Updating my PC, seeking input - PLZ SAVE ME FROM JAMBO

I started talking with Jambo a couple weeks ago and he was talking about quad core nonsense and that sorta thing, and while I've decided against that, I've got a lineup of new hardware I'm thinking of buying this week. I just thought I'd share it and let you all tell me how good it is or what a mistake I'm making.

Currently, my computer is sporting the following:

Gigabyte nForce4 SLI mobo
Athlon 64X2 5600+ Windsor (2.8ghz)
320MB EVGA GeForce 8800GTS
4GB G.Skill DDR2 RAM
320GB 7200RPM Seagate Barracuda
550W SLI power supply
Windows Vista Ultimate. I got it for free, okay?

I'm in need of more hard drive space and I'm disappointed in the performance of my processor and want to switch to Intel. I would keep my hard drive and just add on another for more storage, but I'm almost positive there's something wrong with mine -- from time to time the computer will make this annoying whining, almost grinding noise. I've gone in and manually stopped each fan with my finger and the noise kept coming, so I can't think of what else it would be.

While Jambo was adamant that I go with a Q6600, this is what I'm looking at right now:

Gigabyte X38 mobo (does SLI)
Core 2 Duo E8400 Wolfdale (3.0ghz)
512MB MSI GeForce 8800GTS
500GB 7200RPM Seagate Barracuda

Thoughts? Changes I should make? Anything?

Listen to Jambo if you've got ridiculous amounts of cash to spend on computer parts. Other than that, it sounds fine. I've got an 8800GT in the box and its a ripper, never had any problems with it, definitely worth the upgrade.

Quad core may have some benefits if you do a lot of CPU intensive tasks that have streaming processes that utilize all four cores, the E8400 (or the equivalent E3110) are excellent offerings. More games will begin to use multiple cores in the coming year, but I wouldn't worry too much about it as even with dual core at 4GHz (easily attainable with the chip) you will not be limited by the CPU, but more by your GPU. That being said, it's a good choice of video card, I don't know what the performance is for sure but the 9800GTX hit store shelves today. But the results make it an interesting offering...

Personally I would go for the P35 Chipset as it overclocks well seems to run cooler with great performance numbers (less bugs too).

I personally like the Abit Ip35 Pro...good price performance, and setting options.

I'll give you ten bucks for all the parts you're replacing

Good list though, if you have the cash. Would probably treat you well for a few years to come.

nah, 9800GTX is just a OCed 8800GTS 512 with 13% better memory bandwidth with a worse cooling system. It's more like an April Fools joke than a video card. Seriously, it only does 3-4 FPS better than The old as dirt 8800GTX.

Grab the MSI 8800GTS 512 at newegg, it's $214 after rebates.
Or get a 8800GT with a nice cooler, like the Gigabyte or MSI ones.

Everything else looks sweet, but be advised that X38 only supports Crossfire, not SLI.

It's actually 199 if you include the $30MIR.

However it does beat the 8800GTX(which is more expensive), and is only about $330. If in the next couple weeks one comes along with a MIR to bring it to $250 or so, it may become a real option.

I still vote for the GTS though.

Good choice with the Roswill PS. I have the 750 watt version and it is amazing. A good power supply is the most important part of a well running computer. I can't express that enough.

If you stay with the AMD route I would go with the 6000 or 6400 Black Edition. They are a little bit faster (OMGLOLLOLLOL MOAR GIGAHERTZ!!!!) and they are 65nm instead of 90. That's the only regret I have when I got my 6000, it's still 90nm. To my knowledge, they are not much more expensive than the regular 6000/6400.

The new GTS is great, but I think you will paying more money for performance you won't see. The GTS is better suited for large resolutions, if that's your bag, then by all means get the GTS. However, I would not recommend the 320mb version, it's performance is lackluster compared to the new GTS or the GT. After having it for a month I was not satisfied, compared to my GT, it ran significantly hotter. I have no proof of this, but it made my dorm room significantly warmer.

Performance wise at 1440x900 the GT is slower than the GTS by only 2 or 3 FPS in the test that I saw. Like Max said, the GPU will limit you a lot more than your CPU. When playing the Witcher, my cpu doesn't usually go higher than 50% on one core. (only one core is doing the work, which isn't much)

The GTS320Meg uses a different GPU core It's G80, the 8800GT/GTS512 are both G92. The GT and gts512 also have more stram processors and higher clock speeds than the GTS320....