Buying a used Q6600

[riahc3]

Im looking at a used Q6600 that I want to buy as a small upgrade to my PC. They have a year of warranty and 60 days no questions asked policy on returns.

It looks good.

They also comment that it has never been overclocked.

Should I buy it? How can I truely check it is working OK and has never been overclocked?

Also, this processssor has steppngs: B3 and G0. Honestly, I dont know which they are selling. Is this important?

 

[schmuckley]

You want it to say "SLACR"
If not..don't buy it.

 

[SPBHM]

yes, G0s used to be the way to go, lower power draw, better OC... but if you are not going to OC, it might not make much of a difference.

 

[tweakboy]

40 bucks or so ?

 

[Schmide]

http://www.delidded.com/lga-771-to-775-adapter/3/

See if your motherboard supports this and then get an Xeon X5450 or greater for approx $40 US.

There is a thread here on it.

http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2408974

http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2411688

 

[the_stigma]

You can't tell if a CPU has been overclocked or abused (or even used - unless there are marks left by the cooler on the heatspreader), so forget about that.

That said, in my experience, CPUs either work fine or not at all. I've yet to even see a half-defective or severely degraded CPU firsthand. They do exist - but the chances of you buying one at random would be extremely low. I can't speak for the seller obviously - I don't know them... use common sense.

The only thing left to say is that even though the Q6600 is still a great CPU on the cheap for work-stuff it's not worth a whole lot these days - so I wouldn't pay a lot for it.

As usual Ebay gives a good feel for the general value:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Intel-Core-...159?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3f386f0f4f

-Stigma

 

[riahc3]

http://www.delidded.com/lga-771-to-775-adapter/3/

See if your motherboard supports this and then get an Xeon X5450 or greater for approx $40 US.

There is a thread here on it.

http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2408974

http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2411688

No idea if it supports a Xeon so Im not going down that route.

You can't tell if a CPU has been overclocked or abused (or even used - unless there are marks left by the cooler on the heatspreader), so forget about that.

That said, in my experience, CPUs either work fine or not at all. I've yet to even see a half-defective or severely degraded CPU firsthand. They do exist - but the chances of you buying one at random would be extremely low. I can't speak for the seller obviously - I don't know them... use common sense.

The only thing left to say is that even though the Q6600 is still a great CPU on the cheap for work-stuff it's not worth a whole lot these days - so I wouldn't pay a lot for it.

As usual Ebay gives a good feel for the general value:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Intel-Core-...159?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3f386f0f4f

-Stigma

This one is even cheaper than the one Im looking at. The difference is that the one Im looking at is shipped directly from my country and I do not have to wait that long.

Ill wait for the reply to see which stepping it is. I dont need the processor ASAP so depending on stepping...

 

[Burpo]

This Xeon X3230 will drop right in and yields about 14% improvement over the Q6600.. I swapped mine out yrs ago..

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Intel-Xeon-...435?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2edab20913

 

[soccerballtux]

No idea if it supports a Xeon so Im not going down that route.

what, so when you don't know the answer to something you throw up your hands and give up instead of investigating it? figure out if your motherboard supports it, you can get a much nicer Xeon for the money...

 

[Puffnstuff]

I have a 9550 that I'm wanting to sell....LOL. I'm running a q6600 in my spare pc right now with windows technical preview 10 and it still does good for its age.

 

[riahc3]

what, so when you don't know the answer to something you throw up your hands and give up instead of investigating it? figure out if your motherboard supports it, you can get a much nicer Xeon for the money...

Personally, I dont think its worth the trouble for a old PC....

 

[riahc3]

According to:

http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/forum/249556-28-asus-deluxe-wifi-xeon-x3360

It seems a Xeon does work.

Do I really need a Xeon vs a Core 2 Quad? I don't do much with the PC that really needs that much. If it is fully compatible and its cheaper, than sure, why not.

Also is the heatsink/fan compatible? I bought a year ago a new fan/heatsink and Im not going to go and buy another one if it isnt compatible

 

[Burpo]

Yes, chips are identical in size, but the Xeon is faster & uses less power..

 

[kmmatney]

If your worried about the xpu ever being overclocked, the the Xeon is far less likely to have been. I wouldn't worry about that, though. I've overclocked almost every cpu I've owned, and never had any problems. It means it will run even more stable at stock speeds.

 

[riahc3]

Yes, chips are identical in size, but the Xeon is faster & uses less power..

So ALL heatsinks/CPU fans/etc that are compatible with the Core 2 Duo (one I currently have now) is compatible with the Xeon?

If your worried about the xpu ever being overclocked, the the Xeon is far less likely to have been. I wouldn't worry about that, though. I've overclocked almost every cpu I've owned, and never had any problems. It means it will run even more stable at stock speeds.

Im not really worried about it being overclocked as even if it is overclocked, from a decent buyer, it will probably be stable.

