Quad core for $266 in July (hopefully). Lets see some CHEAP crunching builds?

[NicColt]

Right now I'm going to pick up the 2 x 5200+ 65W systems for first week of July unless someone can show me that the Q6600 will do better at stock.

The Q6600 will most likely be my main system after the price drop though.

 

[Sniderhouse]

Will Windows XP Pro use all four cores? I might be mistaken but I think WinXP will only use 2 cores or at least it's licensed for only 2?

If that's the case, it's Windows Server 2K or 2K3 or Linux?

 

[Sniderhouse]

I guess I should have done a quick search before posting. I hope this helps others:

http://download.microsoft.com/..._hyperthread_brief.doc

 

[NicColt]

I think I was reading in a Q6600 review that the licensing refers to the number of processors (but I can be wrong). I'll try to find the review.

So...

1 Desktop with two single-core processors = 2 Processors with single cores.

1 Desktop with two single-core hyperthreaded processors = 2 Processors

1 Desktop with two dual-core processors = 2 Processors with dual cores

1 Desktop with two dual-core hyperthreaded processors = 2 Processors with dual cores

1 Server with four single-core processors = 4 Processors with single cores

1 Server with four single-core hyperthreaded processors = 4 Processors

1 Server with four dual-core processors = 4 Processors with dual cores

1 Server with four quad-core processors = 4 Processors with quad cores.

Not mentioned here is a single processors with 4 cores = 1 Processor.

The review was mentioning that C2D and Q6600's where viewed as just 1 Processor in the licence. Where XP allows for upto 2 processors. (but again I can be wrong)

I think that the Multicore and Hyperthreaded Processor Licensing document should have been better written.

I also found this on MS... most likely this also applies to the OS licence.

Licensing Microsoft Software on Multicore Processors

On October 19, 2004, Microsoft announced that its server software that is currently licensed on a per-processor model will continue to be licensed on a per-processor, and not on a per-core, model. This policy will allow customers to recognize more performance and power from Microsoft software on a multicore processor system without incurring additional software licensing fees.

Licensing on a per-processor rather than a per-core basis ensures that customers will not face additional software licensing requirements or incur additional licensing fees when they choose to adopt multicore processor technology. Customers who use software from vendors that license by individual core, as other software vendors currently do, may face increased software costs when they upgrade to multicore processor systems. Multicore processor systems licensed on a per-processor basis will also help make this new enterprise computing technology affordable to mid-size and small business customers.

 

[NicColt]

hhmmm did we lose part of the thread ??

 

[TallBill]

I'll probably end up spending more like $600 on a dedicated box at the end of the month or early August. I'll be getting a decent hsf and hopefully get it OC'd to 3 ghz.

 

[NicColt]

Hey I just posted this in CPUs and from everything I'm reading I'm going E6850. The current batches of Q6600 are all B3 steppings meaning that they are 130W the new Q6600's with the G0 Steppings with 65W will only come once all the Q6600 B3's are sold, most likely in Q4.

Like I said for me it's all about Pure Ghz/Price/Efficiency over cores right now. I'd like a Q but the E6850 at 65W for $332 Cdn is just to tempting for me. All I want is 9*400 on air with 1:1 Mem and I'll be happy. AMD just can't touch that right now and with news that the Phenon's are delayed to 08 I just can't wait anymore.

Who knows... in a few months maybe I'll just pop the CPU and put in a 65W Q6800 G0 for $299 USD and my system will handle it. Right now I think the for sale date for the E6850 is July 10th but I could be wrong.

so I wait

Originally posted by: NicColt
<div class="FTQUOTE"><begin quote>Originally posted by: covert24
thats because amd is making a true quad core.</end quote></div>

That may be True but people like me who have been long time AMD supporters are starting to feel like were in a corner and can't get out. Right now I can't wait any longer and I'm going for the E6850 the day it comes out.

Quads are nice but my primary concern with Q's are Heat and the recent batch comes in at about 130W. Other thing is that very few apps or games are using all cores right now.

If in the near future (meaning 2-6 months) AMD releases an affordable 65W Quad or if I see an Intel Q6600 with the G0 stepping I'm all in but in the meantime it's Pure Ghz/Price/Efficiency over cores right now for me and the E6850 is it.

