E6320, E6420, or E6550?

[IceCoastBlazer]

I'm trying to decide which Core 2 to match my Ballistix 1066 with for overclocking with a 1:1 divider (barring motherboard limitations). I have narrowed it down to the E6320, E6420, or E6550. I'd like to not waste any potential of either component in this gaming build. Bang for the buck is a factor in this build as well. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

 

[goodcooper]

you could pretty much do whatever you wanted with any of these chips... especially if you're ready to do high FSBs to run 1:1 with your memory...

if you want to run a more complicated divider even the 6320 is fine... just keep in mind the 1333 AND low multi of the E6550...

6420s seem to be a bit more flexible with different settings... higher multi and etc...

but i'd almost say get whatever is cheapest....


EDIT: i'd say get a 6550, they are clocking better and they got 4MB cache... but its all what you can afford

 

[Oihan]

I'm trying to decide which Core 2 to match my Ballistix 1066 with. I have narrowed it down to the E6320, E6420, or E6550. I'd like to not waste any potential of either component in this gaming build. Bang for the buck is a factor in this build as well. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

WELL, I dunno if it's just my processor or myself not doing something right...but with my E6420 on stock voltage (1.28v according to the BIOS) I can get the CPU to 3.0GHz just by raising the FSB alone. However, when I up the voltage to 1.36v (1.35v being the max recommended/suggested by Intel)...I still can't the CPU past 3.0GHz. So in essence I'm doing absolutely nothing by upping the voltage. This is my first time OC'ing though...and I am getting some help from someone in another thread as I type this.... So either I'm not doing something right (which I pray is the case) or my CPU is junk in regards to OC'ing. Anyway...that's been my experience thus far with the E6420.

 

[CoW]8(0)]

I'm trying to decide which Core 2 to match my Ballistix 1066 with for overclocking. I have narrowed it down to the E6320, E6420, or E6550. I'd like to not waste any potential of either component in this gaming build. Bang for the buck is a factor in this build as well. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

Interesting dilemma and there's no perfect answer.

If you really want to push your RAM, the E6320 or the E6550 have low multipliers (both 7x). But there's always the off chance of hitting an FSB wall on your motherboard. I know there's a strong temptation to match all the components on your system, but with high overclocks there's always a risk of a bottleneck somewhere.

I would get something that has the biggest chance for the best OC. If your FSB is underclocking your RAM, try to tighten the latency timings. That should make up in performance.