Looking to purchase a processor/heatsink

I have around £150 to spend, was considering getting a Q6600 and a decent Heatsink to allow for overclocking.

My computer is used for everything, but a strong focus on gaming.

Any suggestions? Especially on the Heatsink too as i have never used anything other than stock.

 

If you're a heavy multitasker, then the Q6600 is a good choice, otherwise I'd stick to a faster dual-core processor, since most games are only dual-threaded atm.

 

The Thermalright Ultra 120 eXtreme is a great performing heatsink, but it's a bit pricey, and it doesn't come with a fan so that adds to the price. I'm not sure if it fits into your budget.

 

the q6600 can OC to 3.2ghz easy though... so even on single/dual threats it'll be nippy

 

The Thermalright is a great sink, if you want something a little more modest, the Akasa 966 Blue Aurora is great.

 

Or you can always go with the classic Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro which keeps my Q6600 nice and cool while OCed, and is really cheap to boot.

 

yes the freezer 7 works, as i have one on my Q6600, however its a little old now and its performance on quad cores isn't that great. Get something with at least a 120mm fan on it.

May i point out that the freezer 7 dosen't do much of a better job compared to the stock intel HSF, noise dropped a little, but in terms of performance not alot of difference for me.

 

Never tried my pc with the stock cooler, so couldn't tell you, but it keeps my e8400 runnin nice and cool, topping out at around 47 when gaming, and 53 was highest so far while running it with orthos. At desktop its around 36-37 at the moment.

 

Have you had a look at FrostyTech. It is a great site for comparing the performance of heatsinks.

http://www.frostytech.com/

Tech Report has a good article that looks at the processors from a value angle.

http://techreport.com/articles.x/14756/1

 

if you have a strong focus on gaming then dont forget that the best thing you can buy is a good video card.

 

I came across some reviews on Q6600, hope these could help you.

 

This CPU is the one I got a few months back and it's brilliant! Stock is 2.4 and I am doing a modest O/C to 3 GHz and is stable as a rock. Air cooling is by
http://www.hardwarelogic.com/news/137/ARTICLE/2106/2008-01-14.html
a beautiful thing and paired with a big fan is nearly silent which is what I was after, and an easy fit on my Asus P5K premium mobo even with my big clumsy hands!

This Leadtek GC is the one I got...it too is damn nearly silent and plays everything I have thrown at it and is now about half the price I paid for it!
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-129-LT&tool=3

 

I just went through a similar exercise. My final decision was to purchase the components below.

Zerotherm Virvana NV120 - exceptional cooling, should be silent - $49.99
and
Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Wolfdale 3.0GHz - low cost, good gaming performance - $169.99

I think this will more than adequately fall within your price range as the numbers are given in American dollars.
I'm looking forward to assembling the computer, but I think the cooler and heatsink will work great together.
Phil

 

My Intel E8400 is running at about 31-33c ( idle ) room temp=26-28c ,I use the Colermaster Hyper212

 

I have an 8800GTX but it is somewhat limited by my current Core2Duo E6300 @ 1.86ghz. I had been leaning towards an Q6600 as i do want it to last 2 years or so and with Quad Core being the future i'd have thought that's the way to go? But i'm unsure so came here

I'll have a look at those links comparing the heatsinks

 

Get the Q6600, thats the future and the present in one package Really if you have money for it then go ahead, you will probably be proud of your self after about 1-2 years when dual cores get outdated... Or maybe even earlier...

 

Even with stock cooling you should be able to overclock that cpu.

 

I was going to go for a better cooling solution as my gfx currently runs at 95degrees under load...

 

hmm? i'm confused now. first post you said you wanted a faster cpu and a cooler for it because the pc is used for everything but with a focus on gaming.
Second post you said you have an 8800gtx in my response to getting a good video card.
So I suggested you overclock your current cpu and see how your performance is hoping to save you some money.
but now you are talking about the temp on your video card? So do you want a better cooler for the GPU along with a new CPU and a cooler for the cpu as well?

 

Sorry to confuse, I'm looking to purchase a new CPU/Cooler. I just mentioned that my GPU is running hot as a sidenote. My cpu is currently running at around 49 Degrees under load.

I wasn't sure if my GPU temp was abnormal or not which is why i included that there...