Sorry AMD but I just can't wait anymore.

 

[TallBill]

Well hopefully when its time to build my gaming machine (~January) the G0 stepping should be out and and about. Only time will tell!

 

[Assimilator1]

What spec is the E6850? that's a new one to me.

Gotta admit I'd be tempted by cheap,low power quads

 

[NicColt]

I'll probably be ditching 3 systems when i get home, a 1700+ system, a 2800+ system, and possibly a A64 3500+ system

that's what I'm doing, I've just ditch my XP2400 and replaced it with the XP5200+EE 65W version along with a newer PSU. I'm sure that I'm getting Quadruple output with less power and heat. It's a relatively cheap system.

Antec SLK3700
Antec Smart Power 2.0 500W (new)
AMD 5200+EE (new)
Asus M2A-VM (new)
OCZ Gold 1GB PC2-6400 (new)
Thermaltake TMG A3 (new)
IDE 80G (old)
NEC Multisync cd-rom (old, I think it's 10 years old but still works)
OS - Ubuntu Free
I ended up paying about $360 Cdn to upgrade this system.
5.5M output 24/7 priceless 1st. system DONE : )
This entire system cost me less than one E6700 cpu which is right now $364Cdn.

BTW I just right now pushed the buy button on;

Intel Core 2 Duo E6850 3.00GHz 4MB/1333FSB Processor
Asus P5K Deluxe/WIFI-AP S775 P35 ATX Mainboard (GbE/Audio/FW/Raid)
2 x Seagate 7200.10 500GB 7200RPM 16MB SATAII Hard Drive, 5Yr
Asus Silent Square Cooler (Intel S775)
Mitsumi 3.5" Floppy Drive, Black
Asus DRW-1814BLT 18x DVDRW SATA Lightscribe Drive, Black
OCZ Reaper 2Gb DC PC2-8500 DDR2 Memory Kit (HPC Edition)
Antec TruePower Quattro 850Watt Power Supply
APC BackUPS ES 750VA w/Tel&Coax
+
AMD Athlon64 X2 5200+ AM2 Dual-Core 65W Processor
OCZ Gold 1GB DC PC2-6400 DDR2 Memory Kit *XTC*
Asus M2A-VM AM2 690G mATX Mainboard (Video/Lan/Audio)
Thermaltake TMG A3 CPU Cooler (AM2/939/754)
Antec SmartPower2.0 500 watt ATX Power Supply

I already have the TX1050B case to put all this in. However I told them not to ship anything until the complete order is ready to ship so I could still make changes until then. ETA for E6850 is July 23 and ETA on PSU is July 17th.

If they end up getting the P5K Premium before it ships I will get that instead.

Damm I just checked and they are expecting 140 E6850 but have 327 sold already

System 2 and 3 in progress

 

[TallBill]

Eggcellent.

 

[Coquito]

Originally posted by: TallBill
Eggcellent.

They only send you a free pen if you start a new thread.

Or if you post a review on resellerratings.

 

[Assimilator1]

NicColt
Why are you getting an 850w PSU for the C2D system? that is overkill as far as I can see.You could save yourself time & $$$ by going for a lower spec PSU .Unless you plan on running 8800 SLIs?
The E6850 isn't a quad core CPU is it?

My E6420 @3.2GHz draws (at the wall) ~180w when running 2xDPAD & ~205w running Prime95(Orthos).If I load CPUs & GPU (ATI Tool) it draws ~240w ,that's with an ATI X1950 Pro.
My PSU is an Antec TPII 430 btw ,I've checked line voltages with my multimeter with it under full load & they're fine.A TPII 430 is possibly cutting it a little close* (it was the PSU from my previous build) ,but I don't think you'd need a 850w version,unless you're getting it for better future proofing?

