Best under $200 quad s775 upgrade?

[BlahBlahYouToo]

q8xxx series does not have VT.
something to consider.

you'll probably want to get your 775 quads used. definitely go for a Q8000 or 9000 series processor. they are made on a newer, lower power manufacturing process and overclock better than the Q6600 while using less power. they are also faster per-clock.

if you want something brand new here's a Q9400 for $170

http://www.ewiz.com/detail.php?p=Q94...9233faba3c732a

also they have retail-boxed Q8400 for $168 shipped (they are the same but with 4MB L2 instead of 6MB). The retail CPU will have the longer warranty so that's something to consider for such an overpriced chip.

Also on newegg there are plenty of combos for Athlon II X4 + 785G AM2 boards. These combos cost the same as a 775 quad, so it's something to consider because you can use your 775 dual core parts for another machine if you wanted. Whether you get a Q9400 or Athlon II, you'll be looking at 3.3-3.6 GHz overclocks. so that'll be up to you.

if you want to just drop in a quad and be done with it, get this

http://www.ewiz.com/detail.php?name=...775-CPU-Retail

8x multiplier, so you should get your 3.2 GHz without strapping down your RAM (feel free to do this though if you want a higher CPU clock. you're just doing audio).

 

[BlahBlahYouToo]

The q9550 is the fastest processor (EE exempt) available for s775. It has more cache than a q6600 and will overclock further. It also uses less power than a q6600. Everything is a win except for price.

if you live near MC, the price is a BIG WIN for a Q9550.

 

[TurtleCrusher]

q8xxx series does not have VT.
something to consider.

The Q8400 does, and the more recent steppings of the Q8300 do as well. Only the Q8200 is sure to not have VT.