To Quad or not to Quad

[Chunkee]

I have the Abit IP35 non-pro coming. I have 4gb of adata ddr2 memory i got on a slick deal. I am coming from a opty 165 setup.

I am going to use vista 64bit if I can from my action pack.

Question is, should I save the 100 bux and get the e6750 and put it toward a nicer gcard? I have a 7950ko now, thinking of 8800gt.

Will that memory oc either CPU over 3.0ghz? Just trying to get some perspective. Money is not real big issue, but practicality more so. I have an antec p180 case, but do not know if I would need a 3rd party cooler, and is so which one. I have always built AMD for the past 8 years.

Thanks.

jC

 

[Phunk0ne]

I'd say, go for the E6750, OC to 3.2 @ stock volts and spend the rest towards a nice graphics card. And go for the penryn next year Feb/March, if you decide to step up to quads.
Which A-data ram did you buy?
I am using a-data Extreme DDRII-800. I was able to push it to DDRII-950 @ 2.0V with 5-5-5-15 timings.

unless you're not planning on some extreme overlclocking, a nice freezer pro or a scythe ninja cooler should do the trick keeping your cpu @ moderate overclocks.
The favorite for air cooling solutions to do moderate to hardcore overclocking seems to be either the Thermalright Ultra-120-Extreme or Tuniq Tower 120.

 

[Chunkee]

Originally posted by: Phunk0ne
I'd say, go for the E6750, OC to 3.2 @ stock volts and spend the rest towards a nice graphics card. And go for the penryn next year Feb/March, if you decide to step up to quads.
Which A-data ram did you buy?
I am using a-data Extreme DDRII-800. I was able to push it to DDRII-950 @ 2.0V with 5-5-5-15 timings.

unless you're not planning on some extreme overlclocking, a nice freezer pro or a scythe ninja cooler should do the trick keeping your cpu @ moderate overclocks.
The favorite for air cooling solutions to do moderate to hardcore overclocking seems to be either the Thermalright Ultra-120-Extreme or Tuniq Tower 120.

Hey there, thanks for the reply. It is a ddr2 800 dual kit M2QAD6H3J417Q1E52, I also have 2gb of Crucial Ballistix Tracer CL4, which would be better to use? The Crucial is only 2gb total.

JCoria

a-data memory

 

[BlueAcolyte]

4GB always beats 2GB at the same speed... I would assume that since it is a dual kit, you have two sticks. Add the two sticks of crucial and you have enough slots for all... I don't know what happens when you mix RAM though, even at the same speed.

 

[Chunkee]

Originally posted by: BlueAcolyte
4GB always beats 2GB at the same speed... I would assume that since it is a dual kit, you have two sticks. Add the two sticks of crucial and you have enough slots for all... I don't know what happens when you mix RAM though, even at the same speed.

I guess I could always try. 6gb ram though....jeebers...does vista 64bit see that?

JCoria

 

[hclarkjr]

i just did what you are going to do but i went with a E6600 i got in the for sale forums here for good deal, wait for the quad cores and get nice video card

 

[DSF]

Originally posted by: Chunkee

Originally posted by: BlueAcolyte
4GB always beats 2GB at the same speed... I would assume that since it is a dual kit, you have two sticks. Add the two sticks of crucial and you have enough slots for all... I don't know what happens when you mix RAM though, even at the same speed.

I guess I could always try. 6gb ram though....jeebers...does vista 64bit see that?

JCoria

What exactly are we doing with this computer in the first place? Since you're considering an 8800GT, I assume this is a gaming machine, so my recommendations are going to be based on that. If not, correct me.

1) As far as gaming, the E6750 will be more useful than the Q6600, but since you're willing to overclock it's basically a moot point. Past 2.5GHz, a Core2Duo isn't likely to be your bottleneck in games. If the price were equal I'd take the Q6600, but since it's more expensive, I'd just stick with the E6750 unless you don't plan to upgrade for 3-4 years.

2) Don't bother with 6GB of RAM. It won't help you, and populating all your RAM slots like that could reduce your ability to overclock, especially since two of the sticks are rated for 2.1V. Just stick with your 2x2GB A-Data. RAM timings have very little impact on the real world anyway, so you're not really gaining anything from the Ballistix.

