I'm putting my new computer together piece by piece at Newegg.com. I am stuck when it comes to the processor. I would like to get the E6700, but it comes in at $511. The E6600 however is just .24 GHz slower and it costs just over $300. The price difference between the E6600 and 6500 is no where near as dramatic.What's that all about? Am I missing something?Tim

Don't think you're missing anything. Price points are vitally important in marketing CPU's. The only material difference between the two is the multiplier - 9 for 6600, 10 for 6700.Obviously, the answer is to go for the E6600 and a good power supply and mobo, and some high quality RAM, and o/c!Allcott

Ok, now I did read that the Core Duos are take very well to overclocking, but I have absolutely ZERO experience with it. I would basically need someone to hold my hand through it. Also, I'm not sure what kind of fan I would need. There was a Zalman at newegg I was eying that looked like it would do the job.

Plenty of info at hardocp or toms hardware on how to do it. I recently purchased a new Silverstone TJ-09BW case and Thermaltake Big Typhoon VX cooler for my new build coming soon. I also wanted the e6700 for the 10x multi but can't justify its extra cost so am going with the e6600. The typhoon cooler should allow me to hit 3.4ghz without too much trouble which is my goal. Your ram choice is also crucial for o/c success so shop wisely and do your research on motherboard/memory compatibility and quirks.

I just got the 6600 myself...Got her running last weekend...I plan to start OC'ing today/this weekend...While I've OC'ed my AMD stuff in the past...I'm new to Intel...I realize the fundimentals are similar...but I'll be referring to the forums listed above as well...Good Luck with your guys stuff!! Maybe we could do some info sharing here?? From what I've read 3.4 should be a realistic goal...I'd be happy with that...But Deep down inside I'd Really like a Rock Solid 3.6 ...I think that may be pushing too hard?? I guess we'll see...What mb/memory are you guys running??Have Fun!!

Perhaps someone here would be kind of enough to look at the parts I'm considering. Right now only 2 GB of RAM...I will add more in time.The video card is not DX10, but I want something OK to hold me over until the DX10 cards are affordable. The card listed below is 127.99Intel E6600EVGA 122-CK-NF68-AR Socket T (LGA 775) NVIDIA nForce 680i SLI ATX Intel MotherboardSAPPHIRE 100164L Radeon X1650PRO 256MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 CrossFire Video Card OCZ Platinum Revision 2 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model OCZ2P800R22GKZALMAN CNPS9500 AT 2 Ball CPU Cooling Fan/HeatsinkAll items are at Newegg.

Hiya Tim..Obviously I feel the videocard is "Sub Par"...But as you've explained..That is your intent..You didn't list what power supply your considering...Id like to recommend a 700w+ for your new build...This will afford you some headroom for future videocard upgrades...I like your Processor, MB, RAM and Heatsink choices...I think they would build up into a pretty sweet system...I'm just getting my duck's in a row to start my C2D Overclocking adventures...I came across this guide geared towards the mb's using the nVidia 680i chipset...I havn't had a chance to read through it yet...But I thought I'd pass it along...http://www.nvidia.com/docs/CP/45121/nforce...verclocking.pdfI also noticed there are some newer drivers avaliable to support the 8800 cards...The 97.28's...I was using the 97.02 and wasn't very impressed...Hopefully these will be a little better...http://downloads.guru3d.com/download.php?det=1524And here are some links I've came across so far reguarding OC'ing the C2D's..Guides:http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?t=122683http://forumz.tomshardware.com/hardware/Co...pict197995.htmlForums:http://forums.anandtech.com/categories.asp...1028&entercat=yhttp://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=59http://www.nvnews.net/vbulletin/forumdisplay.php?f=26If you have any other links..I'd love them too!!Have Fun...

Chuck,I just went through your nVidiea OC Guide. Absolutly fantastic. Very well written. It looks like a nice OC MB.BTW.. The first thing they do there is increase the vCore to 1.58v Mine is set at 1.57 That makes me feel real good. I was thinking my setting was too high. So it was right on the money. :)MannyEdited to add:Here are some more OC Guideshttp://www.pcstats.com/articleview.cfm?articleid=1804&page=2http://www.overclock.net/overclock.php?fil...cking-guide.htmhttp://forums.extremeoverclocking.com/show...ad.php?t=138046

>Obviously, the answer is to go for the E6600 and a good power>supply and mobo, and some high quality RAM, and o/c!>>>AllcottHow would the CPU/memory of the E6600 o'c to the max compare to the CPU/mem/mainboard I have now? P4 3.06GHz @ 3.5GHz/PC3200 DDR1 is what I am using now. I have generally held off wholesale upgrades until I can double my system. I know today's top end video cards will double my current video card, but I have no idea how my CPU/memory can compare.

>>Obviously, the answer is to go for the E6600 and a good>power>>supply and mobo, and some high quality RAM, and o/c!>>>>>>Allcott>>How would the CPU/memory of the E6600 o'c to the max compare>to the CPU/mem/mainboard I have now? P4 3.06GHz @>3.5GHz/PC3200 DDR1 is what I am using now. I have generally>held off wholesale upgrades until I can double my system. I>know today's top end video cards will double my current video>card, but I have no idea how my CPU/memory can compare.Basically due to the more efficient design, it get's better performance in most if not all benchmarks then even a AMD FX-62 processor, and that's at it's non O/C 2.4Ghz core speed. I bought a E6600 system, with 2Gb memory and a ATI X1900 XTX Crossfire card. but unfortuneately it was defective. It was clocking at half speed (1.2Ghz Core speed with a 133Mhz bus speed). Even at that it was only a little slower than my P4 3.8Ghz system. I'm now waiting on a replacement system which was upgraded (not by me, but I'll take it!) to be a E6700 2GB memory, and Dual X1950 XTX crossfire cards. This should really boost my FS9 performance, primarily from the higher CPU speed but based on what I've been hearing, I'm not expecting much from FSX. I have heard people O/C E6600 up to about 3.4 Ghz with normal cooling heatsinks/fans and up to 4Ghz+ with extra cooling. In general in most apps except FSX, it will be a quantum leap in performance over your current P4. I can't wait for mine!

Wow really Tom? Keep me posted as to what you find when your system is all worked out.

>Wow really Tom? Keep me posted as to what you find when your>system is all worked out.Thanks! Just recieved word my system shipped, so it shouldn't be long now!