Should i upgrade to a quad core ?

[kevinpoore]

At the moment im using an AMD Phenom ii X2 565 black edition cpu.Using an asus M4A77T motherboard ive managed to unlock another core and have overclocked all 3 to 3839.7 MHZ using a 240 bus speed and a X16 multiplier, the HT Link is 2399.9 and the cpu core voltage is 1.440v as reported by cpuz.Ive tested this overclock using prime 95 overnight and it is stable,ive actually ran it stable at just over 4 ghz in the past but didnt like the look of the higher cpu voltage.I use a coolermaster tx3 cpu cooler and a good airflow case(Xigmatec Midgard).I am considering buying a quad core,965,970,975 or 980 or even a 6 core but wondered if i would see much difference in performance in gaming.What do you think ???.I havnt much money so would sell the 565 to help fund the upgrade.Your opinions would be much appreciated........

Also coz of lack of funds will the new AMD Bulldozer fit into my am3 board or is that for another socket coz if so then id wait untill its release.Thanks.

If it helps rest of spec is :8gb kingston hyper blue ram ( 4x2 )
Palit gts 450 sonic platinum 1gb gddr5

 

[4745454b]

I don't think I'd bother with a new CPU. What you have now should be more then enough for gaming. A new GPU would be a good idea.

 

[intelatifan]

I think u should wait for some more months. Wait for bulldozer to hit the markets. Go through reviews of it for a month or so. Until u can save some bucks as u still have 3-4 months for its arrival. but it is damn sure that new quad core will definitely increase ur gaming performance at least by 30%. I had c2d e7500(3 mb l2) cache, i replaced it core i3 (3 MB l3 cache), both have got almost same clock speed. But believe me i was amazed with its performance over e7500. so start saving some bucks for quad core.

 

[Motopsychojdn]

+1 to 4745454b, drop in a new gfx card and leave it for a year or two
Moto

 

[kevinpoore]

Thanks everyone that has been really helpfull.I might upgrade the graphics card.tho my card is only a month old and paid £112.00 ebuyer i am happy with it and although noisey under load is quite a performer at my native resolution 1920 x 1080.but i will think about another card for about £150 budget.the palit gts 450 sonic platinum i have is only 128 bit and has 930 mhz gpu clock , 2000 mhz mem clock and a 1860 mhz shader clock (pre overclocked stock speeds) apparently its "the worlds fastest gts 450"...Its a bit of a mine field when choosing graphics cards,there are so many so any suggestions from all you experienced tech-heads out there would be appreciated.Thanks.

 

[Motopsychojdn]

You seem pretty clued up already, keep an eye out on
Scan.co.uk
Ebuyer.co.uk
Pixmania.co.uk
and any other uk sites you know of for deals, but I'd say minimum level of a Nvidia 460 or Ati 5830 will more than do you without bottlenecking anything, its always worth keeping an eye on Toms frontpage, the recommended lists are on there for chips, Psu's gfx cards etc
http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/charts/graphics-cards,1.html
Moto

 

[Yadhu]

Yes definitely upgrade to a quad core.just sell your current processor i am sure you will get at least 50$ use it and upgrade to a phenom X4 965 BE.unless if you want more gaming than multitasking stay away from amd since you are not changing mother board i suggest get the 965 BE.it should be worth it

 

[yyk71200]

Some games can use quad cores. For instance, GTA IV simply loves quadcores. If you play one of such games, upgrade.