CPU Upgrade

[imported_Indecision]

Hey everyone,

I'm in the market for a new CPU and I'll probably have to pick up a new motherboard at the same time.

Right now I have: AMD X2 3800+ and KN8-SLI Socket 939 with 3 gigs of RAM

I'm noticing slowdown when using a multitude of programs at once and am looking to upgrade my processor. I am not brand specific so AMD or Intel is accepted. I'm not sure what is considered to be better by Intel than what I have now.

I currently use Adobe Photoshop CS3, Dreamweaver CS3, Flash CS3 all at once and notice lag. These programs are installed on my 10,000 RPM WD Raptor 150GB hard drive so I know that the HDD isn't what causing my slowdown.

If anyone has any recommendations for me, I'd really appreciate it.

My budget isn't very high, so that $1,000 Intel Quad Core is out of the question haha.

-Ind

 

[phexac]

I would go with E8200-E8500. They will be quite a bit faster than anything AMD has to offer and definitely faster than your X2 3800+. Whether or not you will notice huge performance increases in the programs you mentioned is debatable because, despite the fact that X2 3800+ is a fairly old chip, it is quite fast enough to handle the sort of computing it sounds like you are doing.

As far as quad core goes, for the programs you use a higher-clocked dual core will always win out.