Best Bang for the buck processor, overclockability etc. Still Q6600?

[themaidenmaniac]

Hey folks,

Just wondering if there has been any movement here regarding processors. I've currently got the
Q6600 sat nicely at 3.2ghz on air, but I am wondering if any of the newer 45NM processors are worth getting yet. When i was last in the game a couple of months ago, AMD were still useless in the benchmarks and the slowest quad core (q6600) was more powerful than AMDs best.

Anything much changed here yet, or same old same old?

Cheers,

kev

[Betty_Swallocks]

Unless you run a lot of applications that will actually use all 4 cores you're still better off with a dual core. The E8500 is pretty much the same price as the Q6600, is 45nm, runs at 3.16ghz as stock whereas the 6600 is 2.4ghz and is fairly easily clocked to over 4Ghz.

[staffsMike]

Q9550's are nice chips but priced too high. So i7 is probably worth waiting for if you are are looking for an upgrade but then a Q6600 at 3.2GHz won't be struggling any time soon.

Best bang for buck right now imo is the E5200 or Q6600 (although that has shot back to £130)

[Pob255]

Q: Best Bang for the buck processor, overclockability etc. Still Q6600?
A: Depends.

What you want it for, which priorities you put at the top of your list.
For general office/internet/e-mail/watching a dvd, one of the cheaper c2d or whatever they are calling the e2xxx range now. Far cheaper and will not have any major difference on performance.

For Shear grunt you tend to need the highest clock speeds, so one of the newer e8xxx range "should" be better once you overclock
Now I say should because they have higher default fsb speeds, not a problem if you're buying a new system, but if you're looking to upgrade then memory and motherboard may limit you.

If you're going to be using a lot of apps that can make use of the full 4 cores then yes it is probably the best price point, although some of the newer quad cores may be better for price/performance.

[0iD]

Personally i'd stick with the o'clocked Q6600, unless you pay serious cash you're not going to see a noticeable difference in performance (imo).

[arthurleung]

I'm not sure why someone would say Q6600 could go up to 4Ghz, which is not true.
My X3350(Q9450) only goes up to 3.5Ghz, unless you crank the voltage up so high.

If you going for dual core then 4Ghz+ is pretty much guaranteed with aircooling.

So there is not much point upgrading your Q6600.

[inonefly]

i heard that the latest q6600 are not as good as the early batches, so i'd get the new 45nm e8xxx

[moogle]

I'm not sure why someone would say Q6600 could go up to 4Ghz, which is not true.
My X3350(Q9450) only goes up to 3.5Ghz, unless you crank the voltage up so high.

If you going for dual core then 4Ghz+ is pretty much guaranteed with aircooling.

So there is not much point upgrading your Q6600.

It's the E6600 that can reach the 4GHz Arthur. I presume thats what Betty was talking about ( 6600 without the Q must mean the E6600 )

The 65nm quads seem to be better than the 45nm ones. I've got the Q6600 in a cramped case with low powered fans and it idles at 31c... whereas my one is idling at 38c on watercooling. Stock!!!
The ram in there makes it hot hot hot and yet it still is cooler..

[arthurleung]

It's the E6600 that can reach the 4GHz Arthur. I presume thats what Betty was talking about ( 6600 without the Q must mean the E6600 )

The 65nm quads seem to be better than the 45nm ones. I've got the Q6600 in a cramped case with low powered fans and it idles at 31c... whereas my one is idling at 38c on watercooling. Stock!!!
The ram in there makes it hot hot hot and yet it still is cooler..

I think a few people agreed that its the sensor on the 45nm is messed up.
Or perhaps the one on the 65nm which reads too low

Out of the 4 Intel CPUs I used in the last 2 yrs (Pentium D 920, C2D T7200, C2D T8300, Xeon X3350)
The only one that doesn't report 50'C+ idle is the T8300. All others always idle between 48~54 and peak load at 69'C+. That is regardless of what heatsink I use.

I even tried a different tube of AC5 just to test out and I find the same :S

[llololloy]

Pretty sure Betty Swallocks was refering to the e8500 when they said 4ghz.
At least that's the way I read it,just wasn't overly clear.
Keep meaning to get a q6600 but finances keep stopping me. Want my p35 board to last me another year at least yet.

[Clunk]

[Will404]

What temp and what cooler??????????

[moogle]

What temp and what cooler??????????

Water or Phase most likely.

[!TIMMY!]

Clunk where do you get these amazing overclocking Q6600's from?!

[inonefly]

1.68v i may give mine a try at that volt, wonder if i can hit 4ghz, running 3.6@1.344 now

[moogle]

1.68v i may give mine a try at that volt, wonder if i can hit 4ghz, running 3.6@1.344 now

You'll need at least 1.5v (1.48v actual)