core 2 duo oc comparison

[foxhound2001]

I just need an input on which one overclocked the most while stable and decent temp.. the choices are:
E6400
E6300
E4300

 

[brokenshoelaces]

I just need an input on which one overclocked the most while stable and decent temp.. the choices are:
E6400
E6300
E4300

they will all be stable and run at a decent temp if you have proper cooling and you dont get stuck with a chip or hsf with concave.

 

[SuperFly03]

Depends which chipset you pair them with. A E4300 can go just as far as an E6300 but the E6300 requires a much higher FSB (from 680i, 965, RD600) but the E4300 can do the same speed with a lower FSB (975).

Now these scenarios aren't mutually exclusive, I am tossing a E4300 on a RD600. So mix and match at will. It isn't necessarily which will OC better, but what are the requirements to get the most out of them. Also for the 6300 you will need higher quality RAM in order to hit those 450+ FSB (to a lesser degree on the 6400 as well). When I say higher quality RAM, I mean not that cheap ass DDR2 533 5-5-5-15, but more like a 4-4-4-12 DDR2 800 which can be had for $175-$225.

Other factors: what batch your CPU comes from, PSU (gotta have stable power), air flow around the cpu (think mosfets), BIOS ability (DFI boards have 200 settings I swear), cooling. There are alot of factors which makes it difficult to flat out say which is better. Most people will say the E4300 because it requires less effort to OC (due to higher multi) but in the hands of a good OC'er an 6300 can go just as far (when restricted to air cooling, extreme cooling the E4300 wins hands down).

E4300 = 9x multi
E6300 = 7x multi
E6400 = 8x multi

They all fit within the 65w TDP of Intel and all have 2 MB cache, just 63/6400 have 4MB with 2MB disabled. So that is splitting hairs, but it is a tid bit that always gets brought up.

 

[will14]

Yeah I'm running my E6400 at 15 Ghz.
I'm using liquid nitrogen on my cpu/North Bridge/Ram/Southbridge/Video card.
Have to run it near full load though or it gets too cold.
Also I have 2 1000W PSU's running to provide enough power.
Upped Vcore to 3. Ram to 4V.
Seems to be working well.
I threw 2 air turbines and 12 solar panels on my room so power consumption isn't an issue.

JOKING!

Get an E4400 or E6420.
What I don't see those models on NewEgg?
They're not out yet.
But they will be within a month or 2.

 

[AdamBomb42]

My vote is for the 4300 because of it low fsb and high multiplier.

 

[will14]

Agreed the 4300 gives no reason to buy the 6300 IMO.

 

[3Ball]

get a E6420 when released in the very near future. Get 2gb of DDR2 800mhz with 4-4-4-12 timings. Get a mid to high end aftermarket cooler and a mobo that can handle a decent OC. Then run that thing at (8x400mhz) w/ a 1:1 divider on the memory to run the memory @ stock speed and timings. Have 3.2ghz with 4mb cache on the proc and your FSB will be higher @ 1600mhz while being sync'd with your memory creating overall system performance. That is what I would do. My system is just waiting to drop in the 2.13ghz 8mb cache C2Q when the time and price are right and I will be doing that same thing on that proc. Till then my proc in the sig will just have to hold me over I suppose. lol, Hope this helps!

Best,

3Ball

 

[brokenshoelaces]

get a E6420 when released in the very near future. Get 2gb of DDR2 800mhz with 4-4-4-12 timings. Get a mid to high end aftermarket cooler and a mobo that can handle a decent OC. Then run that thing at (8x400mhz) w/ a 1:1 divider on the memory to run the memory @ stock speed and timings. Have 3.2ghz with 4mb cache on the proc and your FSB will be higher @ 1600mhz while being sync'd with your memory creating overall system performance. That is what I would do. My system is just waiting to drop in the 2.13ghz 8mb cache C2Q when the time and price are right and I will be doing that same thing on that proc. Till then my proc in the sig will just have to hold me over I suppose. lol, Hope this helps!

Best,

3Ball

the e6420 is only gonna have 4mb cache right? what models are getting the 8?

