Quote Originally Posted by 529th View Post
Ok, so Quad cores and the MIIF board don't mix. What CPU are you using to achieve these high FSB's??? 8600??? I figure if I'm going to keep this board I might as well, get a CPU that I can have fun with. 480fsb with a quad is nice but 600+++ would be like heaven!
The MIIF does fine w/ quads, and for 24/7 you aren't going to get much higher clocks from a dual than a quad (4.2-4.4GHz vs 4.0-4.2GHz). So, ~200Mhz higher w/ the duals, but half the cores.

If you're just talking about benching then yes, the duals can be a lot more fun. You can get near the same results w/ an E8400 E0 as you can w/ the E8600, though, unless you get some extreme cooling. The E8400 has a 9x multi, and if you can get 600FSB then that puts you at 5.4GHz. You're well into extreme cooling at that speed, and the extra multi wouldn't be any good for anything else.

The main thing you want to do if you're shopping for a good dual to play w/ is to try and get a really good batch from somebody. A used chip that is a proven good OCer, or perhaps go to a store that lets you sift through the boxes to find a good batch. It doesn't matter if it's an E0 E8400, E8500, or E8600 as long as you get a really good batch.