Replace e6600 with: e8400, e8500, or q6600?

Getting a new system is great. The problem is not all of us are made of money, and if its going to take awhile to save up then you'll be stuck with slow computer for a "long time".

Getting any of the 8x00 chips doesn't really make a lot of sense. They are identical to the E6600, just run faster. This doesn't really help any at all. The difference between a C2 arch with 4MB L2 cache running at 4GHz vs 3.3 isn't much. Moving to a quad core will help. If you can get a Q6600 for ~$150, and OC it to ~3.2GHz, that will help. Same frequency as you have now, but 2 extra cores. This should help with crunching numbers, GTA4, and more.

If you can get the money fast enough moving a newer platform is best. If its going to take you to long, getting the Q6600 is your next best bet.

Thanks for the reply...

I forgot to add "i5 750" in the poll ... oh well... that is the best price / performance cpu at the moment, from what I've read. Anyone have an opinion on that?

Best changes. AMD some six core CPUs coming out that might change whats best for the $200 market. This probably wont' be best for you seeing as you have a S775 mobo and not an AM3. In 4-12 months or however long it takes you to get the $$$ whats best might not be the 750.

Again, it all matters how fast you can raise the $$$. If it will be quick, don't bother with the 6600.

I say, if you already have an LGA 775 setup, go with the Q6600, it will handle GTA4 much better than any of the dual-cores you posted and it'll only cost $150.00 and should last you at least a year more, especially if you overclock it past 3.2...

Check my sig, i have a Q6600 OC'd to 3.6 and it screams by nicely with my 5870...

3DMark Vantage scores...

CPU score = 12549
GPU score = 18675
Vantage score = 16459

Honestly, i have not had one issue with my setup gaming on a 22-inch monitor 1650 x 1080

I have also tossed the 5870 into my brother in-law's i5 750 rig and honestly i could not see the advantage between the Q6600 & i5 750... for gaming that is... It may be different with GTA4 but still, the Q6600 is still a powerful CPU even by today's standards...

Q6600 or Q9550 for all the reasons above.
-------------------------
GA-EP45-UD3P | Q9550 OC'd to 3.6 GHz (425 MHz X 8.5) C3 stepping  
GA-EP45-UD3L | Q6600 OC'd to 3.6 GHz (400 MHz X 9)
GA-EP35-DS3P | E7500 OC'd to 4.1 GHz (373 MHz X 11)

I was going to suggest a more modern Q8x00 or Q9x00, but then I saw his sig. He's running an i680, which won't handle the 45nm quads. Q6600, Q6700, etc is all he can do without replacing the motherboard. And if he's going to do that, he should get the AM3/i5 setup.

Well said, ya beat me to it...

It would certainly be cheaper. On the used forums I look at I just saw a 9450 go for $125. The Q6600 STILL go for $150 used all the time. And the 9450 is a much faster chip. But the i6xx can't run them, so they have a higher demand.

I just picked up an Abit X38 board for $70 shipped. 3 PCIe 16x slots. Cant' wait till it gets here 

Is there a q6700 or q6800 I can install instead of the q6600?

Yeah, I've heard that I can only install the 65nm quads. Kind of sucks, but if the q6600 is that much better a performer against the e6600..... Maybe I'll be ok for awhile

there is a Q6700 which is just a higher stock speed compared to the Q6600 and then there is the QX6800 which is the extreme version which will cost an arm and a leg...

i say go for the Q6600 unless you can find either of the others for the same or lesser price...

I may have a Q6600 (the one in my sig) for sale if you want, i will know by Thursday, i would only ask $125.00 but again, not sure if i'm getting my friend's Q9550 yet...

For CPU tasks it is. It is literally two E6600s "glued" together. GTA4 likes cores, as to most rendering programs, transcoding apps, etc. You shouldn't notice any change in basic things like surfing the web or using office.

Way to go Jonpaul. Great use of the forum.

Thanks, i feel that before i sell it on EBAY for $150.00+, i would offer it either locally on Craigs List for a lesser price to help the community or offer it for a lesser price here on Toms, where people actually help one-another.  

Well now I'm really confused...I posted a similar question on this forum a few days ago and I'm a virgin when it comes to OC'ing, so, with that said, can anyone break it down in layman's terms...

I would like to OC my CPU, but I have a Intel (Lavacot) 975x/bx motherboard with an E6600 CPU. Now I know I can OC the Latency and frequency on my Mobo, but, I'm not sure if my BIOS will let me OC the CPU. If I can't, what would be the best CPU upgrade in an LGA 775 Mobo that seems to have a limit of FSB 1066?

Would i just be better to get a Q6600 vs 9600 since I'm almost positive that my computer can't use 9650's?

And is there a program that can bypass my BIOS enabling me to OC my current E6600??

I really don't use this comp for much, but when I do game, I hate the fact that I can't game with full screen Resolution (so i bought a MSI GTX 460 Frozr II), but at this point I think my CPU is just bottlenecking the whole thing...any ideas?