*Judging by Antecs efficiency rating for my PSU (70%) 240w at the wall translates to 168w draw for the PSU which is less than 1/2 of its useable power of 410w across the 3.3,5 &12v lines ,so on 2nd thoughts I've got plenty spare

 

[NicColt]

Originally posted by: Assimilator1
NicColt Why are you getting an 850w PSU for the C2D system? Unless you plan on running 8800 SLIs? The E6850 isn't a quad core CPU is it? but I don't think you'd need a 850w version,unless you're getting it for better future proofing? so on 2nd thoughts I've got plenty spare

I'm going with this one because of the %80+ power efficiency and also because of it's quality build. I would have went with a 600 or 500 in the same category but 850 is the smallest. My last upgrade was on November of 2003 so money is not a problem this time round

All 6*50's are G0 steppings and the E6850 is dual core and the Q6850 is 4 but in 6-12 months maybe the Q6850 will be about $266 USD who knows and I'll upgrade then if need be. I'm just going for pure power efficiency, the E6850 is 75W according to techpowerup. and the Q6600 B3 stepping is 130W.

So just to recap on why I'm going E6850

-I'm not assured of a G0 stepping with Q6600 anytime soon here in Canada.
-the Q6600 is 130W 2400Mhz compared to
-the E6850 is 75W 3000Mhz so less power and less heat.
-the E6850 is faster than the Q6600 in games but not in server apps, ecoding ect...
-the E6850 can reach 4000Mhz on air very easy and that's all I want. not so for Q6600.

I think that the Q6600 even the 130W version can still outcrunch the E6850 even at 4Ghz but not by that much i think. Since it's for my main system and gaming is going to be my priority I'm going with the E6850.

I forgot to mention that I didn't put a video card in there yet, I'll go for the 2600XT because of the UVD ect.. and upgrade to R680 in Jan/08 I just can't bring myself to get a HD2900XT for that type of money without UVD and with the power it draws... I though of going to the dark side but I just can't do it...

TallBill when you get your Q66 going your going to have to tell me how much SoB output that thing puts out, I can't seen to find a complete answer to that one. I'm also in a hurry to see how much the E6850 will do in SoB at 4Ghz.

 

[PCTC2]

The Q6600 B3 is actually 105W, not 130W. I have one right now running Folding@Home on my former gaming rig. (I don't have time to game anymore, so my eVGA 680i SLI w/ 2 GB of RAM + 2x 7950GTs is now a cruncher). It runs at about 66C in 30C ambients @ stock on a Thermalright Ultra120 running F@H SMP Client. I'm actually running a single core, a dual core, and my quad core all as crunchers b/c i rarely use them for anything else. I just surf the internet on my laptop.

 

[NicColt]

The Q6600 B3 is actually 105W, not 130W.

I think your right, I was going according to TechPowerUp who were saying that it's 130W ??? weird.

PCTC2 what is the Q6600 crunching ? are you using all 4 cores to crunch ?

 

[Amaroque]

Originally posted by: Wolfsraider
I want 4 please

I want six, with six motherboards, and 6GB RAM. That would replace all my machines.

Wow, that would be 24 cores in six machines, up from 9 cores in six machines. :Q

 

[TallBill]

Originally posted by: NicColt

The Q6600 B3 is actually 105W, not 130W.

I think your right, I was going according to TechPowerUp who were saying that it's 130W ??? weird.

PCTC2 what is the Q6600 crunching ? are you using all 4 cores to crunch ?

I'd love to hear his output too. I'm assuming that his Q6600 is at 2.7 ghz looking at his sig. Should be able to get up to 3.0 fairly easily with a powerful air cooler.

 

[PCTC2]

Originally posted by: TallBill

Originally posted by: NicColt

The Q6600 B3 is actually 105W, not 130W.

I think your right, I was going according to TechPowerUp who were saying that it's 130W ??? weird.

PCTC2 what is the Q6600 crunching ? are you using all 4 cores to crunch ?

I'd love to hear his output too. I'm assuming that his Q6600 is at 2.7 ghz looking at his sig. Should be able to get up to 3.0 fairly easily with a powerful air cooler.

Running Folding@Home SMP 24/7 on all four cores on low (vs. Idle) priority. It's not the cooler that's holding back the overclock, it's the motherboard. I'm waiting for an RMA so I should be able to hit 3.2GHz. Actually, right now, because the board has a busted cap and a vDroop of about 0.1v, I'm running at stock and I'm doing about 500,000 steps of F@H in 20 hours (1700 points/20 hours). Temps barely hit 65C now in 30-32C ambients @ 4-core-100% load.

