Thanks for all your help, I really appreciate you taking your time to help me figure this out. My problem is that recently I've noticed some strange behavior that I'm thinking is probably related to the processor - some system crashes and freezing, esp. in games, I can't really afford to be without a computer, so I was planning on upgrading fairly soon. So the question (which I know really comes down to me) is whether I want to spend $150 on a processor that is older, or whether I should spend a little more and go with an i3/i5.
I guess I'm leaning toward the i3 / i5 idea. Any CPU / MB combos I should look at that are relatively cheap?
I guess I'm leaning toward the i3 / i5 idea. Any CPU / MB combos I should look at that are relatively cheap?