Personally, Ive never delt with a Xeon except in a server. There are no compatbilty problems with programs right?

 

[SPBHM]

Xeon x3360 and Q9550 will work exactly the same way on your board, the difference is the name...

 

[Schmide]

Note to all. The Xeon X5450 I was pointing to is a 771 socket. You need an adapter and some modification to the socket as shown in the link provided. They have flooded the market and offer the best price/performance for 775 at the moment.

 

[SPBHM]

Note to all. The Xeon X5450 I was pointing to is a 771 socket. You need an adapter and some modification to the socket as shown in the link provided. They have flooded the market and offer the best price/performance for 775 at the moment.

yes you can even buy the X5460 (less than $50) and it's almost as good as the QX9770,
but it requires some (simple) mods and some boards might not work (specially x38/x48)

 

[Blue_Max]

What's your motherboard or prebuilt PC model number? We'll look it up for you.

I see used Q6600's going for $35 Canadian in my local kijiji. You should be able to snag a real cheapie, but you'd best let us know what you have since there's no guarantee you can even use the classic Q6600!
(Some early boards ONLY supported C2Duo.)

 

[cbn]

Below is a detailed listing of all the LGA 771 vs. LGA 775 "Buy it now" ebay auctions. The prices listed include shipping.

http://www.delidded.com/lga-771-775-cpus/

Use those listings to determine if a Xeon might be worth the trouble for you vs. going with a Core 2 quad.

If you tell me your motherboard brand and model I can help you determine what Xeons are compatible and which are not. (Some LGA 775 boards can only use 3xxx LGA 771 Xeons and others can use both the 5xxx and 3xxx LGA 771 Xeons)

P.S. In addition to the price for the Xeon CPU you will also need to buy a $2 to $3 adapter sticker. You will also have to cut out two little plastic tabs out of your socket. If your board does not currently support 45nm processors you will have to update that also if intending to use 45nm Xeon.

 

[cbn]

Some good info on how the LGA 771 to LGA 775 mod works:

http://www.delidded.com/lga-771-to-775-adapter/

http://www.overclock.net/t/1431723/mod-lga775-support-for-lga771-xeon-cpus

 

[Ketchup]

So ALL heatsinks/CPU fans/etc that are compatible with the Core 2 Duo (one I currently have now) is compatible with the Xeon?




Im not really worried about it being overclocked as even if it is overclocked, from a decent buyer, it will probably be stable.

Personally, Ive never delt with a Xeon except in a server. There are no compatbilty problems with programs right?

So, do you have the P5b Deluxe? I don't overclock my current chip (except for a couple days of exploration) but a G0 Q6600 on an Intel chipset, and that hasn't been beaten up, will hit 3.6 fairly easily with little effort. A 50% boost with a little tweaking is kinda hard to pass up.

 

[cbn]

So ALL heatsinks/CPU fans/etc that are compatible with the Core 2 Duo (one I currently have now) is compatible with the Xeon?

The heatsink will be physically compatible, but it may not be rated for the higher TDP of a 95 watt Q6600 or a 80 watt Xeon.

In fact, as I recall the boxed Core 2 quad heatsink was taller than the Core 2 duo heatsink in order to help dissipate the extra heat.

However, if you have a prebuilt desktop from Dell, Lenovo, HP it may be that they used the same heatsink for both Core 2 duo and Core 2 quads.

 

[riahc3]

Xeon x3360 and Q9550 will work exactly the same way on your board, the difference is the name...

Im more worried about software/Windows 7 incompatibilies.

Also, Xeons work both in 32 and 64 mode depending on what OS you install right?

Note to all. The Xeon X5450 I was pointing to is a 771 socket. You need an adapter and some modification to the socket as shown in the link provided. They have flooded the market and offer the best price/performance for 775 at the moment.

OK, then forget it. Im not looking to mod anything, just replace.

What's your motherboard or prebuilt PC model number? We'll look it up for you.

I see used Q6600's going for $35 Canadian in my local kijiji. You should be able to snag a real cheapie, but you'd best let us know what you have since there's no guarantee you can even use the classic Q6600!
(Some early boards ONLY supported C2Duo.)

My board is a Asus P5B Deluxe.

My board supports Core 2 Quads after a BIOS update.


I refuse any physical mods (even adapters) so if that is the case, then simply forget it.

 

[cbn]

Since you don't have a Pre-built, I am assuming you have the stock Intel Core 2 duo Heatsink fan (that comes with the boxed processor).

You may not be able to get away with replacing just the processor then. The smaller core 2 duo cooler will install just fine, but may not cool the Q6600 if you really push it hard.

What do you plan on doing with the computer?

P.S. If you don't want to buy a new cooler, I would go with a E8500 dual core. Fast (3.17 Ghz with 6MB cache) and cheap ($15 shipped on buy it now on ebay), it will work with a Core 2 duo HSF.