Allendale vs Conroe - extra cache worth it?

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Hi,

I'm deffo gonna get a C2D but I'm unsure if the extra cache is worth it for general gaming. I'd like the E6400 because of the good strap but the E6600 is tempting because of the extra cache. In my experience extra L2 only seemed to help people get higher 3D mark scores and I think benching is a bit sad if that's all you do. My San Diego at 2.9 wasn't much faster than my Winchester at 2.75 including encoding, despite having twice the L2.

On water would the 6600 likely clock much higher?

 

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You have a higher chance of higher overclocks with a higher stock clockspeed(E6600). As you have stated the cache makes very little difference at this moment in time - whether it will or not in the future is debatable. You need to consider the main difference between the 6400 and the 6600 - an 8x multi vs a 9x multi i.e the 6400 will require a higher FSB to reach the same clockspeed.

Water will help both cpus reach a higher overclock as you can add more vcore than you would with air without fear of temps being the limiting factor.

My personal opinion is that the 6400 is a great chip and if you are lucky enough to get a good clocker they can easily match a 6600 but if want the best chance of a high clock then the 6600 is where my money would go. Even then you are not guarenteed high clocks asevery cpu clocks differently...it all depends on chance.

Not too familiar with how Intel bin the cores, so you're suggesting a better overclock with the E6600. Hmm might be able to stretch the wallet as I get bonus at the end of this month

The 6400 still sits in the strap 'sweet spot' though from what I've read. Decisions, decisions...