C2D E6600 to E8500, E8600, or Q9950

[Sho'Nuff]

Hey all, I have the system listed below. In your opinion, would an upgrade from my current C2D to the E8500, E8600, or Q9950 be worth it? I am contemplating running dual GTX 280's at some point, and I think I am severely CPU bottlenecked as is.

Also, I use this system for 70% gaming, 20 % work (word, excel etc.), and 10% HD video editing.

My System:

C2D E6600 2.4 GHz (at 3.1 GHz)
EVGA nvidia 680i with p33 bios revision
4GB Corsair DDR 800
EVGA nvidia gtx280 superclocked
Soundblaster X-Fi
ABS Tagan BZ Series BZ1100 1100W PSU

 

[mancunian]

The quad hands down, especially if you overclock it. The 2 duals don't offer enough improvement over what you now have for what they'd cost.

 

[brencat]

Originally posted by: mancunian
The quad hands down, especially if you overclock it. The 2 duals don't offer enough improvement over what you now have for what they'd cost.

Agreed. With 4M cache and at 3.1 ghz already, you won't see enough of a jump going to a 4ghz OCed E8xxx to justify the expense. This is especially true if you game at less than 19 x 12 resolution (and I really really hope you don't with that GTX280!)

 

[hclarkjr]

another vote for the quad. i just did the same upgrade from a E6600 but went with a Q6600 as i got great price on a G0 stepping

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

If you are talking about the Q9650 then yes, go for it! duals, ehhh