amd cpu+ motherboard

i currently have a somewhat old intel system and planning to upgrade but i have no clue whats hot and not amd cpu and motherboard wise

so i s there any chance you guys could spec me a motherboard and processor

i run 2 ati gpus so need crossfire board

i overclock

max budget £280

thanks
chief

Right now you would be much better off sticking with Intel.

What resolution do you plan on running? The Asus P5Q Pro is a nice budget board but can be a bit bottle necked at very high resolutions. If that is the case you could go with the Asus P5E for X38. The difference being about 40 pounds.

For a processor I would go with an E7200. You could go with an E8400 but the difference is pretty minimal.

On the low end you are looking at E7200/P5Q at 180. On the other end with P5E/E8400 at 235, both well within the budget. You still have plenty of room for a nice HSF.

At the moment im running a e6600 but i need to go quad due to me being a media and art and design student and i have heard amd have the best for this, i also do a little gaming when im free. i was going to install a q6600 but i thought i would try amd for a change.

MSI K9A2 Platinum 790FX Socket AM2+ 8 channel audio ATX Motherboard

AMD Phenom X4 Quad Core 9950 2.6GHz Black Edition Socket AM2+ Retail Boxed Processor

ZALMAN CNPS 9500 AM2 - Processor cooler - (Socket 754, Socket 940, Socket 939, Socket AM2) - Copper

would this setup work and allow for some overclocking? thx for your help

Your going to want a better CPU cooler, 9500 is good for stock but an overclocked 9950 is going to run fairly hot and is not going to be stable without good cooling. Not sure about too many AM2+ coolers though maybe someone can chime in some good suggestions.

Motherboard looks good, should hold up well as you bump up the unlocked multiplier on that Black Edition.

First I've heard that an AMD quad is better than an Intel quad...you might want to do some more researching.