Good news for system builders and upgraders alike: Intel has cut processor prices (PDF) by as much as 31 percent. And these aren't price cuts on chips that nobody cares about either, but they include some overclocking favorites in both dual and quad-core trim:

• Q6600, $224 to $193 (14% drop)
• E8500, $266 to $183 (31% drop)
• E8400, $183 to $164 (11% drop)
• E7200, $188 to $113 (15% drop)

A handful of Xeon processors have also been marked down, but the real treat here is for overclockers. All four desktop processors have become extremely popular chips in the overclocking community due to their reputation for ramping up in clockspeed with minimal effort, and save for the E8500, each one could have been considered a bargain before the price cut. Now the price-to-performance ratio looks even better, enough so that those holding out for Nehalem may be tempted to pull the trigger now rather than wait. But on which one? Here's a refresher if you've been out of the loop for awhile:

• Q6600 (2.4GHz, 8MB, 1066MHz, x9 multiplier)
• E8500 (3.16GHz, 6MB, 1333MHz, x9.5 multiplier)
• E8400 (3.0GHz, 6MB, 1333MHz, x9 multiplier)
• E7200 (2.53GHz, 3MB, 1066MHz, x9.5 multiplier)

Prices represent 1,000 unit trays, so expect to pay a little bit more at your favorite vendor. Still who can complain, and at these price points the question of the day is, build now or wait?

Image Credit: Intel

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intel, cpu, processor, hardware, quad-core, dual-core, Q6600, build a rig, proc, e8500, e8400, e7200

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