Matthew wrote:I mean what about the 1000$? I could put a quad-core compatible mobo AND a quad core processor in for less than that >.> And still have money left for a 2nd video card to boot.

You could, but you're better off upgrading the lot nowadays. Otherwise you just move around bottlenecks and never get full value.

It's depend whether you mean a C2Q or a i-series, also.

Well the rest of my PC is already upgraded. New PSU, new graphics card. All that's left is RAM, Mobo, and CPU.

Curious - a new graphics card for an old mobo?

Admittedly the older standard of PCI-E is only just becoming saturated, but still...

A new graphics card is only going to take a slight hit even on a PCI-E 1.1 board, and it's still infinitely better than an onboard. And it can be removed and put on your next computer as well, So it's an all around good investment.

I think some of the newest generation cards are, at least in dual SLI/crossfire mode, getting close to saturation point now. At least for low-memory GPUs, i.e. that need to do a lot of data transfer (?).
Not checked that out tho.

But it sounds like your mobo is rather creaky if you're talking about needing an upgrade for a dual core (unless I misunderstood you and you meant you had a 2core like myself, of course )

I have a Core2, and no problems with slow-down in games in 95% of occasions (except X3, but that slows down on everything), looking at getting a quad-core next year, simply because the money is available and I'm unlikely to get another chance for a while

I don't mean to sound smug, but...
*Arms spread from the sides of PC and flex biceps*

Aldo: I have a dual-core, I need an AM3 board to use a quad-core.

I only have a PCI-1.0 or 1.1 so my video card is capable of saturating it under maximum load. A PCI-E 2.0 is nowhere near saturation yet under normal conditions.