Is it the e4300?

Some would say it really depends on how fast you want to go, but the general consensus and my personal pick is the E4300.

The E6300 has a 7x multiplier and runs at 266 FSB. Upping it to 333 is the only way to achieve better that 2.3 gigahertz.

An E4300 comes with the same 9x multiplier as a E6600, and that means that taking it to 266 will net you a good 2.4 gigahertz. Yes you do not have the E6600s L2 cache, but that is of minimal impact and to get back that performance all you really need to do is put it to 280 perhaps instead of 266.

I run the E4300 at 26 FSB for a 2.4 gigahertz clock speed. All I did was set Vcore to 1.35, its original was 1.325. Some people are even taking this to 266 WITHOUT a Vcore adjustment.

So yes, on a budget the E4300 is the prefered chip. A few things though, do not expect to take this chip to 333 FSB on stock cooling. You will need a good thermal paste, and for more than 266 I really do think you will want a better fan and heatsink, like a Zalman or Tuniq Tower. As for thermal paste I recommend Artic silver, I am not using it but a friend of mine is on an E4300 also set to the same specs as mine, 266 FSB and 1.35 Vcore, but he is running anywhere from 2-5 degrees cooler running TAT full loads compared to me.

BTW, while a 333 on an E6300 will only net a 2.3 gigahertz rating, a 333 on a E4300 will run more like 3 gigahertz!

If 3ghz sounds good the e4300 will get you there easier. Heck of a chip really. Scryer your board must have some serious Vdroop if you had to up your Vcore to get to 2.4ghz. I'm running undervolted @ 334x9.
Oh as far as cooling, check my sig . With the inexpensive cooler master ($16 shipped) and ceramique my rig barely hits 65c with TAT @ 100% and chills @ 58-59c with Orthos. With video editing/games I see around 50c.

I have mine running at 3GHz (333FSB) and it's given me no problems. I do have water cooling, but from what I've seen in the forums I don't know that it's really necessary in my case.

This was my first overclock and was a real breeze.

I have a "dual boot" setup in my rig with two versions of XP. One is stripped-down and used exclusively for gaming. The other is "full boat" and is used for normal web surfing, document creation, etc.

I've also configured the ASUS BIOS to save two separate hardware profiles. One is OC'ed to 3GHz, the other runs pretty much stock. So...when I run my PC in "business mode" (90% of the time), I select the stock configuration and boot from the "full" XP install. When I run in game mode, I select the OC hardware profile in BIOS and then run the "lean" version of XP (which is on 2 WD Raptors in RAID 0).

It works absolutely fabulous for me, and I can honestly say that most of my benchmarks (@ 3GHz) are on par with what one would expect from a stock e6700 or e6800 system. I'm less of an "OC" enthusiast and much more of a game enthusiast--so while I might be able to OC quite a bit more, I'm just going to leave it alone since it already plays my games "like buttah" on my 24" LCD. Sweet!

If I can help you with any further info about my config, etc, just let me know. I'm a realy newb to OCing, but I've definitely been around the block a time or two with building gaming rigs. It's been my hobby for the last ten years.

C2D E4300 @2.99GHz (FSB 333x9)
Asus P5B Deluxe WiFi
2G Corsair PC6400 RAM @ 667MHz 4-4-4-12 2.1v
DangerDen CPU and HD water cooling
BFG 7800GTXOC @ Stock (PCIe clock bumped to 110MHz)
24" Samsung SyncMaster 244T LCD Display
Creative X-Fi Fatal1ty
Logitech X-5300THX Surround Speakers
2x 74G WD Raptor 10,000 HDs in RAID 0
Maxtor 300G SATA HD
Plextor PX-760A DVD-RW
Enermax Galaxy 850 PSU
Saitek X-52 HOTAS
CH Products Pro Pedals
Nostromo N50 Speedpad
Logitech G5 Mouse
Saitek Eclipse Keyboard

Silly slightly off topic question...roughneck, why do you OC your PCIe buss? 110mhz dont do squat. Theres basically no difference in performance even if your only running an 8x channel so a 10% OC even higher than 16x is a waste of wear and tear on your gear...

my .02

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Sometimes when you're OC'ing, you can get system intability that seems like its from OC'ing the CPU when in reality it is graphics related. That minimal increase on the PCIe can make a world of difference.

Hmmm... I never thought about it. I think I only OC'ed it because someone said that they did it too! I'm a bit of a noob and I guess I'm prone to a little "keeping up with the Joneses" now and then...

I appreciate your pointing out the info about performance. Sounds like it's time for me to drop that sucker down a bit. No sense in overstressing parts unnecessarily!

But then again... this it seems like it might be some good advice. I'll have to do some benching and figure out what works. But I think I'm going to try to crank it down if I can.

@Roughneck

A piece of advice, lower your multi to 8, and raise the FSB to 375, this will push your ram to 750Mhz, still keeping it 1:1, and will give you a better overall performance. CPU will remain at 3Ghz.

I think so.

"Cooler Master C15-9HDSC-PL-GP"?

wtf is that? I can't find it anywhere. Is there perhaps an updated version with a different model number?

http://www.coolermaster.com/index. [...] _class=114

Its the 5th one from the top.

PL refers to rifle bearing model. I'm not sure about the GP as it appears on the retail box but not the website

Wait...here it is on their US website
http://www.coolermaster-usa.com/Products.aspx?pid=1259

Ewiz has it for $9.50 cant say their shipping rates are very impressive though).
http://www.ewiz.com/detail.php?p=F [...] b40098ed62
A little searching should give you a low price plus good shipping rates

Woah dude, i have my e4300 at 3.6Ghz and i am only running 1.35vcore, you must have some horrid Vdroop. Also, you can take the e4300 easily to 3Ghz, if you are one of the lucky people who gets one without a soldered IHS (like me, quite unexpected, but yet still happy now), i found out by accident really...

:?: 3ghz undervolted is awesome in my book. I'm not complaining. I'm sure I and others would be interested to hear how you had to mod in order to get 3.6ghz at 1.35 Vcore. That seems a little far fetched on a stock setup.
lol nevermind I read your sig. Still.... you aren't quite this side of believable. Give us some stability screenshots and your motherboard settings and we'll bite.

That 3.6ghz is nothing that impressive really, it's only a 400FSB which most decent motherboards are more than capable of delivering. I myself have my E4300 at 3.6ghz, although i'm using the Tuniq Tower 120 cooler and have it at 1.4 Vcore.