E8400, E4500, or E2180?

I'm working on putting together a new gaming system, I've already got a Silverstone SUGO SG03 mATX case, the silverstone "Nitrogen" heatsink, and Crucial Ballistix 2X1GB DDR2-800 CL4. I'm planning on buying an 8800GTS (G92) for the video, but I'm not sure which CPU/Mobo I want.

I'm going to be sticking with NCIX.com as I'm in Canada and their customer service has always treated me very well (plus being among the lowest priced).

As far as the Mobo goes I'm thinking of using the ASUS P5E-VM G35, as it basically uses the P35 chipset (with integrated graphics, which I won't use as long as it stays as an overclocked/gaming machine) and from the reviews I've seen has a fairly good overclocking potential (at least as far as an mATX mobo goes) with a retail price of ~$140. But I am open to other boards if anyone wants to make a suggestion.

For the CPU here are the prices I'm looking at:
E8400 - $218 - 3.0GHz 6MB Cache
E4500 - $128 - 2.2GHz 2MB Cache
E2180 - $087 - 2.0GHz 1MB Cache

I'm looking for a suggestion on which one to get. If I go with the 4500/2180 I will probably uncrease the vCore a fair bit (and if the CPU dies then I'll drop in a 45nm//quad)

Thanks in advance

With these cpu's under $250 they will all fit into my budget.

What I haven't really decided on yet is when/what I will upgrade it to. My thinking is that if I "save" >$100 by using the 2180 then I won't worry about it pushing the vCore and let it run hot and if it lasts until next christmas(ish, longer is obviously better) then I might be able to upgrade to one of the 45nm quads with what I've "saved".

On the other hand since I'm planning on using a 8800GTS (G92) in a small form factor case and overclock the CPU... I might have some heat troubles. So in this case I would probably be better off with an 8400 as it runs so much cooler than the 65nm or any quad.

Agreed on the CPU, for a SFF build the E8400 would be the wiser choice, especially for overclocking.

However, from what I've seen, the 3870 runs a little cooler at idle, but slightly hotter under load. It really isn't any better from a power consumption perspective.

Interesting, I haven't seen that review yet. Thanks for the link.

Now I just want to point out that the E8400 is over $130 more expensive than the 2180 (or 250% more). Rough comparison after OC might get an 4GHz to 3GHz advantage, but that's a 50% performance increase for 2.5 times the price. But should run a bit cooler/faster, but is way more expensive, lather, rinse, and repeat.

I should also add that I won't be buying a video card right away, I already have a GeForce 7800GT that I'll use until the OC is finished and I have a reason to upgrade it (and maybe a few more paychecks in the bank

As far as what the upgrade will be, I'm definately planning on something with a double slot cooler. But this decision will really depend on if I'm having big heat issues with an OC'd CPU in a SFF case.

I have an E2160 overclocked 100% to 3.2gHz on a Gigabyte P35C-DS3R board with 2GB Geil Mem and an 8800GT.

CPU is cooled by an Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 and I get temps of 40 Idle - 67-70 Under full load. Vcore is bumped to 1.3v too!! Buy the cheap CPU and then get a new quad sometime down the line..........

I'd go with the 8400, fastest there and definetly overclockable. There is no reason to buy a quad-core for gaming. You have to way overclock a quad to even reach 8400 speed, and the 2 extra cores on the quad will do absolutely nothing for a gaming machine, yet. Maybe in a year or two, but not right now.

TheE6550 is $179 for 2.33GHz and 4MB Cache with a 7x multiplier.
While the E4500 is $50 cheaper it is clocked 0.133 GHz lower stock but has an 11x multiplier.
Or the 8400 is $50 more but is clocked 0.66 higher, has more cache, and better overclocking with lower heat.

for the price, why not go quad? just bought one, cruising at 3.4ghz, smacks both the 2180, 6550 and 8400 at stock - best of both worlds (clock speeds and core count) - should keep me going for a while.

Bang for buck - 2180

how come you automatically through out AMD cpus? Don't get me wrong the E8400 is awesome, and the E4500 is a good overclocker, but I would do some research into AMDs aswell. The Athlon 6400+ ($160) actually performs far better then the more expensive Intel E6550, and even the $200 E6600. The E8400 does beat the AMD 6400+ by a margin though.

E3110 here.

Eventually you'll need to upgrade to a quad when they become the "standard" (it's getting closer to that everyday). I would not spend a large sum of money on a processor, especially since the E2180 has proven to be a wonderful overclocker (3.2Ghz typically) and most games right now are not CPU-limited.

Save yourself some money right now a have a "decent" processor with a good overclock, and in the future when you want to upgrade to a quad it's easily justifiable.