking at a new build and there is so much on the market I need some advice. I would like to keep my current PC as a spare but, not opposed to gutting it, I can have a 500W PSU, Cooler Master ATX mid case, Optic drive, and HDD drives that I don't need to add. I'm setting the budget at $600

If I do decide to gut it I'll leave the 500GB buy a cheap $50 case/w PSU and $50 GPU and I could sell this to a friend for $250. If I do I can bump my budget up another $150. totaling $750

Currently I'm studying for Certs. which is requiring me to run some extensive VMware for networking purposes, and to be honest most of the time I have a **** ton of programs running at one time. As well as some intense gaming when time allows. I myself am not a hardcore tweaker and wont be doing mass amounts of OC, just fine tuning.

Please, keep in mind I have a meh. GPU that I can swap into this. I plan on upgrading GPU in this build later. Also I will swap the 750GB HDD to use in the new build until I decide to upgrade more. OS isn't an issue I work at a DC so they pretty much hand those out for nothing.

I've been looking at the FX-8350 and friends have told me, "they'll never utilize 8 cores." same friends who said the same thing about quad core when I bought the Q6600, though other than a GPU I'm the only one who hasn't had to upgrade since April 2007. Also, the line, "just get an i7." Yes, trust me I want an i7 but, I'm not single nor childless.

Back to the topic FX-8350, ton of processing power for the load of programs I use, potential future with everything. Future proof? Possible, but who can predict, I just needed the raw power back then and everything just went that way.

http://pcpartpicker.com/user/indirectllama/saved/3O1z

Here is what I threw together, I know I can get some better prices on sales and if I just look for better prices. Also that's not including a case/PSU our GPU. If I decide to gut and sell my old right with a $150 profit and buy a new GPU with the $250 I could probably swing the GTX 760.

Let me know your thoughts and let me know if you have a better build for what I will be using it for especially if its cheaper.

Thanks in advanced!

"FX-6350 overclocked to 4.8GHz, and it tops out when gaming and causes HUGE fps issues." Although that this is not the place for that but I think your power supply could be the culprit, it is not exactly of premium quality or one of the best brands out there for OC. Also 500w for an overclocked FX-6350 and a HD 7950 could be the cause of the problem. There is also a possibility that your VRM is heating and throttling the CPU performance which is very common with AM3+ boards without heat sinks for the VRM or/and proper rear exhaust cooling.
And finally Arctic Freezer 7 Pro may not be the best cooling solution for an AMD processor with a 125 TDP overclocked to 4.8 GHz.

To the original poster: Since you don't seem like you want to do any crazy overclocking with the processor, you can either get the i5-4670 non k version (220$) or the FX-8350 (200$).
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/product/697?vs=837
They are about the same in multithreading, the i5 is superior in single threading of course. So if you want to sacrifice the single threaded lead and more efficient power consumption (saving money on the long run), then Go for the cheaper processor, Go with the FX-8350 otherwise you should Go with the i5-4760 or the i5-3570 (210$)