Im looking to get a core 2 duo and a new motherboard soon. Looking at specs the 6550 looks good to me. Is this a good choice? also if i got this chip what $100-$150 motherboard would be a good to go along with it? I'm pretty much a noob with C2D stuff so if anyone has any advice it would be apreciated.
It's a bit hard to pick a mobo if you don't tell us the rest of your system. What GFX card and RAM format/speed? SATA harddrives?
sorry bout that. I need to get a Core 2 Duo, mobo and 2 gigs of ram for $400 or less. I am planning to upgrade the video card in a couple months but im lookin for the cpu/mobo/ram now. Doesnt have to be to hardcore but right now i have a amd athlon 64 3500, 2.2ghz 1 gig of xms ram and a x1600 pro. I want to be pretty overclockable, and preferably has raid features. I have heard p35 chipsets are good for the E6550 but im not sure which one is good. Heres 3 different ones im lookin at http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813127031 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128059 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128050 which do you think would be a good choice? also as far as the ram goes im not sure if i should go with 800 or 1066. id like to overclock the cpu a bit but not to crazy speeds
The first one, the Abit IP-35, I guess. Higher speed ram is worthwhile, but I don't know how much difference you'll be looking at, since in my experience the CPU is more of a potential bottleneck than anything else...probably only a couple of FPS and a couple of stutters in games. Sorry, I'd look around for more suggestions for boards myself, but I use UK shopping sites which are (obviously) useless here. Go with the first one, for that price you can't complain. Plus you'll save a fair amount on 800MHz ram, it goes for peanuts now (comapred to 1066).
do you have a better cpu you would suggest? it sounds like you're not all for the e6550. maybe i should change the question to "whats the best cpu/mobo/ram config for $400ish dollars?" any help is much appreciated!
No, all things considered it's pretty good value for money. It wouldn't be my choice, but I'm spoilt and I like wasting money. E6550 is a good choice if you're not looking to spend over $400, although I'm sure you could get an E6600 or even an E6700 and mobo for that much. Not sure how much performance gain you'd be looking at, though. Ah, here, dug this up. http://www23.tomshardware.com/cpu_2007.html?modelx=33&model1=874&model2=876&chart=421 Not much difference, and there's a £90 (~$190) disparity, so your choice looks good.
