Hello all,

Here is what i have:
Athlon XP 1800+ system 1Gb of ram (333), 2x80Gb Hd SATA in Raid 0
9800 Pro 256 Mb

I want to upgrade to a dual core system. I have been looking at the Pentium d805. its cheap and looks like its easy to overclock. I have 600-700$ to spend here.

what should i get, Intel, AMD?
Motherboard?? if i go intel...P5LD2, WD2? P5ND2?

i'll let you know what i plan on doing with it...I play sports games, RTS's, and flight simulator mostly. I also plan on getting a tv tuner card and recording and playing around with video editing. Should i get bigger hard drives?

I already have a 16x pioneer dvd burner, a 480W Enermax PSU and a nice case from ASUS.

please advise on what you think would be best for me.

thanks

Forget about overclocking the D805; it's just a furnace. You'll need watercooling to get it to 4.1GHz like THG did. Look into the AM2 CPUs, or just wait for Conroe.

do you actually think its worth it going dual core? seems pretty expensive almost 400$ Cdn for a processor.

I play flight simulator and the next flight simulator coming out in december will be multithreaded. you think it will make a big difference if i go with the am2 x2 or just a simple core 64 3200??

Wait for the Conroe; if the game is multithreaded, you'll be happy that you went with the dual core.

Greetings Gianni

As a rule the AMD Processors are better for gaming, it's just that simple. Duel Core does nothing for you unless the app is coded to use the technology, and at this time there just isnt that much out there for DC. With that said I do have a X4400 OC'd to a x24800 using a Danger Den cooling system in one of my setups.

I just finished my 805D setup this week using my existing Asus P5N32 and it works great. If you go the 805 route stick with an Asus P5N or P5W. The 8 phase power system is the key to oc'ing this chip. I am running stable at 3.8 ghz 55c load temp with an asetek external waterchill system...which rox.

You are going to be stretched for $700. In addition of the mobo and cpu you will have to get DDR2 memory and a PCIE vid card...I assume you are running DDR and AGP now. For a little perspective, I am pasting a setup below that I just built for a client

case/psu 130 Sonata II Life Style Microcenter SmartPower2.0 450
cpu cooler 100 Coolermaster Aquagate Mini R120 Zipzoomfly
Mobo 192 Asus P5WD2 Premium 955X ZipZoomFly
cpu 150 Intel 805D Microcenter
memory 130 1GB OCZ DDR2-667 (SKU 897348) Microcenter
vid card 120 All-in-Wonder X800 XL 256MB PCI-E x16
Toal 822

Assuming that software developers ever code games for DC then longevity may come into play.

As it stands now, that lowly 3400+ that I have oc'd 2.6 in my htpc looks really nice on the wallet as well against the high priced players in the gaming benchmarks.

I am running 2 duel core systems so keep in mind that comments are for those who have a budget in mind and want the best performance out of their current apps and for the next year or so.

If you want cheap, and dual core, the 805 dual core is the way to go. Whether you OC or not is up to you. You cant go wrong for $120, dual core. If you want to game, I would stear clear of the 805 though.
You can also go AM2, they are comparatively priced to 939's and have room for future upgrading.
You could build both systems for less than what you say you have to spend.
For instance all you need is mobo, cpu, ram and video card right?
Check this out:
Cpuhttp://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819103633
Mobohttp://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813130050
Ramhttp://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820227082
Video cardhttp://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814130283

Total=$555

You will be all set for the new 65nm x2's when the price drops.

MrsD is right on target. The 805D is a decent processor outta the box with tons of room to grow. You can throw a Coolermaster Aqugate 120 on the thing for $99 and have the performance of one of it's much higher priced family members.

Moment of silence for Newegg as they rock.