Calling all overclockers -- E6400 vs E6600

[Pugnate]

I can't decide on what processor to purchase. I am primarily going to be using it for gaming with my 8800GTX, so what should I go for? The E6400 and overclock it? or the E6600 and overclock that as well?

To all those of you that have purchased E6400s, please give your honest overclocked speeds, and please mention stability. To all those that have used stock cooling to overclock your E6400s, have there been any issues?

 

[thilanliyan]

Originally posted by: Pugnate
I can't decide on what processor to purchase. I am primarily going to be using it for gaming with my 8800GTX, so what should I go for? The E6400 and overclock it? or the E6600 and overclock that as well?

To all those of you that have purchased E6400s, please give your honest overclocked speeds, and please mention stability. To all those that have used stock cooling to overclock your E6400s, have there been any issues?

I'd save the money and go for the 6400. Unless you're gonna do a lot of video encoding...I don't think the extra cache helps a lot....at least that's what reviews showed.

I'm extremely happy with my E6400 @ 3.4GHz...and it was pretty easy to get there.

 

[The-Noid]

E6400 will get 3.2-3.4 ghz easy for 24/7. You can push higher, but you will have issues with the motherboard getting hot in the long run. 3.4-3.6 can be done on both. Mainly you will not see a huge a difference in each. The extra 2 megs of cache is supposedly harder to clock, but I have never found that to be true.

 

[MichaelD]

Well, I'm new to the 6400 overclocking scene; see my post in this very forum on same!

I can tell you this; the stock HSF sucks wind for overclocking, big time. :thumbsdown:

For stock speeds, its fine; but then again, most people building a system from scratch that purchase an E6300/6400 know darn well you can OC it stably to 3+GHz without too much trouble.

...EXCEPT the trouble that the POS stock HSF gives you. :|

Other's may disagree on this next statement, but here's mine.

I bought the 6400 b/c of the stock 8x multi; that helps a lot with overclocking. You don't need sky-high memory/FSB speeds in order to get a nice OC like you would with a 7x multi/6300. The lower-tier Conroes are upward-multi LOCKED. I think you need a 6700 or above to get the unlocked multi.

Might as well spend the extra $50 or whatever to get the 6400 and the 8x multi. So far, I'm very happy with mine. I'll be happier when my Arctic Freezer 7 comes in and I can ditch this POS stock HSF.

 

[Pugnate]

I've actually never over clocked a processor before and am worried about issues 6 months down the road.

Also would the E6600 not be able to over clock better?

edit:

Forgot to mention one thing. RAM is 667 Kingston. Will that be an issue? The problem is faster RAM isn't available where I live.

 

[bjp999]

The slower the processor the more stress is puts on the memory when OCing, because at the same time you are increasing processor speed, you are increasing memory speed. Your 667 should be okay on the E6400, but you might have to use dividers, especially if you push over 3.2GHz. (Dividers are a way to slow down memory accesses so the memory doesn't fail.) You might be able to (depending on the RAM) run stably at 1:1 with the E6600 @3.6GHz or the E6400 @ 3.2GHZ (in both cases, you'd be OCing memory from 667 to 800).

I have not tried to OC an E6400, so can't compare, but getting my E6600 to 3.3GHz was a piece of cake. And with some work I got it to 3.6GHz. I was pretty new to all this when I started.

Your motherboard choice is very important. Decide on your processor first, as some are recommended more for one over the other.

Whichever you choose, I'm sure you'll be happy.

 

[n7]

Originally posted by: Pugnate
Forgot to mention one thing. RAM is 667 Kingston. Will that be an issue? The problem is faster RAM isn't available where I live.

That's likely to be a big issue, unless it happens to OC well.

The decision really boils down to money.

If you have it, go for the E6600.
If you don't, the E6400 is great also.

But DDR2-667 could be trouble with an E6400.

My OC is in sig btw.

 

[MichaelD]

N7: A bit OT, but what are your temps with that OC?

 

[sbuckler]

Originally posted by: n7
The decision really boils down to money.

If you have it, go for the E6600.
If you don't, the E6400 is great also.

The op is buying a 8800GTX, I think we can assume he can afford the few $ more for a more expensive cpu. In that case it's a question of which goes faster. Well the 6600 has twice the cache so will give you higher performance at the same clock speed. Both should o/c to a similar level, athough the percentage o/c required for the 6600 is much lower meaning it's a bit easier to do.

Buy the 6600, it doesn't cost much more and it's faster.

 

[Pugnate]

Yea it is a $100 more for the E6600. I can afford it, but I wouldn't mind investing the $100 on something else, like an Asus Ventro Case haha.

Anyway so yea I am pretty much set on the E6600. RAM is 2GB of Kingston 667 and the video will be powered by the 8800GTX.

Now someone help me deicide on a mobo. I am looking to spend like $150 on a mobo. I posted a thread on the mobo forum, but all anyone could come up with was the GA-965P-DS3.

I'd like the 650sli but I want this ready now...

 

[thilanliyan]

Originally posted by: Pugnate

Anyway so yea I am pretty much set on the E6600. RAM is 2GB of Kingston 667 and the video will be powered by the 8800GTX.

Now someone help me deicide on a mobo. I am looking to spend like $150 on a mobo. I posted a thread on the mobo forum, but all anyone could come up with was the GA-965P-DS3.

I'd like the 650sli but I want this ready now...

Buy better ram if you can afford all the other components. And unless you want SLI, the DS3 is a great motherboard. It's been rock solid with my overclock...but then I replaced the northbridge cooler.

