I'm going to help a friend build a buget system that he will use for some gaming. He is looking to spend around $800 ca. I just need help cosing him the cpu. He dosent want to oc, and cannot spend much more the 150 on the processor. So the quetion is what one would be best to match a 7600gt and a gig of ram? im thinking ether the e4400 or e6300, which ever falls into his budget when we go to build it. He simply wants this rig to run games ocassionaly like bf2, untill he goes to collage or what ever in a few years. Thanks.

q6600 or e6600 ---> e4400 sucks! its for oem's like hp and dell
ram is so cheap get 2 gigs of corsair 667 5-5-5-15 and crank up the volts to 2v and run it ddr 750-800 up to 4-4-4-12

He dosent have a enough for 2 gigs of ram or an e660, definatly not Q660! He has no intent to oc ether... hes just gonna get a gig of ddr2 at 4-4-4-12. WOuld you go with the e6300 then?

hmm you can get some pretty cheap ram... i really suggest you try and hit 2 gigs..

anyways dont build a system right now since on july 22 i believe, there will be huge price cuts, so wait till then

To be honest if money is an issue i would go with an AMD setup... And before the Intel and AMD fanboys start in. Yes I run both platforms. Intel has a performance advantage but not by a whole hell of alot especially when you look at the price difference. Sure my Intel system is faster, but my AMD boxes are way cheaper and you can't really tell a difference in performance unless you are pushing the hell out of them. Owner of Intel E6600, AMD FX-55, and AMD 64 4000+

Thanks, If the c2d prices go down, Wont the preformance from a c2d be better then that of a x2 am2 socket of equal price? I saw a while back a c2d outpreforming a x2 that was nearly twice the price.

For playing BF2, I strongly suggest 2 gig RAM. I have only 1 Gig and the load times are very long. Intel is great, but a cheaper Athlon 64 X2 at 2.4 or 2.6 GHz will run plenty fast for your friend's needs. If he won't overclock, then AMD processors are probably a better buy for a budget system. With all the rapid price drops that are happening, it is hard to recommend the best cheap processor. AMD motherboards are probably cheaper, too. Spend the money saved on the best video card he can afford -- that is more important in most games than a faster processor.

Get him a 7900GS and a cheap P35 board. Put a 6300 on it with a Rosewill Z3. Add 2x1Gb 4-4-4-12 GSkill, and a 500W PSU. Sata2 HDD (one) and Burner. Thats around $600 at new egg.

==>edit AMD build: all parts about $650 including KB, 800dpi mouse and round FDD cable

Brisbane 4000 w/AS-5 or Windsor 3800-65W F3
Athenatech A301 case: Add 2x 12cm fans (fr/rear)
XClio GrPwr 550W PSU: BioStar TF7025-M2 MoBo
G.Skill 2Gb PC6400 4-4-4-12 1.95V RAM
eVGA 7900GS gddr3
Floppy, WD1600AAJS & Lite-On 20A1S

so looks like a 6300 is the best choice? Prices in ca are much higher then newegg, I can oc the 7600gt to almost the power of a 7900gs for him if ever needed. He honestly only has $600 right now and dosent need the 2 gigs of ram or the bells and whistles. Hes uprading an mdg p4 1.7ghz, 256 mb of ram and onboard video. I use a p4 3 ghz ht, 1 gig of ram and a 7600gs and i havent fond a thing it won't run on medium or highest settings. Hes getting a 1600 dpi mouse for $20. He can buy that extra gig if he ever needs it too. For the case hes getting a cooler master centrion 5 and a 400 or 500 watt psu.