Next cpu suggestions

If you have the money and want something RIGHT NOW get an i7. But if you can wait till next year get the 32nm revision called Gulftown w/ 6 cores. Or wait for sandy bridge.

What's your budget? Are you willing to replace your entire rig to go i7.

E8300 at 3.8G+ is pretty good. Good work on that. It is still a good solid rig to me. I would keep what you have until next upgrade. If you have to get a new cpu, may give Q9650 a try.

i would keep what you have now.
if you really want something better though, get a 45nm quad.
orrrr if you has lots of money, go i7 haha

Really don't want to replace mobo and mem to go i7 but if intel is leaving 775, maybe its something to think about. Would like to keep the cpu cost under $350 and I'm not making any moves this minute. Just planning for 2-4 months down the road.

I would wait for the 32nm i7 then. What you have now is good for a while yet.

My only worry about quads is weather or not I'll be about to get back to 3.8G that I'm now at. I hear it’s pretty tough to get a quad past 3.6G. And yes, they are great on the synthetic benches, but in real world gaming, their full power it not used. From my benches and researching online, I match most quads now with equal graphics. Can the new 45nm quads oc like us 45nm core2's?