Looking for Core 2 Quad

[VulcanX]

I am investing in a wuad core and want an Intel specifically, i cant go for the Qx range as the extreme editions are a bit pricey, but from the prices of the Q6600 and even up to the Q9300 and even above i can afford it, and needed advice on which one I should more specifically look at, seeing how the Q6600 has only 1066 FSB and the Q9300 is running at 1333 im considering the higher FSB but it has 2mb less cache, and also what about the models even above that, i have tried reading into the models released above the Q9300 such as the Q9450, they seem very decent in their architecture, but how do they perform in comparison to the rest i mentioned
Please help me make a wise decision as my current rig just isnt cutting it anymore
Thanks a lot to anyone who posts and i would really appreciate it if i could get multiple views and make an informed choice

 

[VulcanX]

But now i just checked another post and saw that Core 2 Duo E8200 is the ultimate for gaming, i need summin that is overall good in games and fairly decent in video convertions etc
So if i wanted to play games and ensure that my pc wont become old news in 2 years time, what should i be lookin at cpu wise
Thanks guys
So plz get all views regarding any Intel chips and only Intel, no AMD welcome

 

[demiurge3141]

why isn't your current rig cutting it any more?

 

[VulcanX]

I just dont like the way my AMD 5200+ is running anymore, and im getting a Chaintek 8800 GT in bout a week or so, so that will be much faster and then getting new Mobo and chip, my RAM is Corsair which im gonna keep and hard drive too, so just mobo, chip and graphics card is changing, but i wana know what Intel CPU to go for, as i heard that lots of them outrun mine i want to invest in one and maybe buy a cooler for it and overclock it a lil too, i know what board i want, Asus P5K3 DLX mobo and chip im just not certain about, and can sum1 plz reply to me with this board as well, im a bit worried bout the heatpipe technology near the DIMM0 slot, can anyone please let me know bout the heat issue regarding first DIMM slot, P5K3 DLX ASUS board
Thanks again

 

[OCGuy]

All you need for gaming is an E8400. That should last you 2+ years, especially if you clock it to 3.6ghz+. If you MUST have a quad, I would personally go with the Q6600 for the price/performance ratio. I would clock that to 3.0ghz+, however.

If you dont want to overclock, I would shell out the extra dough for the Q6700 or the E8500. (E8600 in Q3).

 

[VulcanX]

But what bout the Q9300 in this whole equation? i have enough money for any of these but not the extreme models of course, i can get a hold of the Q9300 even ,but that has lower cache as i mentioned so which Quad or Duo do i look at now? Because i can get any of the E8xxx series or Q6xxx or Q9300, so any advice guys? and i dont want to overclock if possible seeing how im a newb at it and dont wana break shit with a stock cooler

 

[OCGuy]

Originally posted by: VulcanX
But what bout the Q9300 in this whole equation? i have enough money for any of these but not the extreme models of course, i can get a hold of the Q9300 even ,but that has lower cache as i mentioned so which Quad or Duo do i look at now? Because i can get any of the E8xxx series or Q6xxx or Q9300, so any advice guys? and i dont want to overclock if possible seeing how im a newb at it and dont wana break shit with a stock cooler

What about it? It was factored in when I answered the first time. They are basically the same price as the Q6700, which I would take in a heartbeat over the Q9300. The reason I would take the Q6600 over the Q9300 is just the price/performance factor. But there isnt anything wrong with the Q9300s, so if that is what you are set on, go for it.

 

[boomhower]

If you are not going to overclock the E8400 is a no brainer. The stock clocks of a quad just are not going to do it for gaming. Besides that duals are better for gaming anyways.