I'm also running an old P4HT Skt 478 to crunch F@H. As a comparison, it takes 9 DAYS to run 5000 frames. I'm also in the process of finishing up a Core2Duo E6400 rig to crunch as well (I've got a bunch of processors, hard drives, etc laying around. I just need to buy a new motherboard).

EDIT: If I get some extra money soon, I might run another Q6600 crunching rig. Then I'd have 2 Q6600, 1 E6400, and an old P4HT running F@H crunching away to catch up for the TeAm. My room is getting so hot with just a laptop, my Q6600, and my P4 chugging along. Imagine if I add two more..... *BURNING UP*

 

[PCTC2]

My Post was getting kinda long so here's my next 2 projects for crunchers:

The light cruncher/daily-use rig. Total: ~$600
E6400@3.6GHz (laying around) on TR Ultra120 $55
MSI Neo2 P35 Motherboard $130
2x1GB Team Xtreem PC8500 RAM $155
80GB SATAII Seagate 7200.10 $44
Asus DVD-ROM $20
Asus 8600GT $150
CM Centurion 5 Case $50

Q6600 Cruncher: ~$600
Q6600 G0 Stepping on TR Ultra120X @ 3.0GHz $266-300 +$55
MSI G33M Motherboard $95
2x 512MB G.Skill PC6400 RAM $57
80GB Seagate 7200.10 SATAII $44
Asus DVD-ROM $20
CM Centurion 5 Case $50
--------------------------------------
Current Computers:

Current Cruncher:
Q6600 on TR Ultra120X (soon @ 3.0GHz)
eVGA 680i-AR (RMA'd for 680i-A1)
2GB Corsair XMS2 Dominator PC6400
2x500GB 7200.10 Seagate SATAII
2x 7950GT SLI
Asus DVD-ROM/Lite-on DVD-RW
Antec 900 Case.

Crunching as a joke:
P4HT 3.0GHz Skt478
MiniITX board
CD-ROM Drive
40GB IDE HD.

My 2 laptops will be the only computers not crunching. One is a T7200 and the other is an old Mac G4.

 

[ShotgunSteven]

I am building a quad core machine, and I have all parts but the processor since I am waiting on the price drop. What DC apps will take full advantage of the Q6600?

 

[TallBill]

Originally posted by: ShotgunSteven
I am building a quad core machine, and I have all parts but the processor since I am waiting on the price drop. What DC apps will take full advantage of the Q6600?

Anything on Boinc will run on all four cores with no problems. Seventeenorbust loves Intel Cpus' and specifically the core 2 duos, so I can imagine that it'd tear up a Q6600. Also very easy to set up for multithreading on Windows or Linux, and you can use SBQueue to control Wu's if you please. Cant speak for anything else. My initial Q6600 system will be SoB, but it probably wont be going untill mid August since a friend is building it for me.

 

[Alyx]

Originally posted by: ShotgunSteven
I am building a quad core machine, and I have all parts but the processor since I am waiting on the price drop. What DC apps will take full advantage of the Q6600?

It will chew threw folding@home like a beast as well. Its hard to justify running a P4 with the PPD the dual/quad core processors get. My P4s at work get 150-300PPD compared to a C2D at 1k or a quad at 1.7k. Yet both use nearly the same power

 

[TallBill]

Originally posted by: Alyx

Originally posted by: ShotgunSteven
I am building a quad core machine, and I have all parts but the processor since I am waiting on the price drop. What DC apps will take full advantage of the Q6600?

It will chew threw folding@home like a beast as well. Its hard to justify running a P4 with the PPD the dual/quad core processors get. My P4s at work get 150-300PPD compared to a C2D at 1k or a quad at 1.7k. Yet both use nearly the same power

Thats why I'll be getting rid of my 3 machines at home now once I start getting quads.

 

[ShotgunSteven]

Originally posted by: Alyx

Originally posted by: ShotgunSteven
I am building a quad core machine, and I have all parts but the processor since I am waiting on the price drop. What DC apps will take full advantage of the Q6600?

It will chew threw folding@home like a beast as well. Its hard to justify running a P4 with the PPD the dual/quad core processors get. My P4s at work get 150-300PPD compared to a C2D at 1k or a quad at 1.7k. Yet both use nearly the same power

That's insane! Makes me want to build a quad-core crack rack and then hide it up in the ceiling at work, provided I could splice it into the network to dump WU's regularly.