3) By all means put your savings toward the 8800GT. It will help you much more in gaming than 2 more CPU cores or 2GB extra RAM. Just make sure your PSU has sufficient amperage on the 12V rail(s) to run an 8800GT. I'm not 100% sure, but I believe they recommend somewhere in the neighborhood of 25A combined on the 12V rails. (That's for the entire system, not just the card.)

 

[Goldfish4209]

1. As DSF said, get the 6750. Overclock to 3.2Ghz, and with your avaliable RAM ratios, you can choose to OC your RAM or not.

2. Actually, timings are important, I would say. The difference between 4-4-4-12 and 5-5-5-18 won't be significant, but 3-3-3-x might have a significant impact. Don't go for pure speed, try tighter timings too. Also, 6Gb of RAM is useless. With 4, you'll never need a pagefile unless you're running something extremely big.

3. Or, if you have the extra funds, go for a G92 GTS. Go for it.

 

[DSF]

Originally posted by: Goldfish4209
2. Actually, timings are important, I would say. The difference between 4-4-4-12 and 5-5-5-18 won't be significant, but 3-3-3-x might have a significant impact. Don't go for pure speed, try tighter timings too. Also, 6Gb of RAM is useless. With 4, you'll never need a pagefile unless you're running something extremely big.

The benchmarks I've seen have shown timings to be meaningless.

 

[Chunkee]

Thanks guys. I do game some, but use for movie creation, music ripping, FTP, some dev and of course the surfing. I do have a Corsair 520 PSU...I hope that is sufficient. The Abit IP35 looks to be a nice board. Would the older model, like e6700 or e6600 be the same in regards to oc ability? The e6750 is 1333 fsb correct? Can I get 1:1 with my memory that I have?

Thank you.

JCoria

 

[Timecop1967]

If you can wait til the end of the month the E8400 will be out which is a cooler and better overclocker of a chip for 220$ delivered. How does 3.5-4GHz sound? This chip is not suppose to be delayed unlike the Yorkfield so I suspect by February it will be shipped out. I just placed an order for it on antaresdigital for 209$. Then next year I may sell the E8400 and drop in a Yorkfield Quad when the prices have gone down.

 

[Tempered81]

usually an e2140 to a x6800 will all overclock the same on the factory hsf. users of these and all cpus in between will end up at 3.2-3.5ghz unless watercooling.

 

[Chunkee]

Originally posted by: Timecop1967
If you can wait til the end of the month the E8400 will be out which is a cooler and better overclocker of a chip for 220$ delivered. How does 3.5-4GHz sound? This chip is not suppose to be delayed unlike the Yorkfield so I suspect by February it will be shipped out. I just placed an order for it on antaresdigital for 209$. Then next year I may sell the E8400 and drop in a Yorkfield Quad when the prices have gone down.

what does this chip run at?

 

[Timecop1967]

3ghz out of the box

 

[soccerballtux]

Originally posted by: DSF

Originally posted by: Goldfish4209
2. Actually, timings are important, I would say. The difference between 4-4-4-12 and 5-5-5-18 won't be significant, but 3-3-3-x might have a significant impact. Don't go for pure speed, try tighter timings too. Also, 6Gb of RAM is useless. With 4, you'll never need a pagefile unless you're running something extremely big.

The benchmarks I've seen have shown timings to be meaningless.

 

[badnewcastle]

Originally posted by: Chunkee
Thanks guys. I do game some, but use for movie creation, music ripping, FTP, some dev and of course the surfing. I do have a Corsair 520 PSU...I hope that is sufficient. The Abit IP35 looks to be a nice board. Would the older model, like e6700 or e6600 be the same in regards to oc ability? The e6750 is 1333 fsb correct? Can I get 1:1 with my memory that I have?

Thank you.

JCoria

I see one of the big benefits of the e6750 is the ability to get 1:1. The Corsair 520 should be fine. Yes, it is 1333 fsb.

 

[Phunk0ne]

Originally posted by: Chunkee
Can I get 1:1 with my memory that I have?


JCoria

You can get a 1:1 overclock pushing your CPU to 3.2GHz without having to change voltage to your ram. 400mhz fsb *quadpumped : memory @ 400Mhz *DDRII-800. With the P35 chipset you should not have to increase any of the voltages, just leave it all @ stock.

see my signature as well, on day one, I just kicked my cpu to 3.2GHz with no problems at stock voltages all over the board.

