Best non-overclocking c2q

Well Tim if you read around the forum alot of people are complaining about Q6 series core temps, be it legitimate or not. If your not going to overclock this won't be an issue unless you live in a very very hot climate. Before you decide which cpu to get read Toms GPU vs CPU upgrade articles since you are not going to overclock and you are building it for games.

"However, games are not 100% dependent on the graphics card; the Geforce 8 and 9 require a basic level of power, otherwise they are unable to exploit their 3D potential. The speed of the CPU should lie somewhere between 2600 and 3000 MHz; any lower, and the new graphics chips lose considerable performance.

There is no obvious advantage to quad cores over dual cores, at least according to the graphics-based benchmarks. In order for the Q6600 to compete with the dual core E6750, the same clocking rate is recommended. If you wish to combine an E2160 with a Geforce 8800 or Geforce 9, you will need to overclock. Without a clock rate of at least 2400 MHz, you will lose a considerable amount of graphics performance, because the card is not fully loaded."

I WOULD oc a Q6600 to 3Ghz and spend the savings on good 1066Mhz ram personally.

9850 hahahaaaaaa

i have a a 6000+ and I bet it spanks it in everyday apps.

Q9450 ... best for the price considering your not going to OC it anyway - has more cache and runs cooler than any of the other 6 series chips.

Too many issues with 6 series temps ... you will need to make sure the case is clear of obstructions, has a beefy cooler, and decent fans otherwise.

The 9 series cores run cooler ... less hassle.

If your an enthusiast go for a 6 ... if you want less hassle get a 9.

Simple choice.

Speed is not the only consideration when purchasing a processor.

EDIT: To elaborate...

One might also consider any current issues/problems with a processor (i.e., the 45nm's DTS issue might make one consider a Q6600 or Q6700 over a Q9300 or Q9450)

QX9650? if u have a virtually unlimited budget. Otherwise Q9300 or Q9450.

OR E8400 but its dual-core. Beats some quads at even quad-optimized apps.

you already got your answer in the post above, read the gpu vs cpu article if you really require details.

for current games 2.6ghz+ is sufficient for 8800 series

Well i was wondering what ram i should get for the 780i any suggestions?

As far as i know it supports pc6400 ddr2 1200mhz any ram with those specs that is cheap?

well my vista is 32 bit so i was thinking 1gbx3... if you didn't know 32 bit os's can only support 3 gbs and 64 4 gbs. I want to spend mony anyway xD but... i also want to get the best out of my video cards and my cpu ...

So si should buy a single 4 gb stick of ddr2 with 1200 mhz fsb or 1gbx4 with 1200 mhz or either 1 with any mhz( 800 1066) ???

Tim try and match your RAM to the CPU/FSB speed. If your not going to overclock you dont need to worry about low latency 4x1GB stuff. Just get reliable 2x2GB (kit) and you dont even need to worry if they have heat spreaders. Have you decided which cpu to get? Because if your going to buy high speed dd2 you might as well get ddr3, here the prices have dropped dramatically.