I've got a : P35 MSI Platinum board
E6600 Core 2 duo 2.4GHz
4x1Gb Apacer memory
8800GTX 768mb
2x 320GB Seagate Sata

I'm looking at changing my CPU and i can't decide which is better, i do a whole range of things on my pc from hardcore design in photoshop and 3dsmax to gaming to video encoding ect. So i want the best all round performance.
I need to decide between the : Intel ® Core 2 Quad E6600 Kentsfield 2.40 GHz 8Mb OD Cache .065um 1066FSB and the Intel ® Core 2 Duo E6850 Conroe 3.00 GHz 4Mb OD Cache .065um 1333FSB

Which would be the best?

thanks

If you’ve got an E6600 and want something a bit more productive look at the Q6600. If you’re looking for a new CPU and tossing up between an E6850 or Q6600, go the quad-core, at least you can also tell your friends you have a quad-core, that sounds more impressive than dual!

http://www.tweaktown.com/articles/ [...] index.html

I'm not really worried about impressive but will the Quad-core actually be more productive or does it just sound like it will be more productive? Considering the one is like 20% faster in dual-core.

The article goes on to benchmark and explain what a really great processor the Q6600 is. The people testing it really liked it quite a lot. The article has some great information about the ability of the processor. I have the E6600 since the week they were available. I've had the Q6600 since April. The Q6600 is the most impressive processor I have owned since my FX55. This machne is fun to command.

When I tell my friends I have a dual core, they think, 'so what'.

Q6600 for sure

think to the future m8, quads the way to go

Personally I would just OC the e6600 to 333 fsb and hold on to that untill the 45nm chips come out. Then either snag a new 45nm chip or grab one of the older ones at an even deeper discount.