Which one is better for 1600 X 900.
I have a 8800gtx (g92)
2gb 800mhz corsair
Gf 8200a motherboard
I play wow, cod 4, mass effect, mmo's and First person shooters.

Hi Zilliak,
for many games you will not notice much of a difference, however as more and more games will take advantage of more than two cores, get the 720 for $18 more.

This is a pretty hot topic for debate on the net. The X2 550 is said to OC better than the X3 720 and also has higher chances of unlocking the 2 dormant cores giving you a full quad core at an unbelievable price.
However, if the unlock fails, you're stuck with a dual (which is perfectly fine for most purposes). Also, the chipset you have will probably not let you unlock those extra cores.

Like red said, go for the X3 720 now and try OCing it. Later, if you do get a different motherboard, try your luck unlocking the 4th core on the X3.

Actually the difference between 2 and 3 cores is larger than the difference between 3 and 4. The reason being is because when you game, most games only use 2 cores, if thats all you have, those 2 cores run the games and everything else. But if you have 3, your games have 2 and everything else has 1.

I too highly suggest the 720 BE, I have it and love it. As far as OCing better, maybe slightly, but it isn't going to make up that extra cores performance for your other tasks to use.

I agree 1Kurgan1, but you are debating the wrong person LOL
however, there are games that use more than two cores, and that will be the trend as the new titles emerge.
Rit is right about the 550 being the better OC'er, I , and I believe Rit (correct me if I am wrong Rit) were responding to the inquiry about gaming only. not general computing, or multitasking. but it seems that we all agree the 720 is the better buy.

Well I'm not exactly sure what I was responding to. My main contention was the fact that the X2 550 can OC better and has higher chances of unlocking the 2 dormant cores given the right motherboard. That provides you with a processor that would be great for games, multitasking and general computing.

As for the OP (and also in most other cases) the X3 720 is definitely a better buy because of the guaranteed 3 cores and a small possibility of unlocking the 4th. Also when it comes to OCing the X3 720 is not much behind the X2 550.

Well, that would go for me and red as well.