Hi, I'm considering doing a fairly big upgrade of my PC to get it up to date for some of the new games. Trying for medium settings in Crysis at 1680x1050. I've decided on a 9800GT as they are extremely cheap here at around $160(Australian), and another 2 gig of ram. However I'm not 100% sure if I should go for a E8400 or E8500. I want the best for overclocking, but not sure which one would be better. I currently have a E4500 running at 3.2GHz. I'd like to aim for the 3.6-3.8GHz Range. the E8500 is only $18 more so whatever you think is best I dont mind. Thanks for any help. Mattwizz3 Super PIII 1.49GHz 141FSB 768MB PC133 2x 80GB HDDs AGP 4x X1650Pro XP Pro SP3

The e8400 will hit an easy 4 gig on the biostar tpower I45. Price is good at 140$ U.S.(for MB).I run at 7.5 by 533 fsb with the 1066 ram.Bios is easy to set up, and you would need to set cpu voltage (1.28vcore)after flash to latest bios version.This setup is a screamer. You wont get much more out of the e8500 without dangerous vcore rise.45nm chips dont like too much voltage and tend to degrade easier than the 65nm conroes. Either way 4 gig on air is not bad.Make sure you get good ram. Be Good, Robert core2duo e8400@3.99w/Big Typhoon biostar tpower i45 w/chipset cooler 2X2GB mushkin ddr2 1066 WDC 74GB Raptor Enermax 485W PS 8800gt

I forgot to mention that I will keep my mobo, my system isnt really that old. The mobo is a Gigabyte P35-DS3R rev 2. I will go the E8400 then. Thanks. Mattwizz3 Super PIII 1.49GHz 141FSB 768MB PC133 2x 80GB HDDs AGP 4x X1650Pro XP Pro SP3

The only difference between the E8400 & E8500 is the multiplier (9x vs 9.5x)....other than that, they're identical. But if you ask me, you'll be wasting close to $200 on an upgrade that will gain you little over what you currently have. You're already running your Allendale at 3.2GHz & should be able to push it even higher. Why not just jack up the FSB on the E4500? What are you running it at right now...8 x 400MHz? "If my answers frighten you then you should cease asking scary questions" - Jules Winnfield (Samuel L. Jackson) in Pulp Fiction

I currently have it at 10x 320. Dosent seem to be super stable at 400MHz FSB. Havent been gaim to raise voltage because I have no idea what the safe range is. So, What IS the safe range? If I could hit 3.6 with this Id be quite happy... Or even 3.2 with a higher FSB. My chipset dosent seem to run very cool, so I've been considering upgrading the chipset heatsink. Maby that will be a better investment than a new CPU. EDIT: I did some googling and came up with my own maximum of 1.45V. Couldn't reach 3.6GHz, It would post but not run windows. So, currently in windows @ 3.2GHZ with a 400MHz FSB at 1.35V, Will run with 1.3.. but Have obviously done no testing yet. I guess I'll hang on to this until I can afford a Quad core. Mattwizz3 Super PIII 1.49GHz 141FSB 768MB PC133 2x 80GB HDDs AGP 4x X1650Pro XP Pro SP3

"I guess I'll hang on to this until I can afford a Quad core." Good idea. :) The Quad-Pumped Super P3: Pentium M Dothan @ 2.82GHz (166x17) 3GB PC6400 @ 667MHz 9600GT Blu-Ray Modified PowerMac G4 Quicksilver case Homebuilt 1080p projector Vista SP1