Need a cpu on a budget.

How much will you spend on a cooler and cpu?
When you add the cost of the cooler and cpu - which cpu would that buy you?

What motherboard, etc, is your wife using?

Well. If I was you I'd buy a 720 for myself, that way I (or you) could benefit from the purchase as well.

The 720 would OC higher. It really depends on your mobo's OCing capabilities if you want to stick and try to OC the 710, although you can get it high if your mobo is up to the task (at least 3.2, maybe even up to 3.8). I'd say it would slightly slow a 5870 (even more on quad core optimized games) but you'll still be plenty playable me thinks.

BTW that gigabyte mobo isn't bad at all for what it is, and it supports most (if not all) Phenom IIs if my memory serves me right.

And you are better off getting her an Athlon II 240 if you end up buying her a CPU and keeping your 710.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6819103688

Kumas run pretty hot and don't OC to far. You're better off with the newer Regor core in the AMD Athlon II X2 240 Regor. Of course, make sure the board you pick can support it and with what BIOS version lest you need to use your 710 to flash it. As far as the motherboard I would go with

ASRock A780GMH/128M
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6813157154

You may need to use your 710 to flash it though if that board comes with the initial production BIOS.