Core 2 Duo E8400 to Core i7 920 for gaming, worth it?

^ I highly doubt it would be worth the change...
Wait till September before you go for a new CPU as intel will be launching newer CPUs and then think of changing...

For now the best upgrade for you would be a Q9550...

I would definitely hold off, your current rig is adequate for now. New CPUS in late August or Early September will be the best bet, even if all they do is lower prices on current tech.

Thanks for the advice. It was very helpful.

hold off..

just overclock that E8400 a bit more and then get a Core i7 LGA1156 when it comes out if i7 LGA1366 prices don't drop.

With your OC'd e8400, you may even lose a few framrates per second if you switch to a stock i7 920. Strictly for gaming, the e8400 is the better value than i7.

Thanks your advices everyone.

I'll hold off on the i7 920 then, for now.
another quick noob question.

Would I see any noticeable improvements if I upgraded to a GTX 295 instead (from 280) on my current configuration? or would I see about same result due to CPU limitations...

Thanks again.

-Santi

Do you see any LIMITATIONS now? Is there a game that you can't play at your desired resolution?

To me, it sounds like you got $400 burning in your pocket and you want to spend it on hardware. If that's the case: you surely don't NEED anything at this moment, so you can pretty much go nuts on whatever tickles your fancy the most.

well, it's not really about NEEDS but rather WANTING the best possible gaming hardware upgrade I can get for around $400 ...

That aside, FarCry 2 at highest detail setting (at 1440x900 res) still slows down on most of the intense scenes (below 30fps). Empire: Total War on highest setting also slows down when zooming in/out of battle scenes.

Any suggestion on hardware upgrades would be great.

I would say SLI GTX 280.
You will be wasting money if you upgrade 280 to 295.

Better not change ANYTHING.

single card performance you will actually take a hit. the e8400 actually runs right with the quads and exceeds them in games not optimized for multi-core operations. you aren't running multiple cards so it would be a waste from a strictly gaming standpoint.

not worth it at all.

What size is your monitor?

"what size is your monitor?" <----- bad question with no relevance.

"what resolution is your monitor?" <-------- relevant.