Tom's Guide > Forum > CPU & Components > CPUs > Best bang for the buck? Q6600, Q6700, or higher?

Best bang for the buck? Q6600, Q6700, or higher?

Forum CPU & Components : CPUs - Best bang for the buck? Q6600, Q6700, or higher?

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truromeo4juliet   12-20-2007 at 06:45:49 PM

I have a great opportunity... All current Intel processors currently on the market are in my budget, even the Quad-core extreme editions...

So... utilizing my eVGA 680i SLi, possibly upgrading to the 780i in the next few weeks... which processor should I get that will give me the best bang for the buck? I was thinking maybe the vanilla Q6700...

Any help is appreciated, and yes, i used the search button. Thanks!

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truromeo4juliet   12-20-2007 at 07:18:23 PM
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really? even over the extreme's, etc etc?? Kentsfield??

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cnumartyr   12-20-2007 at 07:19:55 PM
- 0 +

truromeo4juliet wrote :

really? even over the extreme's, etc etc?? Kentsfield??




You said bang for the buck...

Best BANG period is the QX9650.

Best price/performance is Q6600. Q6700 will run $300 more and get you an extra multiplier.

Older B2 and B3 stepping QX6700 etc are obsolete.


Message edited by cnumartyr on 12-20-2007 at 07:23:23 PM
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einstein4pres   12-20-2007 at 07:21:09 PM
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The Q6600 is by far the best bang for the buck, whether or not you are planning on overclock. I also recommend overclocking it. If you do, you should possibly see about making sure to get a G0 (also known as SLACR) revision, as it overclocks better.

The 45nm Penryn (aka the QX9650) is not compatible with the 680i, IIRC, though they will be with the 780i.

Reply to einstein4pres
hairycat101   12-20-2007 at 07:24:08 PM
- 0 +

Get a PD 805 and push it. Or you could tell us what apps you run and what the computer is for. That always helps. The reason is, most games use 2 cores still. Even crisis uses only two. So... What ya goin' a do wit-it?

Reply to hairycat101
roadrunner197069   12-20-2007 at 07:40:37 PM
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The q6600, especially if your in the market for a new mobo. The q6600 on Asus maxis formula or extreme is you best bet. You say the extreme quad is in your budget. You can get the q6600 and the maximus for less then the extreme 6850 quad.

The maximus series will allow you to OC to the qx6850 in one click. You can go the next step higher called crazy and it will OC you to 3.5.

Reply to roadrunner197069
truromeo4juliet   12-20-2007 at 07:46:51 PM
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I'm finishing up my latest build, utilizing tri-monitors on a triplehead2go...

I use it for gaming mostly, but I do megatask, utilizing sometimes 3 or 4 virtual machines at once (in-game self-training purposes) I do some light-to-moderate music editting (although I'm about to get heavier into it now that I have my new place... M-Audio studio mic and CuBase sound studio, Sony Acid Studio) and moderate video editting (Sony Vegas Video)...

The virtual machines usually push a stripped WinXP build that runs an instance of a Direct3D rendered game (maple story, guild wars, diablo II, etc)

I guess I made an amature post and failed to mention my PC's current specs cuz I have since removed all the info from my signature:

Elyse
Gaming Rig:
eVGA 680i SLI
P4 [Prescott] 3.2GHz
2GB Samsung DDR533
eVGA 8800GTS 640MB
Sound Blaster Audigy 2
74.4 WD Raptor GB SATA HDD 8MB Cache (OS + Games/Apps)
250GB WD Caviar SATA HDD (8MB Cache) (Music & Installation/Data Files)
250GB WD Caviar SATA HDD (redundant backup, both HDD's)
Sony DR-710a 16X DVD DL+/- Burner
Antec Super LANBoy case
3 x 18.3" Gateway Flat panels on a triplehead2go (3840x1024 resolution)

Running: WinMCE 2005, Unreal Tournament 2004 / UT3, Unreal 2: MXP, Age of Mythology: The Titans, Age of Kings: The Conqueors, Diablo 2: Lord of Destruction, Caesar 3 & 4, Age of Empires 3: Warchiefs, Black & White 2, Roller Coaster Tycoon 3: Soaked!, GuildWars + All Expansions, Maple Story, Stepmania, Sony Acid Music & Sony Vegas Video Studio, CuBase music studio, Reason 3.0 Music Generator, Remote Admin 2.5, Orb Remote Media Broadcaster, Slingbox Media Player, VMWare Virtual Desktop management, Macromedia Flash 2004 Pro, Dreamweaver MX, Frontpage 2003, and some other miscellaneous stuff I left off my list because they're not as used as the above stuff...

I do some video editting and will be more into it when I order an HD Camcorder, and the game I really want the quad-core for is Unreal Tournament 3 (huge unreal fan)...

Also, I'm not concerned about the price, I have an opportunity to get any processor I want for under $500...

I'll be overclocking, but only on air for the first few months, as I'm considering migrating to a newer, more silent, case... if I do that, I'll then determine which water cooling system I should use...

