A new processor, what can i use?

Hi there everyone, i recently purchased a new gfx card ram etc. the only thing thats letting me down is my processor. i have a AMD Athlon 64 Processor 3000+ and im being told by EVERYONE that this is letting down my system and causing me to not be able to run games properly, i know i can run games on high settings but this lets me down and so i ahve to use a lower detail setting etc. My motherboard is a GIGABYTE K8 Triton, GA-K8NMF-9, it says it supports AMD 64 Processors, and i want to buy a new one, i know that ther are dual-core processors out ther but i have no clue what thi means. so any help would be welcome.
P.S. i was looking on ebuyer and i found a AMD Athlon 64 X2 4200+ Socket AM2 Dual Core (2.2GHz) 512kb L2 Cache AM2 Retail Boxed Processor, i dont know what this is, but its dual core and 4200+ which is better than mine. is this good? it was £47.00.

Thanks alot.
Ben

 

Duel core means that the processor has 2 cores basically, hence the name. The proccessor you have now is 1 core. A duel core can get twice the amount of work done in the same time as a single core. For example, one core can be working with you to play a game, while the other could be doing windows things such as burning a dvd, downloading music etc.

Anyways, the processor you saw is a good one. It's not top of the line but it is certainly better than yours. A Athlon 6400+ X2 would be top of the line. Not sure if its the right socket type for your mobo though

 

I have a x2 6000+ and I am very happy with how it is working, so if you have the extra cash, I would suggest buying something a little better. What is your socket type for your motherboard?

 

ok, first id like to say thanks for the replies. second, i dont have a clue what socket my motherboard is, how can i find out. and i was wondering if there as any chance i could keep the motherboard but upgrade the cpu. I dont have a lot of money atm.!

 

ok, i jusat went onto the gigabyte website and found out that my socket is socket 939 platform. or something. does that help?

 

Yes it does, that means the best processor that you can use with that particular motherboard is this one http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103543
If you want to be able to use a better processor than that one, you need to get another motherboard with a socket AM2. Any other questions?