A few questions on the following combo....

Hello everyone:

I am currently upgrading the following components of my box:

Case
Motherboard
CPU
RAM

I know a little about hardware, but not a lot, so try to be understanding if I am a tad ignorant on a few points. I currently have a single core 3200 so that is my bottleneck.

I'll list what I am currently thinking of getting, and then a question or two afterward. I am on a somewhat tight budget so I am trying to get decent components and not spend too much. I have a 3870 video card, which is good enough for me. I am a gamer, but not too hardcore. I will get Fallout 3 when it comes out and it will be the most bleeding edge game on my system. I do not overclock. Well here goes:

• Gigabyte GA-MA78GM-S2H AMD 780G mATX AM2+ PCI-EX SATA RAID Video Sound GLAN 1394 HDMI Motherboard

I can probably pricematch this at NCIX for $95.

• Buffalo Firestix FSX1066D2C-K4G 4GB 2X2GB PC2-8500 DDR2-1066 240PIN DIMM Dual Channel Memory Kit

NCIX has this on sale for $68 after MIR

• Antec Three Hundred Mini Tower Gaming Case 300 ATX 3X5.25 6X3.5INT No PS Front USB & Audio

Pricematch for about $48

• AMD Phenon 8450 64bit Triple Core (3x 2.1Ghz, 1066FSB, 3.5MB Cache, AM2+)

I can get this locally for about $125.
OR

• AMD Athlon64 X2 4850e 64bit Dual Core (45wm, 2x2.5Ghz, 512k Cache x2, Dual Channel, DDR2)

Locally for about $80

• OCZ Vindicator (Heatpipes, 120mm Fan, Optional 2nd Fan, 754/939/AM2/775, Copper)

Locally $21 with MIR

Now the reason I am going for the triple core is that the Motherboard is newer and an AM2+ CPU will make it perform better with the firestix. For the extra $40 is it better to get the triple core as opposed to the dual core? My understanding is that the dual core will limit the FSB that the RAM can run at, while the triple core will let it run at the full 1066. I could be totally wrong about this, which is why I am asking of course.

I have seen that you can run a 'discrete' video card with the onboard video and increase video performance. But is this with 3400 series cards only? Or would that work with my 3870? I am not averse to using my video card only, I own it after all.

Also, do you think that the Vindicator heatsink will fit well on this motherboard? My current stock fan makes too much noise and I want my next CPU fan to be a lot more quiet (not silent, that is something different).

Anyway, will check back later for any replies.

You could surely get a much faster dual if you spent the same on an X2 as you would on an X3?

I would take out the AMD processors,and get a E7200 or E7300 instead for that price range,plus those are the new 45nm tech,being intel it would guarantee that you get better performance while being able to overclock further(4GHz is possible if you have the right cooling).