Go quad.
For the $ difference u will benifit most from the ESPECIALLY with ur OC.
Also... if u game, as i do, also running an E4300 @3+Ghz.
U will find more Ghz are not getting u anymore fps I find almost NO difference in games between 2.5 and 3.5Ghz
If i was upgrading now, id be an idiot NOT to go quad.
PS... are those prices USD? For the cpu only?
Seems a little steep considering the q6600 is $349AUD
Or is the USD THAT weak atm???
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XPS M1730,IntelCore2Duo T9300@2.5GHZ,2x8800MGTX in SLI,4GB DDR2 667 RAM,DUAL 250GB 7200 RPM,VISTA HP with SP1,17" with 1920x1200 resolution
the E6850 actually performs just as well, sometimes better than the Q6600. It's very close. People shouldn't automatically just jump to "quad core is better" without thinking about it. This is stock though, it's a different story overclocking.
I'm personally finding it hard to decide between the two. Some say E6850 and some say Q6600.
Have a look at the tests, then make a judgment again.
I did indeed read the E6850 vs Q6600 THG article, but that is why I was asking the question.
Initially i was just going to get the quad but after the article I was not so sure anymore, psecially since my Dev Env does not take advantage of 4 cores :-(.
Also I do plan to OC regardless of which CPU to get. So looks like the E6750 might be the way to go cause, I dont think I will get much more performance from the Q6600 with a 40% price premium.
I really worry that the momemt I make that decision, a whole bunch of stuff comes out to support Quads.
Sorry I forgot to say, but those are Canadian dollars and of course real prices in Canada.
With all the comments about it being unrealistic, I wonder if it warrants a trip to Buffalo ;-)
EDIT ----------------------
Just checked the prices on Newegg and there is about a $20-$30 price premium on CPUs by shopping in Canada. I guess thats a good trade for free health care ;-) and certainly not worth the trip to buffalo.
I wonder what is the price diff, nw that the US and Canadian $ is pretty much on par.
Message edited by SpeedyVV on 08-10-2007 at 06:28:40 PM
I just found a Q6600 for 298 retail with no sale at directcanada.
EDIT: Actually I wouldn't even buy right now at all. I think it would be a complete waste of money. You already have a core2 running a 3ghz and unless it's blown I'd wait for Penryn since your MOBO can handle it.
Message edited by bruce555 on 08-10-2007 at 07:18:00 PM
Surprising that nobody caught this before. Yeah, the Q6600 will give you the same or lower performance than what you already have, in most programs. It will be a major improvement in some things like video encoding, but you probably don't do much of that. Another vote to wait for Penryn...
1) Forget the E6600. It is not likely to give you much of a performance boost. With the E4300 already at 3.0Ghz, don't expect a large noticable difference.
What Type of RAM do you have? I will presume DDR2-800 and base my responses upon that.
2) E6750 - This will clock to just over 3.1 Ghz without OCing your RAM. Not sure how high it will go, but this chip again may limit you.
3) E6850 - This will clock to below 3.6Ghz without OCing your RAM. You should now start seeing a difference that may be worth spending your money.
4) Q6600 - This will clock to just above 3.6Ghz without OCing your RAM. This chip will also give you extra cores. As you push your RAM beyond 800Mhz, you will get more Mhz increases with this than the E6850.
For this reason, I would definately suggest the Q6600 for you.
You will likely be able to OC it higher as well have more cores.
If you were building fresh with DDR2-1066 RAM, then I would be in more of a toss up between the Q6600 and the E6850.
zenmaster, great reply. I am somewhat of a n00b so this is great info.
Quote :
... What Type of RAM do you have? I will presume DDR2-800 and base my responses upon that.
Yes I have a pair of Corsair Twin2x1024-6400C4. I run it unlinked at 4-4-4-12-2T at 800MHz.[/quote]
Quote :
2) E6750 - This will clock to just over 3.1 Ghz without OCing your RAM. Not sure how high it will go, but this chip again may limit you.
4) Q6600 - This will clock to just above 3.6Ghz without OCing your RAM. This chip will also give you extra cores. As you push your RAM beyond 800Mhz, you will get more Mhz increases with this than the E6850.
For this reason, I would definately suggest the Q6600 for you.
You will likely be able to OC it higher as well have more cores.
If you were building fresh with DDR2-1066 RAM, then I would be in more of a toss up between the Q6600 and the E6850.
I did not realize that the E6750 would not give me almost any improvement.
So if I am going to buy anything it looks like the Q6600.
Off course I could wait for Penryn like aevm and bruce suggested. Not sure what that means in price or performance, but I'll do some research.
BTW, one thing I did not mention (because my son lurks around here) is that part of the reason for the new CPU is that I want to surprise him with a "budget" build using some new and some re-using parts from my build as I upgrade.
The quad isnt worth a penny more than $266. Dont forget, while there may be a few apllications that will actually push your cpu past 50%, none of them are free! Free stuff, like any nsoftware that uses the Lame encoder for example, does not take advantage of 4 cores. Get a dualcore and OC the crap out of it.
E6850 is a very nice CPU and performs very well , but when comes to PHOTOSHOP , 3DMAX.... it loses to a Q6600
and also future games like Crysis will utilize QuadCore , and again as u see in the review that i posted , in lost planet cave , Q6600 is better ,
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XPS M1730,IntelCore2Duo T9300@2.5GHZ,2x8800MGTX in SLI,4GB DDR2 667 RAM,DUAL 250GB 7200 RPM,VISTA HP with SP1,17" with 1920x1200 resolution
@ SpeedyVV. The penryn will give you huge improvements when it comes out. I would wait, the new core is a native quad and has lower tdp and 45nm and will allow for crazy overclocks.
