550 or 720

If the increased price is not an issue, go with the 720. It should easily overclock just as well as the 550 and you get an extra core. If price is an issue the 550 is still a good choice.

I am trying to build a new system mainly for gaming. Price is close enough with these 2 chips, that money is not a deciding factor. I have also considered the 955, but that seems to put me over budget. How big of a deal is it in gaming to have a 3rd, or even 4th core.

and, that triple core could be unlocked into a full quad, but don't bet on it, it depends on a lot of factors and luck, like, "Do you have the right processor, right bios, right mobo etc."

ChronoBodi,
The Game Benchmarks review you linked was done before 550 came out. It might not be able to reflect the difference between 550 and 720.

Yes, it does. Thank you for bringing that up.
550 and 710 were quite close in that review. No wonder 550 is only $10 cheaper.

If your gaming with the system, 9 times out of 10 higher clock speeds will beat more cores especially if you plan to overclock. I would go with the 550 personally, because the extra core would just be sitting there doing nothing most of the time.

720 b3 morre and more apps are being built to take advantage of more threads 3 cores running at 3.4 just imagine it.

I just purchased a 720 and there are a lot of combo deals with motherboards that will save you $20 or more. I dont know about the 550 but the 720 was an awsome deal with at 135 less the $20 combo discount.

I also want to thank everyone that helped in this thread. I learned from this thread and I just ordered the 720 with a 4850 in a combo deal from newegg.

Get the x2 550 and unlock it, you have a very good chance of ending up with a quad that overclocks to 3.8Ghz 1.4v on air. Worked for me and most on Newegg. Out of 8 peeps that I know personally, 6 have ended up with a stable quad.

Or wait till the i5's come out and choose what fits your needs.

I say the 720.

It's not much more than a 550.

And if you're doing any new builds soon, you could pick up a mobo with the 720 for a decent price. 194.99 when I got it. Looks like 204.99 now but still.

You're paying 20 bucks more for a processor with an extra core that you can up the multi to 16 and have a 3.2ghz tri core

I like mine, maybe I'm biased

Let me build a pc with a 550 and get back to you

Go for 550 BE. That'll give more head space for O.C. Also better performer.

No....lol..... The 720 is a good chip, but its like everything else as time passes by we get better and faster things to play with. The same will happen to the 550...its just a matter of time.

You can overclock that 720 to 3.6 on air and all 3 cores will be flying.....

Just a heads up, as of today Newegg has the x2 550 for 99.99$

And I can guarantee you it will back at 109.99$ in no time.....