Which processor... e6750/e6850/q6600?

[oneson2k]

Thanks to everyone's help here I'm finishing up the specs on my new build, but I'm left with one last question. Which processor?

I've narrowed it down to the following:

E6750
E6850
Q6600

I'm a pretty heavy gamer, but I also do A LOT of photoshop/multi-tasking. I was leaning towards the Q6600 (for future performance), but the 6750/6850's are really attractive too!

Any input would be appreciated! Thanks!

 

[Xed]

I'd get the g0 stepping of the q6600 after the july 22nd price cuts based on your usage.

 

[kenny0813]

i agree, the G0 stepping cuts down on power usage, runs faster than the other two, and it's like ~$250 after the 22nd

 

[Markfw]

More like $300, but we will see. I agree though, they are killer. Only problem, (if you OC) is you need a very good motherboard, PSU and cooling solution, including the case.

 

[fredhe12]

I'm in the same dilemma as the OP. Basically game, multi task and Photoshop.

From a price for performance standpoint, I've decided that the e6750 will have to suffice for now. Early indications are that the q6600 will be around $300 and the e6750 around $200.

I'm ordering the 6750 on Monday from a local supplier that already has them. Going to pair it with an ASUS P5K and 2GB of OCZ Platinum PC6400 which I've already ordered.

We'll see how that goes...

 

[lopri]

'A lot of multitasking' needs a little more detailed explanation, I think. Just leaving active application windows open or things that stay in the system tray don't really mean 'multi-tasking'. Said that, Q6600 gets my vote too under the condition that the motherboard is prepared for it. (for overclocking more than anything else )

Q6600 @3.20GHz vs E6850 @3.60GHz -> I'd take the Q6600
Q6600 @2.40GHz vs E6850 @3.60GHz -> I'd take the E6850

 

[Blefuscu]

Originally posted by: kenny0813
i agree, the G0 stepping cuts down on power usage, runs faster than the other two, and it's like ~$250 after the 22nd

wha? how is the G0 Q6600 "faster"? in most benches it's the same or slower than the other two. i think he needs to find photoshop benches. in games, the Q6600 is going to be the slowest.

i'm having the same dilemma myself. not sure which one to get, although i'm leaning to the E6750 with a small overclock (quiet pc) now. the July 22 bulk pricing is here:

the E6850 and Q6600 are both $266 and the E6750 is $183
http://www.hkepc.com/bbs/itnews.php?tid=789466

also the lower FSB on the Q6600 has a small (5-8% or so?) effect on average. i think Anand did an article about it for the new p35 boards.

if you get the E6750 you can also maybe spend the money you save on the next best video card. that will have a larger effect on the game performance than the difference between these cpus.

 

[btdvox]

If you do JUST heavy gaming and programming then I would go for the E6850, If you do gaming and adobe photoshop, primere etc, Get the Q6600, The adobe stuff have a good advantage with Quad cores, but for just simply Heavy Gaming Quadcore wont come into real play for quite awhile.

 

[deadseasquirrel]

Originally posted by: oneson2k
I'm a pretty heavy gamer, but I also do A LOT of photoshop/multi-tasking.

Define "heavy"? What games do you play? What resolution and settings do you use? What video card do you have? And, as lopri mentioned, what do you mean by "multi-tasking"?

 

[oneson2k]

Thanks to everyone who replied so far!

For gaming I use 1600x1200 (my monitors max res), althogh I'm going to switch to 1680x1050 as soon as I pick a 22" widescreen.

I do NOT do any type of 3-d rendering whatsoever.

I use photoshop daily for my job.

For work, I usually have photoshop, dreamweaver, multiple IE/Firefox windows, excel, word, outlook open and alt/tabbing between.

Right now, i'm leaning towards the e6850. I'm going to be using the Gigabyte GA-P35C-DS3R, so I could always upgrade to a quad core/DDR3 later down the road.

 

[deadseasquirrel]

Yeah, that kind of multi-tasking definitely isn't cpu-intensive multi-tasking. I suppose it's time for that term to be defined in different ways. For doing those tasks, RAM is your friend moreso than CPU speed/cores.

And if photoshop is important to you, I recommend testing out an LCD before replacing your CRT. You may or may not like the difference.

For that resolution (either 16x12 or 16x10) CPU speed isn't going to matter much with graphic-intensive games. You didn't mention what games you enjoy playing now and hope to play in the future. For example, take an FPS game like Quake4. At that resolution, a C2D at 4ghz doesn't really improve gameplay at all over a C2D at stock 2.4ghz. That's almost double the CPU speed with really no benefit for gaming. RTS games tend to favor CPU speed moreso than FPSs. But, at that resolution, even Company of Heroes benefits only slightly from that extra 1.6ghz in speed.

I guess my long-winded point is that if you're going to spend $250 on a CPU, it might as well be a quad, even if it's slower and has less overclockability than a 6850/6750 because, for games at your resolution, CPU speed matters little. In the future, if you find yourself rendering graphics or encoding video at the same time you play a game, that quad will come in very useful though, while the C2D will struggle with 2 dual-core apps being used simultaneously.

However, based on all this info, if you decided to drop down to a much cheaper C2D (since 2.4ghz would give roughly the same gaming performance as 4ghz) and put more money into your GFX card (where gaming performance at your resolution is really determined), that wouldn't be a bad choice at all either.

 

[btdvox]

hmm not a bad idea, though I suspect DDR3 to be expensive for the next year.

But If you use Photoshop Daily, you'll def want the Quadcore- Photoshop uses multiple cores very well.

 

[nyker96]

Q6600 and OC to 3ghz it's a no brainer. If you buying now, go quad, last longer.

 

[oneson2k]

Thanks guys! I ordered the E6850 for $295. Should be here in a few days!

 

[btdvox]

whered you buy it from? On july 22nd it should be $266 everywhere.

 

[RampantAndroid]

I didn't think the 6850 was out yet? When can we expect the 6750, 6850 and so on to be available from newegg and such...the 22nd, or later? I ask because I'm starting to collect parts for my update of my current computer...and I want to grab everything as close together as possible.

Thanks!

 

[thejez]

newegg has the 6750 and the 6850 available now.
$225 and $335

 

[TheKub]

Ive just read a few reviews that say that the 6700 and the 6750 perform basicly the same (no more the 1-2% diff). So now that the 6700 is the older chip why is it still ~$100 more?