 

[3Ball]

Sry I didn't clarify that well. I was talking about the Core 2 Quad for myself. The ones that have 2 C2D inside on die with 4mb of cache each! That is what I meant for the 8mb of cache and was refering to what I was doing. I suggested that he get the E6420 in order to have the 4mb and still hit 3.2ghz, which I believe to be a sweet spot with C2D arch for regular and somewhat longterm use.

Best,

3Ball

 

[rushfan]

I just need an input on which one overclocked the most while stable and decent temp.. the choices are:
E6400
E6300
E4300

Here's a vote for the E6400. Easy 3.4 GHz here, 1700 MHz FSB, probably another 100 or 200 MHz headroom remaining. Idles at 44C with CPU fan at 80% throttle - 61C max when both cores at 100% load during stress test. Less than 1.4v needed.

Absolutely rock solid at this speed. No BSOD, reboots or other hiccups. You can't go wrong with the E6400.

 

[skyguy]

Agreed. The 6400 is better than the 6300. But people MISTAKENLY think that the 9x multi on the 4300 = huge, easy overclocks. This is simply not true. Yes, some people are getting good clocks, but those are the exceptions and generally are reporting HIGH VOLTAGES to get there. I've got my 6300 at less than stock volts no problem at 3.0 ghz. 4300 on slower RAM won't do that

The 4300 is a bargain overclocker, make no mistake. Yes, it is a very attractive chip no question, but it is a bargain chip, not a serious OC contender like the 6xxx chips. The 4300 has some very strong points, but interestingly enough, everyone seems to conveniently neglect to mention its shortcomings (like voltage walls, etc).

6400 for a proven champ. 4300 is the Little Brother.

 

[SuperFly03]

I'll let you know how my E4300 behaves with my RD600 tonight.... I bet is whoops some serious arse, course DDR2 1000 will probably help it out 8O

Full benchmarks to come.

 

[foxhound2001]

Well to be honest I had the E4300 running at stock speed and just decided to return it at fry's last night but I went past their 15 days retun so they gave me a store credit. I did that cause Im thinking of overclocking the E6400 to 3.6Ghz since I already have a: OCZ Platinum Revision 2 2GB (2 x 1GB) DDR2-800 CL 4-4-4-15 Dual Channel Kit, gigabyte DS3 and gonna be buying a Scythe infinity and a corsair 520 watts PSU but for the video card any thing that cost from $150 to100 will do.

But I just couldn't sleep last night thinking if Im really made a good decision or not So Im just wondering which of this 3 have the best potential for overclocking. As for the e6420 with it's 4mb cache well I read some review last night about the 4mb and the 2mb not making that much difference in games so I dont really see any lost with just the 2mb. But if any one here knows a major difference and advantage between the two well I would like to know what it is.

 

[SuperFly03]

You're right... the L2 cache isn't that big of a deal. It has become much bigget on Intel's procs because of how the memory controller is setup. On AMD, if the CPU requests a block of data that isn't stored in L2 cache it can make a request to the on die memory controller alot faster than Intel can because Intel has to issues the request and send it along the FSB through the NB to the memory. In order to minimize those kind of requests, Intel has increased L2 cache size enormously.

As for the end result in gaming and general computing.... not a HUGE deal, 2-3% maybe. I don't have exact numbers, but it isn't a make or break deal (10%+).

As foe your CPU choice.... that is more difficult... it comes down to luck in a way. Most E6400's are good up to 3.2-3.3 I would say and E4300's are probably slightly less reliable as far as high OC's go, but I have seen several E4300's at 4GHz. They are all built on the same process. Honestly, it won't make much of a difference in the end, esp since you have decent ram.

Honestly, I would say probably E6400 for one reason: E4300 @ 3.6 = 400FSB, which on a 965 chipset puts you at an akward stage where the NB strap changes over and from 360-399 FSB the system is unstable. However with a E6400 @ 3.6 = 450 FSB, which is where you start reclaiming memory bandwidth lost in the strap change at 401 FSB.