If you really think the Q6600 is the best bang for the buck, when the buck crunched so low, please let me know...

Q6600 - $145
Q6700 - $270
QX6850 - $497

Basically, cut the price of a processor in half... that's roughly the amount... but these are the 3 I checked on...

now that you see what prices I have available, please re-consider the circumstances of the question :)


Message edited by truromeo4juliet on 12-20-2007 at 07:54:57 PM
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truromeo4juliet   12-20-2007 at 07:50:56 PM
- 0 +

not in the market for a new mobo, i have the 680i, but eVGA is offering a chance to upgrade to the 780i for $90 because they were unable to deliver on the promise that the 680i SLi would be compatible with Penryn, due to some change in the architecture of the new core...

------------------------------ [WARNING:] Post counts do NOT reflect level of expertise.
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roadrunner197069   12-20-2007 at 07:56:50 PM
- 0 +

Wel lyou cna get the maximus and q6600 for the price of the qx6850, and overclock to 3.0 or 3.5 with one click change in bios. If you dont know how to oc I see your choices of qx6850 stock or q6600 on maximus board with simple OC. If you can click mouse one time you can overclock on the asus maximus board. A qx6850 is exactly the same as a q6600 oc to 3.0.

Any chance I can buy a q6600 from you?

Reply to roadrunner197069
truromeo4juliet   12-20-2007 at 07:58:16 PM
- 0 +

based on roadrunner197069's reply, it's looking like the Q6600 might definitely be the best bet, to have QX6850 performance for nearly 1/10th the cost... but is that on air, and is that feasible with the 680i?

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roadrunner197069   12-20-2007 at 08:00:46 PM
- 0 +

Ya if you dont want a new mobo and you know how to oc or willing to learn that board you got will oc as well. But you will have to fine tune it and adjust alot of settings. If your scared you need qx6850, but you could still get q6600 ans asus mobo for price of qx6850 and be a guarantee easy OC.

Reply to roadrunner197069
cnumartyr   12-20-2007 at 08:01:39 PM
- 0 +

truromeo4juliet wrote :

based on roadrunner197069's reply, it's looking like the Q6600 might definitely be the best bet, to have QX6850 performance for nearly 1/10th the cost... but is that on air, and is that feasible with the 680i?




680i will atleast get you 3.0 GHz. There are a ton of quirks with OCing quads on that chipset... 780i might be better.

Yes it's on air. I have mine at 3.6 on air.

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hairycat101   12-20-2007 at 08:01:58 PM
- 0 +

You hit the nail on the head with what I was going to say on the compatiblity of the 680i and the new chips. Get the q6600. You will notice a HUGE improvement over your curent heat-burst chip. If you are going to OC then the extra multiplier realy isn't going to help you much, if any. You could do a pretty easy 8 (multiplier) X 400 (bus) and run pc 6400 at 1:1. That would put you at 3.2 and you could probably do that on a Zalman 9700. Take the money that you saved from a more expensive cpu and save it for a next gen card. You won't see much improvement from an OCed Q6600 to a much more expensive chip. Just my two cents. Or I still like the 805 thing. ;)

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truromeo4juliet   12-20-2007 at 08:03:17 PM
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i can overclock :) i've been a big fan of DFI motherboards for the genie-bios with all the options unlocked... I just never had a processor that was worth overclocking much (AMD XP1800+ on an Infinity, AMD64 3200+ [754] on an nf3 250, and a prescott LOL) i bought this evga board mainly because of the limited lifetime warranty, but i definitely kept overclocking in mind

hah I don't want to put my processor resource under any type of unjust stress, so I'm limiting my erking to 2 processors, and the other is reserved for my new roomate

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jeremyrailton   12-20-2007 at 08:06:30 PM
- 0 +

how the deuce did you get such a low price? buy them all and give the others to me. i'll pay your cost plus shipping and a great big smile.

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truromeo4juliet   12-20-2007 at 08:06:43 PM
- 0 +

I'll be upgrading the RAM here soon (I was just using parts from other machines to make this thing... I bought the board and the video card outright, but that's about it... everything else has been re-used from other machines) I'll be grabbing some DDR1066 RAM and probably selling the Video card and grabbing an 8800GTX, slowly making my way towards a second

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truromeo4juliet   12-20-2007 at 08:08:11 PM
- 0 +

lol I'd love to disclose that information, but I can't... let's just say I've had my grubby paws on some Engineering Samples from Pentium D all the way to p-p-pp--ppp-ppp-p... processors of the future :sol:

 

I think I've played with some of these processors at around the same time the guys in THG are doing their "initial impression" previews..


Message edited by truromeo4juliet on 12-20-2007 at 08:12:03 PM
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truromeo4juliet   12-20-2007 at 08:10:48 PM
- 0 +

roadrunner197069 wrote :

I will never buy an extreme CPU as long as I can OC a cheaper one to perform better.
http://www.mediafire.com/imageview [...] gz&thumb=4
http://www.mediafire.com/imageview [...] q1&thumb=4
http://www.mediafire.com/imageview [...] 0z&thumb=4



very nice... I guess I'll throw down a buck-fiddy for the Q6600... anybody else have any opinions?

