E6850 or Q6600?

[vegettoxp]

Hey Guys, What happening? I was thrown off my chair when I saw the news from Intel?s new processors. I guess I can get a lot more power for my bucks. But I am being faced with a really hard problem. After read around a lot of News On Intel?s New Processors (Dual and Quad), I have a really hard choice to make. I am building a new system. Just to point out I am going to get a processor now and if I see good things from 45-nm, I will buy that when it comes out. I am also waiting for Intel?s upcoming X38 Chipset. The processor I get now (Dual or Quad or 45nm Processor) I want them to work with my new X38 Chipset. So I just wanted to give you guys my choice of my Chipset.

Now my problem is What Processor I should get now? The choices I have are:

The New Intel Core 2 Duo (E6850) (3.0Ghz) (FSB ? 1333) (L2 ? 4MB) (Price $266)

Or

The New Intel Core 2 Quad (Q6600) (2.40Ghz) (FSB ? 1066) (L2 ? 4MBx2) (Price $266)


I am not a hard-core gamer. I play games here and there. I do a lot of burning DVD?S, Music, Photoshop and the usual computer stuff. I know I have read that Quad is good for 3D Stuff and Encoding and The Dual- Core (E6850) is good for Gaming. I just wanted your guys opinion on which way I should go. I biggest problem with Quad-Core (Q6600) is that not a lot of applications are out there that will take advantage of my extra cores. But Since the Price is the same for E6850 and Q6600 ($266), I really need your guys help.

So if you guys can help me out with this problem and I let me know if these processors will work with the upcoming X38 Chipset, it would really help me out. I will by 45nm when it comes out for my New X38 Motherboard Intel or Asus Baby!

THX Guys!

P.S. Fusion

 

[bfdd]

I'm going to be personally picking up a e6850 to see what I can get out of it overclocking. I'll be just doing so till the Penryn is out and ddr3 gets closer to the 2000mhz mark.

 

[vegettoxp]

Can E6850 Be Overclocked without water coooling. I have NEVER overclocked my processors. Is it possible to overclock E6850 to 4Ghz on Air Cooling?

 

[firewolfsm]

With what you do, you should go with the Q6600. The difference in gaming will usually be under 10%, much less if the resolution is turned up. But a lot of the programs you use get up to an 80% boost.

 

[lopri]

Burning DVDs doesn't take much CPU.. Photoshop CPU usage can vary greatly depend on what you do. What Q6600 really shines at is encoding/decoding. Although I agree with AT's recommendation (Q6600 over E6850), but I would suggest each individual to take a deeper look at the pros/cons of each option. While overclocking can be a deciding factor between those two, that brings a 3rd variable in the equation: Does it have to be Q6600 vs E6850? What if E6550 (more or less equivalent of today's E6600) can overclock higher than Q6600? In that case now we're talking about $100+ price difference, as well as added heat problem and BIOS immaturity from many boards.

If your budget is set around $250~300, then Q6600 is the way to go. But if you want to save (both money and possibly time), things aren't that simple again. I'd wait to see how these chips overclock first.

 

[Capt Caveman]

http://forums.anandtech.com/me...=2069206&enterthread=y

 

[RussianSensation]

Not sure why you want to wait for X38 chipset. It seems it'll be natively DDR3 which costs an arm and a leg.

In terms of longevity, Quad is better. So if you intend to keep your cpu for 2+ years, it's a no brainer for me. In terms of stock performance on the PC today, unless you know you need a quad, most likely 3.0ghz C2D will be faster.

If overclocking is considered I would pick the Quad. IMO, once you pass 3.2-3.4ghz, you can't really say that C2D is slow. Serious improvements in speed beyond that require either more cores (ie. that's what Quad is for) or a new architecture or new graphics cards to take advantage of such a fast processor. We have seen P4 scale from about 1.5-1.6ghz to 3.8ghz and at the top there were marginal increases in performance.

I would wait until July 22nd to see the prices of each. The demand for one or the other relative to supply could shift Q6600 to $300 mark making your choice a bit easier for you.

 

[Cheex]

Originally posted by: vegettoxp
Can E6850 Be Overclocked without water coooling. I have NEVER overclocked my processors. Is it possible to overclock E6850 to 4Ghz on Air Cooling?

Yes.

 

[vegettoxp]

Hey Guys, thx for all you help. I have been thinking and I am leaning more and more towards the E6850, because I don't plan to keep that processor for long. I am planning to get the 45nm next year. I would like to have the quad-core, but I don't think I have many applications that would take advantage of my extra cores. Hopefully when Intel releases 45nm next year, I will get a Quad-Core with better FSB and hopefully more Clock Speed.

So would you guys recommend me getting the E6850, if I don't plan to keep the processor for too long. Thats one of the reason I am waiting for the X38 Chipset. Later next year I am gona upgrade my processor to 45nm.

After reading your guys comments I am getting more and more interested in Quad-Core!

Once again, Thx for all the input guys!

P.S. Fusion

 

[AlucardX]

yes, sounds good.

 

[JackBurton]

Originally posted by: RussianSensation
Not sure why you want to wait for X38 chipset. It seems it'll be natively DDR3 which costs an arm and a leg.

2 x PCI-E 2.0 (x16) and the rumored possibility of SLI support.

 

[slugg]

Where do you get these for $266?

 

[masteraleph]

Originally posted by: slugg
Where do you get these for $266?

Wow, you're out of the loop.

Intel is having a number of product intros and price drops on July 22. Amongst these is that (in lots of 1000) the Q6600 is dropping to $266. It will almost certainly be available in all channels somewhere between that and $300.

