New to OCing: Should I spend a lot of money or overclock?

[i_hate_flying]

Hi, I am building a new system. I don't have money to burn, and I don't really understand the core2duo overclocking guide, but I'm sure I can figure it out.

I am trying to decide on a processor to buy to overclock. I was set on the X6800 for a long time, but then I started thinking about OCing after reading one of Tom's overclocking guides: http://www.tomshardware.com/2006/10/10/cheap_thrills/page6.html

Saving 700$US or more sounds great to me. It's been a while since that article was published, and many people have been able to play around with the new core2duo's to see what works best, so I decided to ask my question now.

I would like to know what the best overclocking processor and cooling combination is for the money. I would like to get X6800 or better performance. I was thinking about buying an E6400 or an E6600, but I don't know how much extra juice one can get out of the E6600 as opposed to the E6400. I would also like to know what the best in-case non-water-cooling option is. I don't want to have a big machine pumping water around under my desk! Any suggestions would be most welcome. Thank you!

 

[yas]

I would suggest getting the E6600 due to 4mb of cache and higher multiplier. I would also recomend the asus P5W DH that works great with that board. For the cooler get a zalman!