955 Extreme Edition (3.46) or E6400 (2.13) ???

[eviltommy]

I was lucky enough to win a new computer with a 955 EE back in June, It's due to arrive this month and I'm debating whether or not to sell the CPU for $700-800 and pick up an E6400 for about $275 to make a bit of profit. I'll primarily be gaming on this pc and wonder whether or not the extra cache on the EE will pay off in the end. Any input from the AT nerdsquad?

 

[theteamaqua]

yes do that ... E6400 at stock is faster than AMD FX 62 ... do the math from there

 

[theteamaqua]

with ease E6400 can do 3.2GHz easily ... i think it can go as high as 3.6 3.8GHz ... jsut need better memory control.. better SPD table ...

 

[harpoon84]

Originally posted by: theteamaqua
yes do that ... E6400 at stock is faster than AMD FX 62 ... do the math from there

No it's not, E6600 is slightly faster than an FX-62 but an E6400 is more in line with an X2 5000+.

OP, go E6400, easily the faster of the two.

 

[lopri]

Originally posted by: theteamaqua
yes do that ... E6400 at stock is faster than AMD FX 62 ... do the math from there

Incorrect information + Flame bait

To OP: Yes you should go with E6400. But I doubt the motherboard that comes with the system is compatible with Conroe, so I'd double check that. Also the price difference between E6600 and E6400 is less than $100, but the potential benefit is huge. Unless you're budget-minded the extra $100 is well worth spending towards E6600, IMO.

 

[NMDante]

As previously stated, go for the E6400 or better if you can. The 955EE is a hot little thing, and isn't even close to performance to the, well, any E6xxx series.

As for the motherboard, lopri is correct. Check and make sure that the motherboard is compatible with Core 2 Duo chips. Anything less than i965 is iffy, at best. I think your motherboard will probably be a i955. If you luck out with an i975 motherboard, you can always check the manufactuer for any BIOS upgrades that might, and I strongly stress MIGHT, make the mobo capable of Core 2 Duo usage. If not, you can always sell the CPU/mobo and use the money for a C2D/mobo setup.

 

[myocardia]

I wouldn't sell it, personally. First, any EE is going to be more than fast enough for gaming. And secondly, I doubt you'll be able to get that kind of money for it, since nearly everyone these days who's planning on building a new system is planning on a Conroe themselves. Even people like me, who've been buying only AMD's processors for roughly a decade (that would be me) are wanting a Conroe.

As a matter of fact, use it for a day or two, and if you aren't happy with it, I'd recommend you sell the entire computer. People like us, who build our own, won't give you much for that Pentium D. People who want a fast computer, but don't know how to build their own, will likely give you roughly what it would cost them to buy it from whoever you're getting it from, since hardly any of them seem to know much about pricing, either. You could then just build your own Conroe-based system, with premium (and overclockable) parts.

 

[gobucks]

i would sell it for sure. even if you have to spend $150 on a new mobo, you'll probably still end up making a profit. the 955EE is pathetic in comparison to the core 2. but myocardia is right, you may just have to sell the whole rig to someone who doesn't know a lot about computers. obviously no DIYer is gonna pay $700-800 for a chip that will end up slower than a $250 e6400, especially with the tremendous overclocking available in these new chips.

if you want to see how a 955EE stacks up, check out this review:
http://www.anandtech.com/cpuchipsets/showdoc.aspx?i=2795
especially for games, the core 2 simply owns the 965EE; even the e6300 can beat it, so imagine the difference between an e6400 and the slower 955EE

 

[eviltommy]

Originally posted by: lopri

Originally posted by: theteamaqua
yes do that ... E6400 at stock is faster than AMD FX 62 ... do the math from there

Incorrect information + Flame bait

To OP: Yes you should go with E6400. But I doubt the motherboard that comes with the system is compatible with Conroe, so I'd double check that. Also the price difference between E6600 and E6400 is less than $100, but the potential benefit is huge. Unless you're budget-minded the extra $100 is well worth spending towards E6600, IMO.

its an abit aw8d. so its a 975x board which in theory should be compatible. however, i think early revisions are incompatible so i guess i'm just going to have to wait till it arrives to check it out. meh! it needs to arrive today! i had originally won the system in june and was planning on selling the board and cpu right away and buying an X6800 when it launched. however, due to the shipping delay and current lack of money in my bank account, i'll be happy to turn the EE around, pick up an E6400 or E6600 and make a small profit. now, im wondering if selling the cpu and mobo to buy a new cpu and mobo is still going to be worth it.

edit: im probably going to overclock it too so wouldnt the E6400 be better thatn the 6600 in that respect?

 

[lopri]

It depends on what you're expecting. From what I've seen, 3.5GHz with Core 2 Duo under high-end air isn't uncommon. Also we could expect a high-quality motherboard to support around 400 FSB. Of course there are boards that'd raise FSB higher, but from what I've seen, a board with over 400FSB is put to an enormous stress. I would not recommend 400+ FSB for 24/7 use. So in the end,

E6400: 8 x 400 = 3.20GHz or 8 x 425 = 3.50GHz (If your board and memory are capable, even then they'd be running quite hot and might not be stable)
E6600: 9 x 400 = 3.60GHz or possibly a bit more/less depending on your chip, plus extra L2 cache

The 400MHz default clock speed difference under OC scenario, double the cache, and less stress on other components - all these seem worth $100 to me.