Need help picking an intel core2quad

[nick155]

Im deciding to stick with my inspiron 560 motherboard and upgrade my socket 775 mobo. My current Pentium e5700 has been doing the trick on most games, but in games like Arma2 and Gta Iv my cpu is having a hard time keeping up. Im aware that 4 threaded games are becoming more common. So I need to decide on a core2quad model to purchase. I like the Q6600 but Im wondering if the clockrate will make it a regrettable purchase considering I can't overclock on my oem dell motherboard. Should I spend the extra money and get a higher clocked core2quad or is it not worth the performance increase? Which core2quad is the best bang for the buck considering fsb,clock speed and cache?

My current setup is:
Pentium E5700 (3ghz)
4gb ddr3
320gb hd
450 watt psu
Raddeon 6670 1gb ddr3

I am aware that switching to a newer socket will be a better move but I really want to go to a core2quad and squeeze the remaining life out of the 775 socket.

 

[ArielAtom]

As an owner of a q6600, it hardly keeps up with GTA IV.

 

[nick155]

must be playable at least.

 

[ArielAtom]

No lol. I have a GT640 and all it does is stutter.

 

[Guest]

Make sure you have the most recent bios update before you attempt to switch processors. Your motherboard is based off the G43 chipset which *should* support any of the quad core processors. Your mileage will vary greatly as to what CPU Dell decided they would allow your motherboard to use. The Q9650 3GHz processor is the fastest non-extreme edition for the socket 775. As for best bang for the buck? Unless you can find someone to give you one, it will likely cost an arm and a leg on Ebay since it won't be available in any retail form. Intel stopped producing 775 CPUs a while ago.