Need advice: cpu vs nb frequency

cpu: phenom 2 550 c3
mobo: gigabyte GA-MA790X-UD4P
ram: corsair dominator ddr2-1066 (micron)

Over the past week I've plotted out voltage scaling for my cpu and nb speeds as well as stability with different combinations of speeds. At 3.8GHz cpu my nb can manage 2.9Ghz but at 3.9Ghz or higher on the cpu, nb is limited to 2.5GHz. The max my cpu can handle with current cooling is 4.1Ghz. So my question is, would running at 4.1GHz cpu & 2.5Ghz nb result in better performance or 3.8Ghz cpu and 2.9GHz nb? I know that the best way to find out would be to test both out in some benchmarks but I want to know if anyone had already done any research on the topic.

It is a balancing act. If you had 3.9Ghz with 2700Mhz or similar, you would be the best you could be and best balance you could find.

The most research I've seen on AMD chips was done by Dolk.

http://www.overclockers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=596023

Its kind of application dependent but generally higher CPU speed trumps all else.