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which Core 2 cpu to get?

wijcc

wijcc

wijcc

Soldato
Joined
10 Aug 2003
Posts
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Location
London
I am looking to purchase a new intel core duo cpu. Which is the best cpu to get under the £100 bracket?

Which out these two is better? (I am looking to do gaming on this machine, probably o/c it too)

Intel Core 2 Duo E4600 Socket 775 2.4GHz (800MHz) L2 2MB Cache Retail Boxed Processor

Intel Core 2 Duo E6550 2.33GHz 1333FSB Socket 775 4MB Cache Retail Boxed Processor

Also what is the best motherboard to go with it, a few options will handy. Needs to have IDE as I will be reusing my exiting IDE HDDs and DVD-RW

Thanks in advance guys :)
 
what like the Intel Core 2 Duo E2200 Socket 775 2.2GHz 800FSB one???.. it has less L2 cache than the other two so will still be faster?.
I mainly play games like supreme commander by the way if that makes a difference.
 
My E2180 has never been below 3.2Ghz and this was the first Intel chip I've overclocked. Really easy and this CPU beats my m8's E6850 @ 3Ghz. I've had it up to 3.5Ghz but I've not primed that yet but will do soon. 3.2Ghz is easy but above and beyond is dependant on the luck of the draw of a good overclocking CPU.
 
Whats your main use for the chip?

If your doing lots of video encoding, rendering etc the 4mb cache on the e6550 woudl be the one to go for.

If its gaming then as said before, have a look at the e2xxx chips. I've a q6600 (@3.6ghz) in my main rig and an e2200 (@3.6ghz) in my HTPC. I cannot see any difference in FPS at all between the two. Certainly not to the naked eye anyway.
 
J.D said:
My E2180 has never been below 3.2Ghz and this was the first Intel chip I've overclocked. Really easy and this CPU beats my m8's E6850 @ 3Ghz. I've had it up to 3.5Ghz but I've not primed that yet but will do soon. 3.2Ghz is easy but above and beyond is dependant on the luck of the draw of a good overclocking CPU.
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is that with the stock cpu cooler/heatsink?
 
ManCuBuS said:
Whats your main use for the chip?

If your doing lots of video encoding, rendering etc the 4mb cache on the e6550 woudl be the one to go for.

If its gaming then as said before, have a look at the e2xxx chips. I've a q6600 (@3.6ghz) in my main rig and an e2200 (@3.6ghz) in my HTPC. I cannot see any difference in FPS at all between the two. Certainly not to the naked eye anyway.
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Mainly gaming with games like supreme commander and maybe photoshoping and programming.
 
wijcc said:
Mainly gaming with games like supreme commander and maybe photoshoping and programming.
Click to expand...

Then deffo go for an e2xxx in my opinion. Put the extra dosh into a good motherboard or GPU. By you saying HDD's and DVD-RW, I presume you have more than two IDE devices. I don't know of any C2D mobo's that have more than one IDE slot on them, someone else may be able to advise you one that has.

You may need a PCI IDE card if there are'nt any mobo's available.
 
cool, i got a PCI IDE controller card so can use that.

Is the stock cooler any good or will I have to invest in another cpu cooler/heatsink to get the best o/c out of the Core 2 Duo E2200?
Thanks guys for your avice :)
 
My stock cooler is still in the box untouched. Done the same with my AMD machines too as I like to overclock and the standard coolers haven't been up to the task. I think the Intel heatsink might be decent but if I were you then I'd think about the Arctic Freezer if you are wanting to keep the price down or go for something a little better like the Ultra or the TT-120. All 3 air coolers I have mentioned would do the job nicely though.
 
wijcc said:
cool, i got a PCI IDE controller card so can use that.

Is the stock cooler any good or will I have to invest in another cpu cooler/heatsink to get the best o/c out of the Core 2 Duo E2200?
Thanks guys for your avice :)
Click to expand...

From what I've heard, you can still clock the CPU well with the stock cooler, but if you really want to be hitting those top clocks, and keeping your PC cool, you might want to invest in an aftermarket cooler. I know I would.
 
wijcc said:
last question is the E2200 or the E2180 the better overclocker?
Click to expand...

I've had both and found the E2200 to be the higher clocker. I could'nt get the E2180 to post past 3.198ghz. My E2200 will post happily at 3.8 but I have'nt Orthos or Prime tested it at that. Its 8 hours prime stable at 3.6ghz though. (1.5v)

Some people have had the E2180 quite happily run at 3.4 - 3.6 however so I can only put it down to the fact that is was simply the chip I had didnt like anything above 3.198.

I'd went for the E2200 because it has an 11x multi on it, although the E2180 is not too shabby with its 10x multi. All down to choice really.

I'd say go for the 2200 because of the 3-4 quid difference.

Oh check this thread I posted a few days ago :D

http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=17827035

And for the cooler get an Arctic Freezer 7 at the same you order your chip, it'll knock around 10c-15c off what the stock cooler would cool at and you wont hear it at all.
 
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Intel Core 2 Duo E6550 2.33GHz 1333FSB Socket 775 4MB Cache Retail Boxed Processor (4mb cache will deffo help with video encoding and photo work plus reportedly faster in some games).
Gigabyte GA-P31-DS3L Intel P31 (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard (great mobo for £55, only 1 IDE port though).
 
pegasus1 said:
well its only got an 8 multi so you will need decent OCing 6400 Ram if you want the mem to run 1:1 at a cpu speed above 3.2ghz. The 6mb cache should help out in photo/video apps.
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I am not really into photo/video editing more in gaming like stuff like supreme commander
 
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