What should I do? Recieved Q6600-B3 yesterday.

[nocturnus1]

I just got all the components in for my new build yesterday, and I look on the product code of the Q6600 and what do I see....its a B3 stepping. I took a gamble on newegg sending me a G0, because many of the latest customer reviews seemed to suggest that most if not all were getting G0.

Anyway, I'm obviously anxious to start the build, but I cant decide if I should RMA the B3 and see if I can get a G0. I don't have plans to do any major OC'ing (since this will be my first system to OC) but I was hoping to get 3.0-3.2 Ghz out of it. I know that the B3 can get there, but I am concerned with turning this thing into an expensive space heater.

Anyway, If im OCing to that range (3.0-3.2 Ghz), is there enough benifit in a G0 revision to return and wait for a replacement (or refund and order elsewhere)?

Thanks

 

[cal7]

I have a B3 and i got it working to 3.4 with the first try.Ok maybe its a bit warmer than G0 but you do have a good HSF right?And at those speeds you really dont need anymore today.But its up to you right?

 

[yomamafor1]

Unless you're shooting for insanely high overclocks (3.6+), having a G0 is similar to having a B3, performance-wise.

 

[boduke]

I'm running a B3 at 3ghz stable using an Arctic Freezer 7 Pro - I dropped the voltage down about .5 and it's stable and cool - Two instances of Orthos hammering at it for a couple hours (1 instance per 2 cores) and temps never went over 65c, I'm idling right around 44-47c depending on the ambient temp in my room now...I'm waiting for on new ram and a U120 Extreme and I'm going to try and push it up to 3.2 or so, but at 3ghz I can't complain...

 

[bornking]

Be happy and take care in OC'ing it.
Good air flow, good ram, and patience.

 

[Scotteq]

Unless you are intending on going for a ballz to teh wallz effort, RMA~ing a B3 for the chance of a G0 is a waste of effort.

 

[harmattan]

Be happy and take care in OC'ing it.
Good air flow, good ram, and patience.

Agreed. Can't remember who did it, but there was a pretty extensive test comparing Q6600 B3 to G0. There was only around a 4-5% improvement in headroom for G0. Not worth the trouble (and possible restocking fee) to return.

 

[yomamafor1]

Here:

http://anandtech.com/cpuchipsets/intel/showdoc.aspx?i=3066&p=1

 

[nocturnus1]

cal7, I picked up a Tuniq Tower 120 for the HSF.

I dont think im gonna be doing any insane overclocks. I just needed a new system (for some of the new games coming out), and thought it was time to start learning a little about OCing. Im not planning on Watercooling anytime soon, so I think the 3.0-3.2Ghz range is the sweet spot for what im wanting to do. Anyway, the specs on my build are listed below, If you see something that dont look so good, let me know.

Gigabyte GA-P35-DS4
Intel Q6600-B3
EVGA 8800GTS 640MB Stock OC to 575Mhz
4GB Crutial DDR2-800 4-4-4-12 timing (its 2 of the 2x1GB set that newegg is selling for LANFest...from what I have read, its Ballistix, just different design for newegg)
Tuniq Tower 120
610W Silencer PWS
Antec P180B
WD 74GB Raptor
WD 250GB
Samsung SATA DVDRW
Win Vista 64-bit (i know, people hate it...i need to learn to work with it for my job)

Anyway, Thanks for your help guys, I think im gonna keep the B3.

 

[Guest]

Should probably hit 3.0 without trouble.

 

[nocturnus1]

yomamafor1, thanks for the link...last night i had tried searching for a comparison of the too, but all i kept coming up with was forum posts with lots of people going back and forth about this, with out showing any test results.

I'm probably gonna get started with the build soon. I'll let you know how it turns out.

 

[cal7]

We have very similar specs.I think you`ll be fine and enjoy it.That thing can do everything at the same time without sweating

 

[jimmysmitty]

I got the G0 stepping and haven't had the B3 to compare. My CPU is running at 2.7GHz 1200 FSB with a Zalman CPNS 9700 Blue LED(Ill post shots of my PC later) and it runs probably 32-34c idle and even after having Prime 95 pound my CPUs at full load for an hour and it got to maybe 40c.

I love it. Haven't tried OC'ing it to 3GHz although I have read it will run on air cooling.

But here is one big difference I have seen. The G0 stepping PROCHOT, THERMTRIP, PECI enabled where as the B3 stepping only has PECI enabled. Also the B3 has a Thermal design of 105w and maximum heat of 62.2c where as the G0 has a 95w/71c.

 

[dragonsprayer]

i ordered 2 cpu's for the last q6600 build hoping to not get 2 b3

send it back to newegg

 

[Falken699]

Woulda been nice to get a G0 just "because", but are you really going to use it? Are you investing in PROPER RAM?

If not, B3 should be fine. RMA is SUCH A PAIN, especially when your proc. isn't broken.

If you plan on searching out a stepping, my advice is to go to a local shop and get them to order you a processor of a certain stepping, they make the call and "make it happen". If they can't pull it off, you just don't buy it.

I refuse to try and buy certain things off the Internet, the old "can't see what I am getting" rule kicks in.

 

[nightscope]

Personally I would try to get a G0 if you're planning on keeping it for a while. Think about it, as time goes by, you're going to demand more from your system, so you're going to think about overclocking it even further in the future, which the B3 doesn't allow very much...So yeah, I would try to get a G0, but that's just me.

 

[systemlord]

That Tuniq Tower 120 should keep that B3 pretty cool as its great for quads. The fan that comes with it is quiet and pushes more air than most at 2000 RPM's.