Originally posted by: RussianSensation
Not sure why you want to wait for X38 chipset. It seems it'll be natively DDR3 which costs an arm and a leg.

Because most manufacturers are coming out with DDR2 and/or hybrid DDR2/DDR3 versions, and because I want 1 PCI-E x16 slot for an 8800GTX, 1 PCI-E x16 slot for an 8600GTS for my HDTV, and 1 PCI-E x8 slot for my RAID controller. And more stability than 680i. Or at least, that's my reasoning

 

[vegettoxp]

Well guys after talking with my friends and thinking for 8 hours at work, I have made my decision, I am gona go with the Quad-Core Q6600 Processor and That my Final Choice. I will later next year or so will upgrade to the New 45-nm Processors. Now it time to do some Hard-Core Reviews on the Q6600 Model. Thx for all the help guys.

P.S. Fusion

 

[qliveur]

I believe that between the two (E6850 & Q6600), you made the right choice. Now you'll just have to overclock that Q6600 to 3.0GHZ+ and you'll have the best of both worlds (essentially a Q6850). The Q6600 @$266 is a better value (and a no-brainer) if you don't mind overclocking it.

 

[Valour]

Originally posted by: JackBurton

Originally posted by: RussianSensation
Not sure why you want to wait for X38 chipset. It seems it'll be natively DDR3 which costs an arm and a leg.

2 x PCI-E 2.0 (x16) and the rumored possibility of SLI support.

Prior to purchasing my P35 board, I researched PCI-E 2.0 to ensure my board would support this. I read in several places on the net that the P35 supports PCI-E 2.0. Since then, I have seen people saying that an X38 is needed to support this. Does anyone know the true answer to this?

 

[tameone]

The nvidia 680i chipset will support the new Intel 45nm Penryn cores with a bios flash, so don't hold out on the X38 chipset if you just want 2x PCIe slots and SLI. Of course, if you want DDR3, obviously this isn't an option.

I'm trying to decide on this same topic myself. Personally I will be using this for primarily gaming, so at stock speeds, the E6850 looks to be the winner. It should OC like crazy, but the Q6600 should also OC decently, and with a mild overclock to say 3GHz, it should best the E6850, especially with more and more games being optimized for multiple cores.

 

[masteraleph]

Originally posted by: Valour


Prior to purchasing my P35 board, I researched PCI-E 2.0 to ensure my board would support this. I read in several places on the net that the P35 supports PCI-E 2.0. Since then, I have seen people saying that an X38 is needed to support this. Does anyone know the true answer to this?

I think that the P35 hypothetically includes support for PCI-E 2.0, but only if the BIOS supports it, which it doesn't at this point. Also, because part of the spec for PCI-E 2.0 is a higher max power output on the PCI-E slots, there's a question of the capability of current P35 boards in supporting the spec. The answer is, we just don't know.

 

[lopri]

It's because PCI-E 2.0 will be backward compatible with PCI-E 1.0, I think. In other words, one can insert any PCI-E 1.0 add-in card in PCI-E 2.0 slots. The other way around should be possible, too. Basically PCI-E 2.0 is doubling the bandwidth and power supply through the slots of PCI-E 1.0. So there is no reason that 8800 GTX won't work with PCI-E 2.0 boards, and also there is no reason that 9800 GTX won't work with PCI-E 1.0 boards. If the next gen video cards require that much power/bandwidth (which I highly doubt), then there could be a slight performance loss (like running a X2900 on a X4 PCI-E slot). But basically the PCI-E is all about scalability provided the BIOS is properly configured.

 

[vegettoxp]

Hey Guys, like I said before, I have NEVER overclocked in my entire life. Even the procesor I have now has never been overclocked. I just had two quick question, I have read that you can overclock the E6850 to 4Ghz on Air Cooling, is this correct? And second The Q6600, I am guessing that you need Water Cooling right? And if this is true, then I am not going to overclock this processor. I have never done water cooling either.

One day has passed by and I thought I was sure that I want the Q6600, but now I Am starting to have second thoughts again. If I don't get the Quad-Core now, I will get to for sure when the 45nm comes out. I know alot of you guys said that The Q6600 is the best way to go. Maybe I will give it one more day and then I will make my Final Final Decusion!

THX!

P.S. Fusion

 

[vegettoxp]

Hey Guys, I have started to do reviews on the Q6600, So I am guessing I am gona go with the Q6600 After all. I just had few questions:

1) Can I get the Q6600 now (Of course after Price Cut)?

2) WhenI order it on-line, do I need to look for something regarding this processor (Stepping I guess or something else). Or do I just order the Q6600 Period?

3) Will this processor work when I get the X38 Chipset based Motherboards Intel or Asus? (Because I plan to get the 45nm based Quad-Core Next year or so)

Thx for all the help guys!

P.S. Fusion

 

[Nathelion]

It might be worth taking care to get a G0 stepping. Tankguyz had some offer to sell only G0s. However you should be aware that it may very well be until august or early september until G0s are widely available.

 

[vegettoxp]

Hey Guys, Now that I have decided that I am gona go with the Q6600, I need help in the Air Cooling area. I might or might now overclock, but I need to have the best Air cooling out there. So for the people who have Air cooling on there Q6600 or if you guys have good recommendations, Please share those with me. I am using a Cooler-Master Air cooling for my old system.

So if you guys can give me your opinions on Good Air Cooling, It would really help me out and my Q6600 Processor!

P.S. Fusion!

 

[Cheex]

I can vouch for the Tuniq Tower 120. Works great for me (even though I run a dual core, not a quad).

 

[Diogenes2]

I really like my Ultra-120

Best price I have found is over at Xoxcide..

http://www.xoxide.com/thermalr...ra-120-cpu-cooler.html