Upgrading advice please

[Atomik]

Hi.

My current processor is a P4 3.0GHz Northwood - 512k L2 cache, 800MHz FSB. I'm looking to upgrade as I want a PCI-E mobo. The PC is used for gaming, photoshopping, browsing and other general desktop activities. What would be my best buy at the moment? I was considering the AMD 3800+. Would I see much of a performance increase over my existing processor? Is dual core going to offer much advantage, or would my money be better spent on something else? I don't really want to spend over £250 on the chip if I can avoid it. Any advice greatfully received!

 

[Havana_UK]

3800+ X2 is probably the best buy at the moment.

Very overclockable (expect ~2.4GHz) so great in games, even those that don't support multi-threading. Great for multitasking and superb in applications which make use of multi-threading.

Hav

 

[Atomik]

Think I'd see much of a performance improvement over the P4?

 

[Havana_UK]

A massive one, yes, especially if you overclock it.

A64 is better in games than P4, and the dual core will give you an advantage in photoshop & general Windows use.

Hav

 

[Atomik]

Thanks for the advice. Much appreciated.