Best CPU for my socket 775 MB

[jballard81]

Hi All,

I have a 2 year old ECS G41T-M(2.0) LGA 775 Intel G41 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard, with an E3300 Wolfdale Core 2 Duo in it (OC'd to a stable 3.51Ghz). Specs on the MB are:

FSB: 1333/1066MHz
North Bridge: Intel G41
South Bridge: Intel ICH7
CPU support: Core 2 Quad / Core 2 Duo / Pentium Dual-core / Celeron
I currently have 2X1gig 800Mhz RAM in it, but am going to upgrade to 4Gig
running Win 7 home prem 32 (pushing to 64 when i upgrade the RAM)

I would like to upgrade to a Core 2 Quad processor, and would appreciate your opinion on the best bang for the buck in terms of gaming CPU. I have been looking at the Core 2 Quad Q6600, mainly b/c they are cheap, but i don't want to go too cheap and not really see too much performance enhancement.

Thanks for your time!

 

[mi1ez]

My Q6600 took a massive OC. I wouldn't spend too much on an old system, so this could be your best bet. Keep an eye out for a G0/SLACR stepping.

 

[mi1ez]

Also, what graphics card do you have? This could give you more of a boost than the CPU.

 

[jballard81]

I have an older graphics card, PCI 2.0, i think 512MB, can't recall the exact specs, but it is definitely on my short list of things to replace as well.

I'm trying to game Planetside 2, and my graphics card is technically w/in the lower specs req'd.

i'm trying to grab the cheap low-hanging fruit here. i've seen Q6600 for like $40ish on Ebay.

really appreciate your input on the Q6600.