well I'm in the process of building a computer that will be for gaming on LCD 32' with resolution of 1366x768 and for HD movies that will go trough filters. and of course the usual everyday use of the computer for internet, photoshop and other programs.

so, I've already decided that I'm getting the HD 4870, the asus P5Q and OCZ 4GB 1066MHZ sticks.
that will fit in a HTPC silverstone lascala lc17 case.
now i need some help with the CPU...

i understand that for now the best CPU for gaming in value for money aspect is the E8400, but I'm very worried that
in the near future the games will start using 4 cores and i will stay behind with the 2 cores CPU.

what do you think about that? I'm pretty confused and i already thought about just waiting for nehalem but i understand that the prices will be very high and will take some time to drop, and I'm getting pretty pissed with my AMD 3200+ performance in games...

i will also mention that I'm gonna do OC the the CPU and memory...so i also need the CPU to be a good overclocker...

thanks in advance for all your help! this is a great forum, and sorry if my English is a bit lame

Well the Q6600 will OC better than the Q6700 but the Q9300 will have SSE4. All of these chips will be fine for HD video as the UVD on the 4870 will take care of that more than the CPU. These will also be better at Photoshop than the E8400 as Photoshop supports multicored CPUs.

As for gaming, the E8400 will shine here as it can obtain much higher clock speeds. But if you truly do the other stuff I would suggest a Q6600 and OC to your hearts content. Its probably the best bang for your buck out there.

Im going for the E8600 soon, as I like to have the best available cpu out when it releases. Dont need quad core right now.

I've heard Q6700 OCs better, easier, I think the multiplies is unlocked. I would get the 6700 before the Q9300.

The QX6700 does but thats still expensive. The Q6700 only has a 10 multi so yea a 333FSB will give it a 3.33GHz clock but the main problem is that the Q6700 does not have a G0 stepping thus it will run hotter than a Q6600 G0 at 3.2GHz.

I've read that the q6700 comes only as a G0 stepping. I recently purchased a q6700, and cpu-z says "G0" in the revision box.

The Q6700 came out after the Q6600 with G0 stepping got released, so the Q6700 has only one stepping and that's the G0 stepping.

I'd like for everyone to say hello to Miss Information.

well I'm still confused...
about photoshop, I'm pretty much an amateur and i don't think that my editing is gonna take 4 cores...
let's say if the HD 4870 will take care of the HD video, then the cpu needs to be mainly for gaiming, so what cpu should i pick?
does the Q6600 is 45nm?
and which will give me the best results after medium overclocking not something extreme...?

^ It won't take 4 cores... been there on the light stuf... dual-core would be fine... depnding on when you upgrade your computer... Dual-core is better now as it has better clockspeed and games aren't optimized for Quad-core meaning that when they are, they will smash dual-cores... gonna take some time tho... still I recommend the 65nm Q6600...

BTW: G0 = good
B3 = bad

=)

Huh? =P

~ Fangirl