What CPU should one get

The choice is a E6600 or a E6420. The 40 bucks cheaper is really nice right now considering I am going to upgrade to a Quad core 1333mhz 45nm when they come out. I have a Asus P5K3 deluxe wifi board. I am looking for the best CPU for the time being around 200 bucks. Like I said though the price being lower then 200 rather then 220 is nice so what I am really asking is it worth it to get the 6600 rather then the 6420? The cache is the same so I was thinking the 6420 might be the best bet.

Also, Any idea when the 1333 fsb CPU's will be out?

Ok, What do you think about the 6320? Is that worth it or the 6420 better? I did notice that ZIPZOOM had the 6550, 6750 and one other on their site for about 3 or 4 days but they recently got rid of it. Ofcourse they was a back in stock alert and not available or I would have scooped one up. The 6550 was going for around 165.

The first set of CPUs with a 1333 fsb will come out on July 22. They however, will be Conroes and not Penryns. They include the e6550 ($163), 2.33ghz, , the e6750 ($183), 2.66 ghz and e6850 ($266), 3ghz. They have a 65nm process and 4mb of cache. The Penryns on the other hand will have a 45nm process with 6mb of cache.

Well, the current Intel Q6600 quads should be below $300 by the end of July. I dont know what the Penryns will cost when they come out...the latest rumour is late quarter 4, around christmas...but I have little doubt they will take a premium when they do show up. Possibly a fair bit more than $500, so any money you can save now may help you later.

As for the stuff your doing, Office on the web, adobe (did you mean acrobat, or Photoshop? - it makes a big difference) I cant tell if its really tasking or not thats casuing your problems. If your doing a lot of stuff over the web, it may just be your internet connection causing problems.

Based on the apps you mentioned, I assume your running windows. An easy and fast way to tell if your CPUs are loading up and causing the bogs is to get a typical range of apps that you use up and running, then open task manager (ctrl+alt+del), and open the "performance" tab. Look at your "CPU usage history". If its maxing, or close to it, then you problem is your CPU. If its not maxing, then your problem may lay elsewhere. The reason I bring this up is simple. If your CPU is not the bottle neck, then spending money on the faster CPU wont help. You may need more ram, or you may just need to defrag your HDD if you havent in awhile, or you may need to take a look at your internet connection and makesure you're actually getting the bandwith you're paying for. You can check that here:

http://reviews.cnet.com/7004-7254_7-0.html

Take a look at that stuff to help you with the decision.

what are the specs on the system your using now...the one that is bogging?

Well sort of. This is just an opinion based on personal preferences.... Im a tight wad and love to get the most I can for my money.

If you know youre going to upgrade or build something else later on, and if what you have now is functional, or can be tweaked enough to eliminate the need for a short term purchase, that leaves you more money for later on. So if you can identify what is causing your bogs now, you know where to concentrate your money. The apps you've listed by name wont really task a CPU too much, unless the files are huge, or have lots of embedded links, large pictures etc. There are other apps you might use that can cause a comp to slow down significantly A firewall for ex, can cause a big lag depending on how you have the it configured. Fatsest way to get a clue to tell is to look at the CPU usage. With the mobo you have, your set for whichever CPU you've mentioned. Based on the other info you've mentioned, It doesnt sound like your CPU is the bottleneck, so I would go with the 6320 and save the cash for the Penryn later on.

Ok that sounds good. My firewall is hardware so it is external. I used to have a software firewall but found it to be senseless and slowing down the computer so I got rid of it.


Thanks for your opinion. I am also a tight wad too. Although I just did drop 40 on a P190 case but it was WELL worth the money considering the quality of the case. I needed the 1200 watts due to running multiple disk's and the price of a 800+watt PSU would have cost 3 bills alone.