 

[Chunkee]

Originally posted by: Phunk0ne

Originally posted by: Chunkee
Can I get 1:1 with my memory that I have?


JCoria

You can get a 1:1 overclock pushing your CPU to 3.2GHz without having to change voltage to your ram. 400mhz fsb *quadpumped : memory @ 400Mhz *DDRII-800. With the P35 chipset you should not have to increase any of the voltages, just leave it all @ stock.

see my signature as well, on day one, I just kicked my cpu to 3.2GHz with no problems at stock voltages all over the board.

Sounds good. Are you using the stock HSF? or a third party one? if so, which one...? I those things can get real high quickly. I do have an all copper zalman 7700? Can i use that?

Looks like I will save the money toward a gcard and get the 6750.

jC

 

[Phunk0ne]

the Zalman 7700 beats the stock intel cooler anytime. It should provide enough cooling to get your cpu @ 3.2GHz. I used the 7000-cu on my E6750 @ 3.2GHz for a while, but I am very picky in my cpu's temperature, so I went with a 3rd party cooler (see sig).

A good 3rd party cooler for mild overclocking that keeps your C2D plenty cool at a very reasonable price:

Arctic Freezer Pro 7

but you can always step up in case you are deciding to drive your cpu up the wall, or you're just like me and want the best air cooling solution

Tuniq Tower 120

or the Thermalright Ultra-120 or the Extreme version, but these solutions will cost you more, especially the Thermalright, since you will have to buy a 120mm fan for it as well.
I could not find this @ newegg no more?

I use the Thermalright Ultra-120-Extreme with a Scythe S-FLEX SFF21F 120mm fan
I had my heatsink lapped, this whole deal set me back ~@ $95,-
so this is not your cheap solution.

 

[WaTaGuMp]

DONT get the E6750 and OC to 3.2




Get the E6750 and OC to THREE POINT SIX.

 

[Zenoth]

I'd see no reasons whatsoever to get any of the 65nm models when the 45nm Duals will be there within this very month. Maybe if you're not patient and you whant to go with Quads then yes perhaps it'd be worth it, because Intel delayed their Yorkfield models. But if you want to go Dual then I'd highly recommend to just play the waiting game and get yourself a shiny E8400 or E8500.

And unless you do lots of video/audio encoding/decoding, photoshoping, 3-D modeling, benchmarking and perhaps a few other activities on your PC then I'd see no reasons to go with a Quad. However I must admit that the Q9300 is extremely tempting due to its extreme low price for a 45nm Quad, with perhaps the only downside of having only 6MB of L2 Cache. But as far as over-clocking goes I've seen it reach 3.7Ghz on air, and considering it only has a Multiplier of 7.5 (maximum) then it can't be negligible. With a good motherboard the low Multiplier shouldn't be too stressful on it.

 

[WaTaGuMp]

Originally posted by: Zenoth
I'd see no reasons whatsoever to get any of the 65nm models when the 45nm Duals will be there within this very month. Maybe if you're not patient and you whant to go with Quads then yes perhaps it'd be worth it, because Intel delayed their Yorkfield models. But if you want to go Dual then I'd highly recommend to just play the waiting game and get yourself a shiny E8400 or E8500.

And unless you do lots of video/audio encoding/decoding, photoshoping, 3-D modeling, benchmarking and perhaps a few other activities on your PC then I'd see no reasons to go with a Quad. However I must admit that the Q9300 is extremely tempting due to its extreme low price for a 45nm Quad, with perhaps the only downside of having only 6MB of L2 Cache. But as far as over-clocking goes I've seen it reach 3.7Ghz on air, and considering it only has a Multiplier of 7.5 (maximum) then it can't be negligible. With a good motherboard the low Multiplier shouldn't be too stressful on it.

I do agree if you are able to wait it out a bit the Wolfdale seems to be a better choice. I do wonder though how much price gouging will be going on and if there will be any supply issues. Early testings though do show the E8400 hitting 4.0 on air.


http://en.expreview.com/?p=68

 

[Chunkee]

Originally posted by: WaTaGuMp

Originally posted by: Zenoth
I'd see no reasons whatsoever to get any of the 65nm models when the 45nm Duals will be there within this very month. Maybe if you're not patient and you whant to go with Quads then yes perhaps it'd be worth it, because Intel delayed their Yorkfield models. But if you want to go Dual then I'd highly recommend to just play the waiting game and get yourself a shiny E8400 or E8500.

