Core2 Duo vs. Quad

[Buck Armstrong]

I've read all the E6850 vs. Q6600 articles...but let's say its between an E6600 and a Q6600 instead. Duo vs. Quad, same clock and FSB speeds (2.4 GHz, 1066 MHz), only difference is $50. Is it worth the $50, and secondly, is there ANY disadvantage to a Quad in this case?

 

[SerpentRoyal]

If the difference is $50, the I would go with Q6600. You should be able to overclock the quad to about 3.2GHz. The only disadvantage is higher heat load on CPU, and PWM.

 

[stevty2889]

Only disadvantage to the Quad, is that it runs warmer(twice the cores after all), so it requires better cooling to get the same overclock as a dual core.

 

[Markfw]

Originally posted by: stevty2889
Only disadvantage to the Quad, is that it runs warmer(twice the cores after all), so it requires better cooling to get the same overclock as a dual core.

And a better motherboard that can provide power without melting down, like the DS3 that I killed.

 

[Timecop1967]

I think I'll pass on the Q6600 but might go for the Penryn Q9450 when released in January....because of the better thermals, 12mb cache, and extra stuff implemented in the chip.

However....... I noticed the Dual Core Penryn E8400 looks great and will probably run most all games fine for the next 1 1/2 years. Like its cousin the E6850..... this chip looks like an energy sipper. And since I game only about 2-3% of the time this chip might be best for me.......sure don't need it surfing the Anandtech forums and doing most everyday web tasks. So may save energy and lower the heat by going with the extremely good E8400 priced at 183$

 

[kmmatney]

MY coworker just bought a Q6600 - we were fooling around with overclocking it and it easily reached 3.2 Ghz with the stock fan. He backed it off to just 3.0 Ghz becuase "it was fast enough" but there were no thermal issues, using a standard case with no special cooling precautions.

 

[swing848]

Originally posted by: Buck Armstrong
E6600 vs. Q6600 ... only difference is $50. Is it worth the $50, and secondly, is there ANY disadvantage to a Quad in this case?

For $50 get the quad core. No disadvantage, if you want lots of overclocking remember good case cooling, high quality power supply and a good heatsink.