From what you have posted I see no reason for you to get a quad. It is just going to give you more heat, power usage, and lower clocks with no benifit for your uses. However if you do want to go that route I would go with the Q6600. To me with the low cache and low multiplier the Q9300 is a cripples bastard chip. To get decent clocks out of it you are going to need sky high FSB clocks which is far from easy on a quad. 450Mhz FSB for 3.4Ghz is just rediculous. The Q6600 will allow you higher clocks with less stress/heat/power on the rest of you components. The 45nm process does get the advantage of a ~5% clock for clock advantage, lower temps, and less power use. When you add in the lower cost of the Q6600 I just don't see any reason to go with the Q9300 for the vast majority of situations including yours.

 

[VulcanX]

Thanks for the post, really informative, its sounding to me to get the Quad 6600, and if i wanted to overclock it a lil to push the limits on it, what cooling system should i get? or should i post that in the cooling section? The Q6600 stock, how is it? in comparison to the Duos? And overclocked shitless, does the Quad really slaughter the Duos? I need summin that will last as i have said, and not too sure if i can by like a Thermalright Ulta120 Extreme at R700 which is like $100 or whatever, so i could try spare cash if there is a major difference and huge potential, but otherwise get summin stock and just run it as is.

 

[myocardia]

Originally posted by: VulcanX
Thanks for the post, really informative, its sounding to me to get the Quad 6600, and if i wanted to overclock it a lil to push the limits on it, what cooling system should i get?

Thermalright Ultra 120 Extreme or Tuniq Tower.

And overclocked shitless, does the Quad really slaughter the Duos?

Definitely, but not in games, unless you happen to be playing Supreme Commander or M$'s FSX. Later, that's likely to change, but for now it's true.

I need summin that will last as i have said, and not too sure if i can by like a Thermalright Ulta120 Extreme at R700 which is like $100 or whatever, so i could try spare cash if there is a major difference and huge potential, but otherwise get summin stock and just run it as is.

If you can't afford the cooling, then don't get a quad. They're exactly twice as hot as the duals, since they're two dual-cores on one chip.

 

[VulcanX]

Hmmm but what bout the standrad cooling on the CPU Q6600? are they decent or the same as the DUOS? and if i had to look at the C2D's should i get the new Wolfdales or the older E6xxx? As the Wolfdale has higher cache and is slightly cheaper, so what would you suggest if my temp on my current AMD 5200+ x2 standard clock is at +- 30 idle?My system is keeping very cool, so thats not an issue, but which would last longer and be better in my particular case with all this in mind?

 

[Cutthroat]

You can't use you're current RAM with that motherboard you are planning. Your RAM is DDR2, that board is DDR3 only.

 

[Markfw]

The stock cooler really bites.... Get the Q6600 and the Thermalright Ultra 120 Extreme.

And as for motherboard, I like the giga-byte series right now. DS3R is my "cheap" favorite.

 

[VulcanX]

Originally posted by: Cutthroat
You can't use you're current RAM with that motherboard you are planning. Your RAM is DDR2, that board is DDR3 only.

But i have ddr 800 and it says that the board supports ddr 3 800/1066/1333 so im now wondering as long as the voltage is correct and it can accept 800 then it should be fine isnt it? bcoz i mean the only difference between ddr2 and 3 is the voltage, so if i up the voltage to 2.1V like my RAM needs, then i will be fine isnt it guys?

 

[VulcanX]

Originally posted by: Markfw900
The stock cooler really bites.... Get the Q6600 and the Thermalright Ultra 120 Extreme.

And as for motherboard, I like the giga-byte series right now. DS3R is my "cheap" favorite.

That mobo does have a good chipset on the northbridge and southbride but it only has one gbe lan and also what is the max fsb on it? any clue bout that?

 

[VulcanX]

RGA-EP35C-DS3R this is the model i can get my hands on here in SA, and it seems the identical thing to what you talking bout, but it says it only supports 2 x 1333 or 4 x 1066 memory, as well as others, and im not sure if im too into Gigabyte, how is this board from an overclocking perspective?

