When you decide what direction you want to go for SLI capabilities I can suggest a motherboard but until then I don't want to cloud the issue. Given your budget I think we can build SLI if you want it but there are some hassles and annoyances that go with an SLI rig and if you're not an experienced builder I would advise against it and suggest a single GPU build instead.

Yeah company of heroes is awesome. Cheers sql I didnt expect them to increase like that. So even a low quad is quite high performance wise?

why only 2 gig of ram? if your going quad core might as well make sure its 64 bit and start with 4 to 6 gig ram ram is cheap right now. the OS (64bit) no matter what it is will run smoother on more ram.

thought if you stick with xp 32 or vista 32, your os can only use 3.5 gig even if you have 4 installed, you could be adventurous and try and install osx on it both versions (64/32) come in same box, install instructions here. or any flavor of linux you like.

I enjoy turning of virtual memory and running the os out of ram when im just browsing the web true speed there

Another processor to consider if you don't want a quad-core is the Intel Core 2 Duo E8400

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115037

While it has only 6MB L2 compared to the Q6600 8MB, it has FSB of 1333 and a processor speed of 3.0ghz for roughly the same price.

Also, don't forget to get an aftermarket CPU Heatsink/Fan. The ones supplied from Intel always suck and end up making a ton of noise after awhile. Get some Artic Silver paste and a 20-30 dollar Heatsink/Fan that has some copper and you can knock down your CPU temp by 5-10 degrees.

i need a new comp for sc2.

btw LIVERPOOL SUCKS.

fuck u MANC LOL

Quad core is still relatively new to the market and while its performance is strong when utilizing applications designed for it not everything you will do is designed to utilize a quad core CPU. In fact most software isn't designed to utilize dual core yet, let alone quad.

The performance boosts from quad core are pretty much going to be a mixed bag and the speed increase you see will largely depend on the CPU you are currently using. My personal opinion is that quad-core isn't worthwhile for gamers yet for two reasons; first of all because many games aren't built to take advantage of it and secondly because most gaming applications are not CPU bound but GPU bound, at least for now. The only exception to that that I've seen recently is if you go out of your way to create crazy physics situations in the Crysis editor.

Take from that what you will but it sounds like you still have some decisions to make about what kind of rig you want to build. With your budget you should easily be able to build a high end rig, perhaps not extreme but definitely high end.

I honestly wouldn't spend the money on the quad. They're overpriced and many games are barely optimized for two cores let alone four. (I honestly have no idea what the difference on Crysis would be.)

Since you're most interested in graphics, that's where most of your money and focus should be one. A good, upper end card but not bleeding edge. And definitely invest in as much RAM as you can.

700 pounds should get your a lot of PC. In fact I think it's a little too much to spend...

Unless you will be using quad-core applications I'd go with Dual-Core E8400.
faster, cheaper, less power & heat than Q6600.

If you decide to go quad, I can't reccomend anything else other than a Q6600. Anything above Q6600 the prices rocket jump and youre wasting money.

Okay then which motherboard for this cpu?
What psu and the rest? ta