Intel Core 2 Duo Choices and Prices

[RBBigDog]

I have all my other parts, but have been waiting for the Intel price cuts to occur before buying the CPU.

Here are the best prices I have found on the CPU's that I am interested in (I live in California...these are the final costs to get the chip delivered to me...in other words, they include any shipping and tax).

E6300 $170
E6320 $190
E6400 $200
E6420 $202
E6600 $228

My plan was to overclock whatever CPU I purchased, but have been concerned about all the "hit and misses" people seem to be having lately (it almost seems to depend on what batch of CPU they get or just pure luck of the CPU itself). Since I was planning on having it shipped to me, I don't have the option to check batch numbers before buying.

Some of my other components are:

DFI P965-S
2GB OCZ 1066 RAM
EVGA 7900GS 256MB DDR3
Cool Master Hyper TX CPU/Heatsink Fan

I don't have a issue buying the E6600 at $228, but if there is a decent chance that I can't clock any higher than 3.2Ghz or 3.4Ghz, than is it worth the extra money (assuming that I should be able to get a E6400 or E6420 near that speed also)?

I'm leaning toward purchasing the E6600, but welcome any advice anyone has on the subject....What CPU will give me the best chance at good overclocking (with air cool) and is the best bang for the buck?

I realize this type of question has been asked a 100 times before, but with the price cuts and new Intel CPU chips hitting the streets, I thought there might be some new information and recent opinions out there that would be worth sharing.

Thanks for your time!

 

[djgandy]

I've not heard of a E6xxx part missing the 3.0ghz mark.

E6600 is extremely attractive these days. A higher binned part. Definately worth a little $ more.

 

[dragonsprayer]

6420 is the way to go if you tight on cash and using a really good oc mobo

other wise spend the money for the 6600

 

[Gundam1s]

Thats a little more than 10% increase in price to jump from the E6420 to a E6600 and even less when compared to the price you paid for the entire system.

Just another way to look at it, your choice man.

 

[RBBigDog]

I agree about the small price difference between the 6420 and the 6600 (especially considering all the parts I've purchased)....those are probably the only two CPU's I'm considering at the moment. At first, it was only going to be the 6420, but the low price (difference) of the 6600 seems to be tempting me to change my mind.

It just seems that more and more people aren't able to overclock the newer conroe chips as much as they used to be able to do (the early reports I've read about the 6420 seem to be showing the same thing too).

 

[lx_flier]

You could get that e6600 to 3.5ghz with a p5n-e @1.5 volts

 

[440bx]

My $0.02,

Like everyone else, I've been waiting impatiently for the price drops to build a new system. What I really want is a quad core but don't want to spend $500.00+ for it. The rumor is that the Q6600 will drop to $266 in the September/October timeframe. I've decided to do the following:

1. Purchase a cheap E4300 and overclock it. They don't overclock well but, it is likely to reach 2.8 to 3.0 Ghz. That's enough to provide a quick fix I can live with till September/October.

2. Purchase a Q6600 in October to replace the E4300 and give my wallet a break for a year after that.

The total spent that way is $118 + $266 = $384 which I find it easier to do than spending $525.00 right now.

You may want to consider doing something similar. Being patient till October will provide a handsome reward.

HTH.

 

[RBBigDog]

I appreciate all the comments so far....Yeah, I could never convince myself to spend that type of money (+500) either for a CPU.

So much changes in just a year or two (computer wise) that I normally only keep a computer for about 18 months. I'm currently selling my old AMD computer to someone else and putting the money toward this one (it's kind of like leasing a car). This way I sell my old computer when there is still some value in it. I never buy top of the line stuff, but parts that I think are good values. The last few years its cost me about $200 to do these upgrades (this time, it will be a little more than that). That's not a bad way of going in my opinion.