best CPU bang for buck?

[kyzen]

I'm looking to buy a new CPU to replace my E6300.

The rest of my setup consists of:

GeForce 9600 GT (might go SLI soon)
4 gigs RAM (might have 8 by the time I get the CPU)
Vista Ultimate

I'll obviously also need a motherboard, I was thinking of the Gigabyte P35.

Which CPU would provide the most bang for my buck, and be a realistic option considering my not-quite-top-notch hardware?

I'm leaning towards the Q9300, but I wonder if I'd be better off springing the extra $100 or so for the Q9450 or not (which would delay how soon I could get the SLI setup).

As for what I'll use the system for: Mostly RTS gaming, and a few PC-exclusive shooters; most games I play on my 360. At the moment I play lots of Sins of a Solar Empire.

Any feedback is appreciated

 

[Engineer]

Best bang for buck would be e8400 or Q6600. Longer term, the Q9450 "might" be but the extra money now is quite significant. All in my opinion, of course.

 

[Winterpool]

The difficulty with the cheaper Yorkfield quadcores is the low multiplier (especially on the Q9300) in conjunction with an FSB already starting at 333 MHz -- something to keep in mind if you intend to overclock your new cpu.

If your primary high-demand application is gaming, then a dualcore Wolfdale would be the commonly suggested option, especially now that E8400s seem to be flowing in at reasonable prices.

You already have a Core 2 Duo system (I on the other hand am migrating to Wolfdale from an Athlon XP), so I'm not sure the present time provides compelling upgrade paths, unless you require quadcore. You might want to wait till the end of the year for Nehalem. If you can get a good overclock on a Q6600, that might be the way to go at this immediate moment.