E6700 or q6700?

[Regk]

I am trying to decide on a processor for my "new" used HTPC. It is a dell optiplex 745 SFF PC that came with a pentium D 820 standard. after doing some research I found that I am limited to these 2 chips, an E6700 or Q6700 (65NM, 1066fsb) my concern is being able to keep the stock power supply. (280watt) I have replaced the stock 80gb hdd with a WD 1.5TB green drive and will be adding in a radeon 5570 slim card to handle the htpc/video duties. Resolutions will be limited to 720P as that is all the TV supports, I would like to be able to use it for movies, music, browsing, and light gaming. Ideally I would like to be able to play Starcraft 2 with this PC but I realize that may be a challenge with the 5570 but as far as I am aware it is the fastest low profile card out there. as far as CPU choices are concerned, what would you choose?

 

[severus]

If it supports a q6700 it probably supports a q6600, which would be cheaper. I'd get that.

 

[Arkaign]

1280x720/1366x768 resolution, and HTPC duty, along with 5570 on a weak PSU?

E6600 or E6700 for sure, not much difference between the two in performance for your uses. Q6700 is a better CPU for sure, but it'll only really come out in encoding with that video card as a pretty significant bottleneck in gaming. If a game is too slow to run at your resolution with the 5570 and E6700, then a Q6700 isn't gonna help you much there.

FWIW, I think it's a 35-55w average TDP variance between the two CPUs, which is quite a % difference with a HTPC and a 280W PSU. The Q is gonna be pushing a lot more used energy in the form of heat into the interior of your case vs the E.

 

[VirtualLarry]

That must be a beefy 280W PSU, to have survived powering a Pentium D for some time. I'm not sure, but I think perhaps the Q6600 might take more power. Pretty sure it doesn't take less. But if you are also planning on upgrading the graphics card, then perhaps you should consider a dual-core CPU instead.

Personally, I would probably just sell the whole thing on Craigslist and start over with something a tad more modern. But that's up to you.

Is the PSU a standard ATX power-supply, or does it have Dell-specific connectors, and/or a custom size?

 

[dbcooper1]

That SFF case would be a furnace with that quad in it, especially if left on all the time. I'd go with an E6xx0 because of the small case and low output power supply.

 

[jtisgeek]

Your be fine either way early beta stuff on starcraft 2 looks like it runs well on older hardware cpu either will be great with 720p stuff as that depends more on your condecs and setup more than power.

 

[Regk]

I think i am leaning toward the E6700. do you think the stock cooler would be fine? wondering if anyone wants to get rid of their e6700 lol

 

[ROJAS]

Q over E anyday