555BE or 955BE Recommendations

[Raelol]

Hey all,

Its been about 2-3 years since I last built a rig and I'm starting to see some slowing/choppiness in my gaming so I figure its time to upgrade.

Current:
E4500 OC'd to 3.0ghz
Tuniq 120
4gb DDR2800
500gb Seasonic
Nvidia 8800GT
Corsair Modular 520HX

Main Use: Gaming (SC2, WoW, FFXIV, Call of Duty)

I plan to keep the HDD, PSU, and heatsink fan (if I can) and was looking at a bargain build that still packs a lot of performance. I'm considering the 555BE and try to unlock to the X4 (955). Even if I don't get the unlock, I figure for $88, its probably way better than what I have currently. Please convince me otherwise if I should just go for the 955 instead.

I'm thinking of getting a HD6850 or a GTX460 once the pricewars settle a bit. Only thing I'm unsure of, is the Mobo and the DDR3 ram. Please suggest a good overclocking board with unlock capabilities. I'm an enthusiast overclocker, but I don't need something extreme. Also consider budget, as cheaper is always a plus.

Budget ~$500 for cpu/mobo/ram/gpu

Thanks,
Justin

 

[mfenn]

A Phenom II isn't going to be significantly faster clock for clock than your E4500. What's really holding you back is the GPU. I'd probably get a 6850 and see how that performs before planning to upgrade the CPU/mobo/RAM.