Which Core 2 Duo??

[rikky]

I am currently putting the last (and most important) part to my new build, the question is what Core 2 Duo Chip would you say would give the best bang for buck between these two:
E4400 @£93.99
E6420 @£126.89

I plan to overclock either of the chips to 3ghz or above using the following components, 2gb Crucial Ballistix PC6400, Corsair 520W PSU, Coolermaster Centurion Case, Coolermaster Hyper TX CPU Cooler.

I do quite a bit of divx/xvid conversions using convertxtodvd so would you say double the cache in the E6420 make £33 of difference over the E4400??

 

[Relentless]

I just got a E6420 and I am well impressed with it, I over clocked it a little to 2.4 without touching anything else, I am a bit of a newb overclocker so I am happy with what its at.

As I learn more I'll try and aim for 3gz.

 

[Will_3rd]

Would get the more expensive E6420 purely for the larger cache even though the E4400 has a higher multi.

 

[luismenendez]

with the 4400 you need FSB 1200Mhz to reach 3.0GHZ

with the 6420 you need FSB 1500Mhz to reach 3.0GHZ (you need better memory and mobo)

I hope this helps

 

[Jaffa_Cake]

with the 4400 you need FSB 1200Mhz to reach 3.0GHZ

with the 6420 you need FSB 1500Mhz to reach 3.0GHZ (you need better memory and mobo)

I hope this helps

They can both do it, 6420 for the larger cache

 

[rikky]

Oh thanks for the comments so far, forgot to mention that my motherboard is Gigabyte 965 DS3 so no limitations on that score, just leaning towards the E4400 at the moment and then upgrading to quad core maybe 6 months down the line.

 

[easyrider]

Oh thanks for the comments so far, forgot to mention that my motherboard is Gigabyte 965 DS3 so no limitations on that score, just leaning towards the E4400 at the moment and then upgrading to quad core maybe 6 months down the line.

6420 is the far better chip

You would be mad to get a 4400 saving a whopping 23quid!


23 quid here is more than worth it.

Just for resale value alone when you come to get quad.

 

[rikky]

Eh its 33 quid difference Easyrider!!
Catch your drift though sir, I can't help thinking I would be more than happy with EITHER of these chips, but just kind of interested to hear some concrete evidence on whether double the cache is REALLY worth the extra money in day to day progammes (not just benchmarks), or if it just sounds better on paper.

 

[easyrider]

Eh its 33 quid difference Easyrider!!
Catch your drift though sir, I can't help thinking I would be more than happy with EITHER of these chips, but just kind of interested to hear some concrete evidence on whether double the cache is REALLY worth the extra money in day to day progammes (not just benchmarks), or if it just sounds better on paper.

Oops its late My sums were wrong

Then just get the 59 quid 2160 cpu and clock it to 3.2ghz and wait for quad

This chip at this speed is seriously quick even with 1MB cache.

Remember X2 3800 only have 1mb cache and are far slower than this!

 

[rikky]

Wow that is a Bargain Basement Chip Easyrider, how does it compare with the E4400 at those speeds and is that overclock achievable on air without going down the fish tank route??

 

[rikky]

Just decided to go for the E4300 which I found cheaply online @ £63 delivered, the more powerful core 2 duos can wait 5 or 6 months while I have a bit of fun with this cheap as chips chip.

 

[adslegend]

My E6420 is stable at 3.2 GHz on stock Vcore, haven't tried above 400 FSB yet. The only thing I've noticed it's quicker in than stock is DivX/Xvid encoding.

Depending on what you want it to do, I don't think you'd actually notice the difference between the likely max o/c on both chips. So personally I'd go for the save 30-odd quid option, since I don't need an e-penis to wave about because my own is plenty enough

 

[Nelly]

Orthos blend stable?


Thats what counts isn't it?

It's official! only 14 seconds required as per Easyrider.

 

[rikky]

Yeah you gotta hate those E-Penis wavers don't you. I went for a Coolermaster Hyper TX heatsink so hopefully that should do the job of 3ghz and above, and not bad at all for 80 odd quid all in ...
rikky on his way to becoming a small E-Penis waver!!

 

[marscay]

14 secs that's a classic, i don't think i've ever seen more concrete evidence of stability than that

they do look a great little chip for the money all jokes aside, cache is irrelevant for most tasks ...clockspeed is king.

 

[easyrider]

Get a grip boys...


Did you think I would leave this open?

Its hardly ground breaking 8 hrs...


will post 8 hrs of 3.2ghz on this chip if you like

But it ships out tomo

LOL