Please help me upgrade current setup to run Diablo III ?

I have an old Gigabyte GA-MA69GM-S2H with a Athlon64 3000+ with 4 GB's of DDR2 ram that i was using for a test rig for Linux and htpc options. I found a CompUSA near by that has a X3 cpu for $44.99 and before i go out and buy any GPU solutions, i wanted to get some honest help from the peeps who play PC games. Price of course is always an issue, so i don't want to go overboard. TIA - James

Which X3 CPU? Minimum specs from Blizzard. The list of supported CPUs from Gigabyte for your board. Make sure you have a BIOS revision that'll support whatever CPU you're trying to get.

I'm not sure that D3 is all that multithread aware above two threads (Honestly haven't looked so don't quote me), so you'd want an X3 that is in the similar clock range of the X2 4400+ (2.2GHz) listed as the minimum, and if you could find one closer to the 2.8GHz recommended, that'd be even better.

General hardware forum has a template for this type of question--I'd recommend asking there.

http://www.compusa.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=6611082&CatId=3681

it's a Phenom X3 8550 Processor - Triple Core, 2MB L3 Cache, 1.5MB L2 Cache, 2.20GHz, Socket AM2+, 95W for $50

I did notice on my BIOS upgrade a I can support some AM3 but the bus will be underclocked.....Athlon II X4 640 (4000) will work with the latest BIOS upgrade and it's a 3 Ghz and it's AM3 so i could get this and then upgrade the MOBO and RAM later and only be out $100 right now.

***CLOSED**** Open thread in GENERAL Thanks DU DAVE