Dual 550 for under $450

We couldn't resist seeing one of these new "super" Celeron 366 processors for ourselves. We decided to try building a dual Celeron 550 system for an article (Yes, just so we could run Q3A SMP). Last week we stopped by MA labs and picked up an Abit BP6, a stick of Micron 128MB PC100 RAM, an ATX case, two Celeron 366 PPGA processors, and two heatsink/fan combos. The motherboard was $126 and the two Celerons were $65.25 each. Total cost was $399 not including tax, or about $432 with 8.25% sales tax.

Don't bother trying to buy from MA labs unless you have a resellers license, but there are plenty of online vendors that also have very good hardware prices. As always, check Pricewatch for the best component prices, and then go to Reseller Ratings to see how reputable a vendor is.

Buying from an online vendor might be risky, because there's a possibility that you'll get an older Celeron that won't be able to reach 550. Some online vendors such as Atacom are even charging a premium for "pre-tested" Celeron 366's. This may be your only option to ensure getting an overclockable CPU if you're ordering online, but we feel paying an 80-100% premium for pre-tested chips is ridiculous. From what we've heard, all the latest 366's are overclockable. This may or may not be true, but, working with an S-Spec and a general week number, I was willing to gamble and buy my Celerons untested.

Be careful asking vendors for chips with specific S-spec and tracking numbers. Knowledgeable vendors will know you're planning on overclocking the chips, and overclocking a chip does void your warranty. Some salespeople won't know what you're talking about but they'll tell you anything just to make the sale, and you'll end up with the wrong type of chip. There are a handful of online vendors that seem to specifically target overclockers. They go out of their way to provide detailed processor information such as the S-Spec and country of origin. A few, as mentioned before, sell pre-tested chips, or entire pre-tested systems.