runswindows95 :
My view is this: You want a quad-core, buy a quad-core.
My feelings exactly.
I have a 550 be that unlocked and oc'd fine.
Bought a 555 and 1 core won't go past 2.15 ghz unlocked. Still a nice (very nice) ph II dual, or tri, or semi quad.
If your other cores don't unlock, use what you bought and play with it. Ph II X2 BE's are a great investment and a great performer on a budget gaming system.
My 550 BE on a Gigabyte 785GM board with 2 G of DDR2 800 mem and win xp is not at all disappointing at stock. Unlocked and OC'd really doesn't show a great difference with performance with moderate demand games.
My 555 on a Gigabyte 890GPA board with 4 gb DDR3 1333 mem and win 7 pro 64 bit with a foul unlock (1 core weak) kicks.
I use this for what I bought, a dual core, and would recommend it to anyone.
Your mobo, mem type and mem, OS version, GPU, total system configuration etc. all add up to your total system performance.
THERE ARE NO MAGIC COMPONENTS.
If you want, and purchase, a PH II X2 BE CPU that does not unlock, or does so in a weak manner, set it back as a dual, tweak it and have some fun doing so. They are awesome off the shelf.
If you want better for a budget system, look at other component upgrades. Any new dual core in a well thought out system build does the job. Combined with graphics and memory, HDD's, monitors...
By far my best advise: Keep reading T.H. forums.