I am getting ready to build a new system. I use my machine mostly for internet surfing, downloading video, and I am getting into playing games. I want everyones advice on what CPU to purchase....do I go ahead and go with the current Quad Core Kentfield Q6600 or do I wait for the Penryn line to come out? Is the Penryn going to perform substantially better than the Kentfield out now? Thank you.
They will both top out around 3.6-3.8 GHz on air and the Q9450 around 4 GHz total while the Q6600 might go a bit further on water.
Problem is the multipliers. At the same FSB the Q6600 will always beat a Q9450. You have to push a board fairly hard to narrow the gap if you are OCing. This can result in early board failures among other things. Most people don't take care of their Northbridge.
Edit: The Q6600 tops out because of heat, the Q9450 tops out because of the motherboard (FSB and NB Heat).
Message edited by cnumartyr on 01-21-2008 at 08:58:36 PM
Right now I have a Core 2 Duo E6600 with a BFG 8800 GT 512 MB video card. I have a good machine now but I want to build a beefier machine to take on all of the robust games that have come out over the past year or 2. I bought a second BFG card for SLI, a EVGA 780i SLI motherboard, etc. I am not hurting for a machine, I just want to start taking advantage of what is out there to start playing some games.
Right now I have a Core 2 Duo E6600 with a BFG 8800 GT 512 MB video card. I have a good machine now but I want to build a beefier machine to take on all of the robust games that have come out over the past year or 2. I bought a second BFG card for SLI, a EVGA 780i SLI motherboard, etc. I am not hurting for a machine, I just want to start taking advantage of what is out there to start playing some games.
Not many games take advantage of Quadcore. It won't until well into next year.
What you should do is OC your E6600, you should see a large performance boost. SLIed 8800GTS 512MB is probably being bottlenecked by the cpu.
So OC away. But first get a good cpu cooler. Thermalright Ultra 120 Extreme(TRUE) is generally considered the best, but you may need to lap it. If you don't want to lap it, the Zerotherm Nirvana offers similar performance for less money.
--------------- "Nvidia, the Way It's Meant to be PAID Played! - Corrado
*Lesbian Lover Club* - founder Assman
The E6600 vs the Q6600 you wont see a HUGE difference in playing games. As the Q6600 is only at 2.4ghz. You should put some money towards a nice CPU cooler and over clock the CPU, with some of the guides these nice people have put here on the forums it is very very easy to achieve around 3.0ghz on air. with that sli config and a 3.0 CPU dual core you will blaze through games.
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Q6600 G0 @3.6 1.34v | HD3870X2 1GB | 24" Westinghouse L2410NM| 19" 1907FP | Asus Maximus Formula X38 (Rampage Mod) | Kandalf VD4000 LCS | Ultra X2 750W | Supreme FXII 8.1 | Audio FX Pro 5.1 Headset | 4x1024 Ballistix Tracer 5-5-5-14 1066mhz
The clock speeds for both the E6600 and the Q6600 are both 2.4ghz. I just thought that the performance might be better with double the amount of cores but wasn't sure if going the Q6600 route of the Q9450.
The clock speeds for both the E6600 and the Q6600 are both 2.4ghz. I just thought that the performance might be better with double the amount of cores but wasn't sure if going the Q6600 route of the Q9450.
If the program doesn't take advantage of multiple cores, a single core C2D at 2.4GHz will perform just as well as a Q6600.
--------------- "Nvidia, the Way It's Meant to be PAID Played! - Corrado
*Lesbian Lover Club* - founder Assman