 

[Pugnate]

Well the only 800 4-4-4-12 RAM available to me is by G-Skill. Are they any good? I was checking benchmarks and the difference between 667 and 800 seems to be almost negligble in games.

 

[MADMAX23]

First; You may not need DDR2 800 Ram, try your Kingston DDR2 667 sticks first, I mean, either relax their Ram timings or increase voltage to get DDR2 800 speeds. Most DDR2 667 sticks will run at DDR2 800 speeds by:

a) Increasing voltage a little (up to 2.1v is considered safe for any DDR2 module)
b) Relaxing by 1 ns each of the main ram timings,except for Tras
c) Combinating the above methods with logic

Second; Save your buck, get the 6400 and overclock it.

You can get 3,2 Ghz even with the stock Intel cooler, I can tell you, since right now, I'm running my rig (see below) 24/7 100% stable at 3.2 Ghz without my XP-120 on my 6400 chip...at LOAD, temps never reach 55ºc.

Of course, temps may vary a few degrees from one chip to another as well as the overclocking headroom.

Once you get your 6400, try overclocking it with your Ram and try to reach 400 Fsb x 8 (multi) 1:1, so that Ram runs at DDR2 800 speeds too. If after tough testing you discover you Ram sticks are uncapable of running at 400 Mhz (DDR2 800 actual speed), then get some value DDR2 800 memory such as G-Skill's.

Good Luck!!!

 

[Pugnate]

Thanks for the suggestions MadMax. I will go for the more expensive DDR2 800 RAM and try to luck out with the 6400. Hopefully I will hit at least 6600 speeds heh.

 

[Raider1284]

my e6400 is running at 3.2 with 1:1 using patriot 5300(667) ram. Almost all 667 ram will hit 800 speeds, check anandtech reviews if you dont believe me

@3.2GHz using 1.28volts, I'm idling at 45 and hitting 55 at load, this is using a 9500 zalman. It's rock solid stable.

EDIT: thought I should add, in the bios the voltage is set to 1.325, so there is def vdroop on the p5b!!

 

[MADMAX23]

Originally posted by: Raider1284
my e6400 is running at 3.2 with 1:1 using patriot 5300(667) ram. Almost all 667 ram will hit 800 speeds, check anandtech reviews if you dont believe me

@3.2GHz using 1.28volts, I'm idling at 45 and hitting 55 at load, this is using a 9500 zalman. It's rock solid stable.

Hey, My 6400 also runs at 3.2Ghz rock solid with only 1.280v!!! Nice chip we have...

On my sig, I'm showing my highest 24/7 stable overclock, although I haven't tried 3.7Ghz or higher..hehe..!!

For an everyday safe Oc, I use 3.2Ghz with 1.280v...that's sweet!!!

 

[LouPoir]

My 6600 is running at 3.4 - sweet

 

[littlezipp]

My E6600 is running at 3.6 right now. VCore set to 1.5, CPU-Z says 1.175 and PC Probe says 1.4. Temp 55c under load.

 

[cmdrdredd]

Originally posted by: littlezipp
My E6600 is running at 3.6 right now. VCore set to 1.5, CPU-Z says 1.175 and PC Probe says 1.4. Temp 55c under load.

Sounds like you have an old version of CPU-Z that reports the voltages incorrectly.

 

[Marmion]

Originally posted by: Pugnate
Thanks for the suggestions MadMax. I will go for the more expensive DDR2 800 RAM and try to luck out with the 6400. Hopefully I will hit at least 6600 speeds heh.

I've got Kingston DDR2-667 RAM and I've got it up to DDR2-940 5-5-5-15 2.1v, currently at DDR2-920 4-5-4-12 2.1v (or 2.2 can't remember ) You won't need to buy that G-Skill RAM to get a good o/c from the E6400! I mean you should be able to reach DDR2-900 and get 3.6Ghz just like everyone else

 

[littlezipp]

Originally posted by: cmdrdredd

Originally posted by: littlezipp
My E6600 is running at 3.6 right now. VCore set to 1.5, CPU-Z says 1.175 and PC Probe says 1.4. Temp 55c under load.

Sounds like you have an old version of CPU-Z that reports the voltages incorrectly.

V1.37; I believe the current one.
These readings were pulled while running Orthos. When I turn Orthos off, CPU-Z stays low while PC Probe stays at 1.4ish. Any ideas! I would say now after running Orthos a few times my OC is solid, but the low/high voltage bothers me. Temp not so much.

 

[clkio]

I would go with an E6300 and over clock it to 3ghz or so, I am really happy with mine, and you get to save money. the voltage is at only 1.33V and 48C at full load

 

[VooDooAddict]

Originally posted by: thilan29
Buy better ram if you can afford all the other components. And unless you want SLI, the DS3 is a great motherboard. It's been rock solid with my overclock...but then I replaced the northbridge cooler.

Agreed if you go with the DS3 and overclock then expect to replace the northbridge cooler. Even at stock settings the stock cooler seems poor.

 

[Eska]

i say save ur money.. nothing noticiable imo..

 

[Markfw]

Originally posted by: VooDooAddict

Originally posted by: thilan29
Buy better ram if you can afford all the other components. And unless you want SLI, the DS3 is a great motherboard. It's been rock solid with my overclock...but then I replaced the northbridge cooler.

Agreed if you go with the DS3 and overclock then expect to replace the northbridge cooler. Even at stock settings the stock cooler seems poor.

just point a fan at it. I just put a very low speed 120 mm in the case right over it. running 500/2000 fsb !