------------------------------ [WARNING:] Post counts do NOT reflect level of expertise.
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 Reply to truromeo4juliet
roadrunner197069   12-20-2007 at 08:12:30 PM
- 0 +

I'll buy your quad after you upgrade to penryn.

Message quoted 1 times
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truromeo4juliet   12-20-2007 at 08:14:05 PM
- 0 +

hairycat101 wrote :

You hit the nail on the head with what I was going to say on the compatiblity of the 680i and the new chips. Get the q6600. You will notice a HUGE improvement over your curent heat-burst chip. If you are going to OC then the extra multiplier realy isn't going to help you much, if any. You could do a pretty easy 8 (multiplier) X 400 (bus) and run pc 6400 at 1:1. That would put you at 3.2 and you could probably do that on a Zalman 9700. Take the money that you saved from a more expensive cpu and save it for a next gen card. You won't see much improvement from an OCed Q6600 to a much more expensive chip. Just my two cents. Or I still like the 805 thing. ;)



Ah that's a good point, I should check the eVGA forums to check the compatibility issues with the processors I'm considering!

And yes, Prescott = fail compared to other chip options of the same socket. lol PD805. works, yes, but no... need my Quad :love:

------------------------------ [WARNING:] Post counts do NOT reflect level of expertise.
[DISCLAIMER:] If I want your opinion, I'll ask for it.
[QUESTION OF THE DAY]: And just WHO is... Tom Shardware?
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truromeo4juliet   12-20-2007 at 08:22:09 PM
- 0 +

roadrunner197069 wrote :

I'll buy your quad after you upgrade to penryn.

 

lol... when I upgrade to penryn, I'll be buying a new mobo and building a new system... the mobo/processor/ram from this one will become a dedicated UT3 server!!

 

Felicia
UT2004 Dedicated server/file server:
Shuttle Motherboard
P4 [Prescott] 2.8GHz
2GB Kingston DDR400 RAM
Integrated audio/video
250GB WD Caviar HDD
Running: WinXPPro SP2, UT2K4 as dedicated server, Remote Admin, Serv-U FTP for public file sharing

 

Gina
Carputer (Pending my lazy ass to do an Installation):
Rebuilt HP s7612e (i think)
Intel Celeron 2.4Ghz
1GB Corsair DDR400 RAM
250GB WD Caviar HDD
Running: WinXPPro SP2, NES, SNES, Sega E&R's, Stepmania, Remote Admin, SyncBack (for wirelessly syncing songs with the file server), Slingbox media

 

Bethany
Laptop:
IBM Thinkpad T42
Centrino 1.8GHz
1GB Kingston DDR333 RAM
80GB WD Scorpio HDD
Running: WinXPPro SP2, E&R's, Maple Story, Remote Admin, Slingbox Media

 

Helen - Future build
Replacement of current "Elyse" build:
780i Mobo
Penryn Processor
Future Video card
???

 

Irene - Future build
Unreal Tournament 3 Dedicated server:
Specs from current "Felicia" Build without the video/sound cards and using a stripped XPPro instead of MCE

 

w00t.


Message edited by truromeo4juliet on 12-20-2007 at 08:23:15 PM
------------------------------ [WARNING:] Post counts do NOT reflect level of expertise.
[DISCLAIMER:] If I want your opinion, I'll ask for it.
[QUESTION OF THE DAY]: And just WHO is... Tom Shardware?
 Reply to truromeo4juliet
roadrunner197069   12-20-2007 at 08:44:11 PM
- 0 +

I want to figure oout a way to get my nes, snes roms to load from media center.?

Reply to roadrunner197069
spuddyt   12-20-2007 at 09:13:33 PM
- 0 +

what?........ WHAT?!!??!?!?

Reply to spuddyt
nhobo   12-20-2007 at 09:24:30 PM
- 0 +

price/performace champ: E6750

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 Reply to nhobo
hairycat101   12-20-2007 at 09:30:19 PM
- 0 +

Intel 8088 @ Speed 4.77 MHz
16K RAM
5.25" Floppy Drive
CGA (640x200x2 color)
Parallel, Serial I/O Ports
83 key PC Keyboard

^^^ The above came from nhobo's configuration. That totally kicks some @$$ . So what OS are you using on that?

Reply to hairycat101
nhobo   12-20-2007 at 09:34:05 PM
- 0 +

Why, CP/M, of course.

------------------------------ >< ))))º> >< ))))º> >< ))))º> >< ))))º> >< ))))º>
 Reply to nhobo
truromeo4juliet   12-20-2007 at 10:14:31 PM
- 0 +

E6750 isn't quad, and i do a lot of megatasking... besides, future-proof, i won't be upgrading for another... ok, i'll buy penryn and a board, but i won't be upgrading after that for another... 3 or 4 years?

I guess I'll go ahead and have my source order that then... the Q6600... I'm ridiculously tired of running Prescott w/ Net-burn...

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