 

[Cutthroat]

DDR2 will not fit in a DDR3 slot. You would be better off to stick to a DDR2 mobo, you wouldn't see enough performance increase to justify the price of DDR3.

 

[myocardia]

Originally posted by: VulcanX
But i have ddr 800 and it says that the board supports ddr 3 800/1066/1333 so im now wondering as long as the voltage is correct and it can accept 800 then it should be fine isnt it?

No, it supports DDR3 @ those speeds, not DDR2. DDR2 and DDR3 are different. DDR2 won't even fit into a DDR3 slot. You should buy the DDR2 version of the P5K. And if you go dual-core, get an E8400 if you can afford it. Get a Q6600 if you decide on a dual-core. Oh, and Q6600's run hot with their stock heatsinks, even without overclocking. You can't overclock quads very far at all without good cooling.

 

[Sir Ali]

E8400 (200$) or Q9450/Q6600. You can't go wrong with any of these.

I've chosen the Q9450 myself for a work/gaming PC.

 

[VulcanX]

Im keeping my DDR2 800 XMS2 Corsair no matter, and does the DDR3 run different keying notches in it or whats the deal wit that? and you guys all mentioning the P35 chipset, how is that working hand in hand with the ICH9R? I see they are causing all the fuss esp the X48/ICH9R chipsets, and how do these compare to the 7xx i sli Chipsets? We are going a bit off topic but dont wana post another thread for this simple questions, but entend my apologies guys

 

[bryanW1995]

guys, he's pretty much said that he knows nothing about these things. He could get a Q9300 and clock it to 3.0 on the stock heatsink and be fine. It would run MUCH MUCH cooler than the Q6600, and he does live in SA after all.

 

[VulcanX]

Ok myocardia, im super confused now, i know you a diamond member and your word is quite, true, but i disagree with you, if the board only has 4 DIMM slots, and thats the limit, and the specs says it supports either 4xDDR2 or 2 X DDR3 then that means that the keying notches, ie. design of the RAM is the same as the DDR2 unless im just not seeing 2 seperate DIMM slots

 

[VulcanX]

I know nothing true, in the overclocking world i dont know much, and in architecture i might not be OCD bout it but i still fucking know the basics of pcs and dont appreciate that shit, but coming back to one thing you did say that was true, the Q9300 can be jacked up a lil(overclocked) with the stock heatsink and outperform a Q6600 with a stock cooler, but now the E8xxxor E6xxx also comes into this whole equation of cache as well as FSB, but the 1333 and 1066 has only 1% difference between them, i dont know if that is so believeable though, and bryan, rather stay off threads if you gonna be a jockstrap bout everything, if you too Naive to think that you didnt start from somewhere low down you need to recheck where you are and how you got there
Sorry for language admins

 

[Markfw]

VulcanX, I agree with myocardia, and newegg for one says that board only supports DDR3, get the giga-byte. As far as CPU, I would still get the Q6600, and aftermrket HSF, even at stock, but if you don't jack the vcore, its so easy to OC, I would do that.

Note: VulcanX, Nobody here has attacked you, so please don't use bad words when not called for:

but i still fucking know the basics of pcs and dont appreciate that shit,

 

[myocardia]

Originally posted by: VulcanX
Ok myocardia, im super confused now, i know you a diamond member and your word is quite, true, but i disagree with you, if the board only has 4 DIMM slots, and thats the limit, and the specs says it supports either 4xDDR2 or 2 X DDR3 then that means that the keying notches, ie. design of the RAM is the same as the DDR2 unless im just not seeing 2 seperate DIMM slots

You're just confused, Vulcan. The P5K3 has DDR3 slots only. You're thinking of the P5KC, which does have both DDR2 & DDR3 slots. I think you'd be quite happy with a P5KC, just not a P5K3.

edit: And yes, that's the only P35 board that Asus makes with both DDR2 & DDR3 slots, I promise. I own the only other P35 board with both types, the Gigabyte P35C-DS3R.