And unless you do lots of video/audio encoding/decoding, photoshoping, 3-D modeling, benchmarking and perhaps a few other activities on your PC then I'd see no reasons to go with a Quad. However I must admit that the Q9300 is extremely tempting due to its extreme low price for a 45nm Quad, with perhaps the only downside of having only 6MB of L2 Cache. But as far as over-clocking goes I've seen it reach 3.7Ghz on air, and considering it only has a Multiplier of 7.5 (maximum) then it can't be negligible. With a good motherboard the low Multiplier shouldn't be too stressful on it.

I do agree if you are able to wait it out a bit the Wolfdale seems to be a better choice. I do wonder though how much price gouging will be going on and if there will be any supply issues. Early testings though do show the E8400 hitting 4.0 on air.


http://en.expreview.com/?p=68

Your price gouging comment is something that does concern me. Anytime there is a new chip out...these online retailers reem you, AKA, 8800gt. I am in no real hurry here as my opty 165 is working fine. What pricing are we looking at for the e8400? over 250? I like to keep my CPUs less than 200. As you all no, this stuff can get really out of hand

JC

 

[revolutn]

Originally posted by: Chunkee
I have the Abit IP35 non-pro coming. I have 4gb of adata ddr2 memory i got on a slick deal. I am coming from a opty 165 setup.

I am going to use vista 64bit if I can from my action pack.

Question is, should I save the 100 bux and get the e6750 and put it toward a nicer gcard? I have a 7950ko now, thinking of 8800gt.

Will that memory oc either CPU over 3.0ghz? Just trying to get some perspective. Money is not real big issue, but practicality more so. I have an antec p180 case, but do not know if I would need a 3rd party cooler, and is so which one. I have always built AMD for the past 8 years.

Thanks.

jC

I've been considering this same issue myself coming off an AMD 64 3200+

This article might help you consider some:

http://www.tomshardware.com/20...ual_vs_quad/index.html

I'm not really much of a gamer, but I am a HUGE multi-tasker, and I work with video and audio alot, so even though most apps aren't really properly written for multi-core multi-threaded cpu's

I'm thinking of going with the Quad since I most likely will NOT be in the market for a CPU upgrade again in 12 mo's when penryn or wtf the future 8 core Intel cpu is going to be so if I have to site on a cpu for 24-36 mo's like I typically do, I'd reather have a quad especially considering some of the amazing deals available right now.

Hope that helps you make your own decision.

Rev

I figure this way I got 4 cores and can run concurrent cpu intensive apps

 

[WaTaGuMp]

Originally posted by: Chunkee

Originally posted by: WaTaGuMp

Originally posted by: Zenoth
I'd see no reasons whatsoever to get any of the 65nm models when the 45nm Duals will be there within this very month. Maybe if you're not patient and you whant to go with Quads then yes perhaps it'd be worth it, because Intel delayed their Yorkfield models. But if you want to go Dual then I'd highly recommend to just play the waiting game and get yourself a shiny E8400 or E8500.

And unless you do lots of video/audio encoding/decoding, photoshoping, 3-D modeling, benchmarking and perhaps a few other activities on your PC then I'd see no reasons to go with a Quad. However I must admit that the Q9300 is extremely tempting due to its extreme low price for a 45nm Quad, with perhaps the only downside of having only 6MB of L2 Cache. But as far as over-clocking goes I've seen it reach 3.7Ghz on air, and considering it only has a Multiplier of 7.5 (maximum) then it can't be negligible. With a good motherboard the low Multiplier shouldn't be too stressful on it.

I do agree if you are able to wait it out a bit the Wolfdale seems to be a better choice. I do wonder though how much price gouging will be going on and if there will be any supply issues. Early testings though do show the E8400 hitting 4.0 on air.


http://en.expreview.com/?p=68

Your price gouging comment is something that does concern me. Anytime there is a new chip out...these online retailers reem you, AKA, 8800gt. I am in no real hurry here as my opty 165 is working fine. What pricing are we looking at for the e8400? over 250? I like to keep my CPUs less than 200. As you all no, this stuff can get really out of hand

JC

Well I cant say for sure but the street price according to Intel is suppose to be 183, I expect maybe 20-40 bucks higher from the big etailers. This is a pure estimate though so we shall see.