Which CPU to buy at the moment??

[leeakred]

I’m building a new rig for mainly gaming (already posted on forum regards components) and I was wondering what the best CPU to buy is at the moments?



I know there are many different opinions on the subject, just wondered if I could have some ideas?



My rig will consist of;



OCZ 4GB (2x2GB) PC2-8500C5 1066MHz Reaper HPC Edition

Asus P5Q Deluxe Intel P45

Samsung SpinPoint F1 750GB

Swiftech H2O-220 Compact Watercooling Kit

Be Quiet! Dark Power Pro 650W ATX2.2 Modular

Cosmos S case

Haven’t decided on Graphics Card yet?? (Don’t know which to wait for)



I was going to buy the Intel Core 2 Quad Q9450 LGA775 'Yorkfield' 2.66GHz 12MB-cache, but im not sure now? I plan to overclock, but not to any great lengths.



Any help with this much appreciated

 

[itsme]

Asus P5Q Deluxe Intel P45 >

Excellent Chip, this is definitely from the dark side unlimited power...clocked to 3.6ghz with no complaints.

 

[floppybootstomp]

A good choice of CPU but unless you're going to be doing a lot of multi-tasking do you really need a quad core chip?

Just a thought, although it is a reasonable price atm.

And as itsme said, most are good for overclocking.

 

[Adywebb]

Agreed - the Q9450 is an excellent chip - you won't be disappointed

 

[GMawston]

Isn't the Q9450 a bit costly. I saw somewhere (don't know where) that the Q6600 can be clocked high enough to give you a cheapish solution.

Just thinking out aloud so don't beat me up too much with the techy spec's. Now where did I put that winning lottery ticket.

 

[floppybootstomp]

Q9450 = £212.00

Q6600 = £188.00 (Edit - this is the Pro version price, see post below)

So, another £24.00. (£82.00, actually, if standard Q6600 is chosen, so GMawston has a valid point {FBS Edit})

You pays your money and you takes your choice

And not all 6600's are good overclockers, my dual core 6600 - generally reckoned to be one of the best chips for overclocking - wouldn't go past 2.6Ghz without problems, although a lot depends on having good quality memory.

I have the Corsair PC6400C4, 4 x 1Gb sticks - which I thought was reasonable, but it would seem not. Either that or I was just unlucky with my 6600.

 

[Adywebb]

Where are you getting that Q6600 from Flops? - should be around £125 these days at most places.

I have all my Q6600's running at 3.42GHz, and could go higher but I have erred on the side of stability rather than flat out - but Flops is right alot depends on the chip you end up with - not every chip is the same.

The Q6600 is one of those chips that comes around every now and then and becomes a classic, however I would still try to go for the Q9450 if you can afford it, as its faster clock for clock, uses less power, runs cooler and should clock well.

 

[floppybootstomp]

Oops, silly me, I looked at the Pro version

Vanilla flavour is £141.00 at OCUK.

 

[Adywebb]

That's yet another of their debatable 'guaranteed to run above' chips Flops - the original Q6600 G0 is on offer at OCUK for £125

 

[floppybootstomp]

That's yet another of their debatable 'guaranteed to run above' chips Flops - the original Q6600 G0 is on offer at OCUK for £125

That's deffo a bargain

 

[Adywebb]

Yep, it is...........and how OCUK can 'guarantee' an overclocking chip is beyond me, how do they select them for a start? - do they open up every box and test them all first? - of course they don't they are just ones out of the same batch that you can return if it doesn't clock to the guaranteed level.....and I bet they then argue that your mobo/ram/cooling etc isn't good enough and its not the chip anyway


Unless you are really, really unlucky all those Q6600's should at least do 3-3.2GHz - its a total rip-off paying more for a 'guarantee'