Gaming and phenom ii's 555 vs 720

You could get the X3 and, if you're not satisfied with its speed, easily increase its unlocked multiplier to reach 3.2GHz

Are you going to unlock it?
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/default.aspx?p=120&p2=83...
Very similar gaming performance, the extra core will help on many other applications though

It depends on how cluttered your computer is, and if you will OC, and if you are using Vista.

The kicker is you can probably overclock the 720 about the same as the 555.

The double-kicker is the 555 is more likely to unlock.

As-is, both CPUs will smoke nearly any game, but out of the box, the 555 may perform slightly better in most games.

I didn't want to incorporate the possibility of unlocking dormant cores (sense this is a craps shoot anyway, 3 people can while 2 can't) ... I was just looking at this from a "straight up" comparison viewpoint.

But, sense the 720 can be easily Overclocked to 3.2 Gigs, all else being equal what would be the answer then?

Also, what if the 555 can overclock more then the 720, would you still miss the 3rd core?

Both have quite similar OC capabilities, and its always better to hav a 3rd core even if say, the X3 gets to 3.6 and the X2 to 3.9

get the 720, if you dont like the third core just shut one off and OC the chip to 3.2

instant 555

:::Face-palm:::: If the 720 could turn into a 555 with C3 stepping by disabling one core ... that would defiantly be the answer I was looking for.

Why would you want to disable one core? Are you really that interested in getting the chip as high as it can go? You'll get the 720 to the same clocks with 1, 2 or 3 cores enabled.