Which socket 939 64 X2 for overclocking

[saguy]

A while back I posted that I was not going to bother with dual core just yet as games are optimized for single core. Gothic 3 which is coming out this week and the next generation of games are optimized for dual core so it is time to upgrade as I predict my current CPU will struggle. (Or not?)

I want to stick with socket 939 as upgrading to a new motherboard and memory and CPU is going to be too expensive. I need something that is going to keep me going for another 18 months.

My options are:
64 X2 3800+ Socket 939, Manchester, 2 x 2.0GHz, 1MB Cache = £99.80
64 X2 4200+ Socket 939, Manchester, 2x 2.2GHz, 1MB Cache = £132
64 X2 4400+ Socket 939, 2x 2.2GHz, 2MB Cache = £155
64 X2 4600+ Socket 939, Manchester, 2x 2.4GHz, 1MB Cache = £158

I will be overclocking and I have no idea which of these overclocks the best. I would like to aim for an overclock of about 2.6GHz on air if that feasible.

 

[saguy]

I doubt dual core will make a sudden hit like that, sure those games may be optimised but to what degree? And even if they aren't what about all the people with single cores?

Wait until you really need more than one core and do a complete overhaul, for games your worrying too early, that CPU is at least around 64 3700+ in performance which is still more than most.

I will probably do a wait and see. I know the current gen games are very much graphic card dependent. Gothic 3 is reported to run 30% faster with dual core.