Debate on new cpu please help

[jberry72]

i am gonna update my whole pc. i was wondering on cpu's what is better for the money? it will be mainly used for gaming. i was looking at the x4 x3 core i7 core 2 quad or core 2 duo. money is some what of an issue but i still want a good cpu that i can overclock and can handle the games.
thanks everyone joe

 

[dirtmountain]

Best bang for the buck right now are the core2 duos, E8400/E8500 with gaming as 1st priority.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115036

I would not be surprised to see Intel drop the price of their core2 quads in the next week or so due to the pressure from AMDs Phenom2. If that's the case then a Q9550 might be a good price/performance option.