Athlon 3500+ -> Opteron 185?

[Atros]

I have a K8N-SLI motherboard with 3 gigs of ram and an Athlon 3500+ that I'm looking to upgrade the processor on. Would it be worth it to upgrade the processor to Opteron 185 (Overclocking debatable). I know there are a lot of people who will say to do a complete mbd upgrade irregardless, but I've already put a lot of money into this this board and would rather not have to completely replace it completely, and have to get a new board/processor/ram.

As for what the use of the system is used for, primarily it's used for gaming, but increasingly, I've been also using it for music production.

 

[emp]

If you have a decent video card to keep up with the opty, then I would opt for an X2 4200+ (s939) instead, they are cheaper than opterons and perform the same. However if you can find a comparable opteron for a similar price, then it's a no brainer.

 

[Atros]

Right now, I've got an 8800 gts 320 for a video card. Mostly, I'm wanting something that will last as long as possible before replacing the whole setup. My music will also most likely grow more and more taxing on the system and already starting to hit a few walls there.

 

[w153r]

Opty 165 < $100. I have mine overclocked to 2.7. If you have good ram, and are comfortable overclocking, a 165 is one hell of a steal.