Q6600 stepping

dotCapone

Limp Gawd
Joined
Apr 26, 2006
Messages
210
Ok, yesterday I got the $300 Q6600+Mobo deal at Fry's before I knew anything about the new G0 stepping coming out soon. I have the B3 stepping and my question is, should I return the one I bought and wait to get the G0 stepping(better OCing and lower temps) in 3 weeks or should I just keep what I have? I am looking to overclock to 2.8-3.2 Ghz with my Zalman CNPS9500, so do you think my B3 Q6600 could do that fine? Or do you think I should return it and wait 3 weeks to get the G0 stepping?
 
Well yes, that is something else to consider, but I know at TankGuys you can order a guaranteed G0 stepping, although it might not be until about mid-August that they ship it. The main thing I want to do is try to get to 3.2Ghz with my Zalman, 2.8Ghz at least. If I can do that and keep a decent temperature on this chip, then I will just stick with this one, because I don't like waiting.
 
The only way to know if you can do it is to try. I would bet that 3.0GHz or 3.2GHz will be the max. I wouldn't bet on going higher.
 
Yeah the only problem with that is I can't return it after I open it. I will just research some more about the new stepping and see what kind of benefit I might get.
 
I just got one from Frys yesterday too. However, you are able to return it after you open it.

Anyways, how do you tell what stepping it has?
 
I just got one from Frys yesterday too. However, you are able to return it after you open it.

Anyways, how do you tell what stepping it has?

Yours should be a B3. The G0 stepping Q6600's haven't hit the shelves yet.
 
Well, all this talk got me nervous... Just canceled my order from Fry's and got inline at TankGuys.

I hope these G0's are something special!

-V
 
Well, all this talk got me nervous... Just canceled my order from Fry's and got inline at TankGuys.

I hope these G0's are something special!

-V

G0 Steppings don't ship till July 17th, about 5 days before the official price drops. Not to mention all the older inventory.
 
G0 Steppings don't ship till July 17th, about 5 days before the official price drops. Not to mention all the older inventory.

I'm not quite sure what you're telling me?

I'm not worried about how soon it gets here, in fact the only piece I have to my new rig thus far is the memory, (4x1GB Ballistix 1066DDR2). So, I can wait till August, and its a specific pre-order for the G0 from TankGuys.

-V
 
Is there sales tax from TankGuys if they ship to California? I know NewEgg has a 7.25% online sales tax for California orders.

It sucks that the price of the G0 stepping Q6600 will definitely be higher than the one I got at Frys yesterday. The $266 price is for OEM CPUs directly from Intel in quantities of 1,000. I'm not sure how they make OEM into retail if they are buying it retail, but whatever, that's the retailers job. That means Tank Guys and other retailers will have to boost prices up a bit more to make any sort of profit, therefore the retail price after the July 22 price cut will probably be around $290 (hopefully including the stock Intel heatsink fan), not including shipping/handling and sales tax (if any). With S/H and taxes, I'd expect the price to be around $325 (or $304 if no sales tax).

But I got my retail (not OEM) Q6600 B3 stepping from Frys for $266.92 + CA sales tax of 8.25% (1% higher than onsale CA sales tax), which is $288.94. Of course I got a stupid motherboard from Frys too that came with the combo. But I'll try to return just that if I decide to keep the quad core. That's about $36 (or $15 if no sales tax) cheaper than my guess at the price I'd be able to get it for from Tank Guys, and no definite ship date. Having waited this long and still not yet being on the wait list for Tank Guys, I'd guess I wouldn't be able to get my CPU until mid September and for a higher price (but newer revision).

I wonder if I can just go to the Frys physical store and buy the Q6600 then, after the July 22 price cuts, and ask for them to search for G0 steppings.

One more thing.
I just read that the G0 stepping requires updating your BIOS. What does this mean? I am new at building computers, and had someone else do all the BIOS, drivers, or whatever else...the software portion for my current build of about 2 weeks (it has the E4300 Core 2 Duo CPU). So, does this mean upgrading my CPU is not a simple swap-out of the actual hardware part? I need to somehow update my BIOS? How do I do that?

What if I just want to upgrade to the B3 Q6600 that I have in my possession now? If I swapped my current CPU to a B3 stepping Q6600 in my computer, would I need to update BIOS then?
 
how high are B3's OCing?

I've had mine up to 3.3 on water at around 1.4375. I havent been able to find the right GTL values yet for my DFI i680. Temps are also starting to get a tad higher than I want to go. ~65c loaded Quad Prime Small FFTs.

I bumped it down to 3.15 @1.375. Temps don't go over 56 with all 4 cores loaded now.
 
Remember all the GO stepping results are coming from ES chips, these always OC better than the retail product. I picked up the q6600 from frys and its doing 3 ghz on my gigabyte S3 with a CNPS9500, I plan to replace the CNPS9500 with a GeminII to get better temps, but as far as I can tell its quad prime95 stable. I'm throwing my e4300 into the free mobo from frys to make a nice HTPC.
 
Is there sales tax from TankGuys if they ship to California? I know NewEgg has a 7.25% online sales tax for California orders.

It sucks that the price of the G0 stepping Q6600 will definitely be higher than the one I got at Frys yesterday. The $266 price is for OEM CPUs directly from Intel in quantities of 1,000. I'm not sure how they make OEM into retail if they are buying it retail, but whatever, that's the retailers job. That means Tank Guys and other retailers will have to boost prices up a bit more to make any sort of profit, therefore the retail price after the July 22 price cut will probably be around $290 (hopefully including the stock Intel heatsink fan), not including shipping/handling and sales tax (if any). With S/H and taxes, I'd expect the price to be around $325 (or $304 if no sales tax).

But I got my retail (not OEM) Q6600 B3 stepping from Frys for $266.92 + CA sales tax of 8.25% (1% higher than onsale CA sales tax), which is $288.94. Of course I got a stupid motherboard from Frys too that came with the combo. But I'll try to return just that if I decide to keep the quad core. That's about $36 (or $15 if no sales tax) cheaper than my guess at the price I'd be able to get it for from Tank Guys, and no definite ship date. Having waited this long and still not yet being on the wait list for Tank Guys, I'd guess I wouldn't be able to get my CPU until mid September and for a higher price (but newer revision).

I wonder if I can just go to the Frys physical store and buy the Q6600 then, after the July 22 price cuts, and ask for them to search for G0 steppings.

One more thing.
I just read that the G0 stepping requires updating your BIOS. What does this mean? I am new at building computers, and had someone else do all the BIOS, drivers, or whatever else...the software portion for my current build of about 2 weeks (it has the E4300 Core 2 Duo CPU). So, does this mean upgrading my CPU is not a simple swap-out of the actual hardware part? I need to somehow update my BIOS? How do I do that?

What if I just want to upgrade to the B3 Q6600 that I have in my possession now? If I swapped my current CPU to a B3 stepping Q6600 in my computer, would I need to update BIOS then?

Nope, I talked to the admin and he said no. Which is awesome! Californians rejoice!
 
I just got one from Frys yesterday too. However, you are able to return it after you open it.

Anyways, how do you tell what stepping it has?

You can return it after you open it? You don't have to exchange or anything? If so I could always pull a switcharoo later. As for the stepping, on the box you can check the S-Spec, and if it ends in SL9UM, you have a B3, if it ends in SLACR, you have a G0, but I don't believe the G0 is in stores just yet.
 
You only have 15 days to return though. So, what would you do a switcharoo for? You won't get a a G0 stepping. Also, there is a specific serial number for each product (not the model number), so you can't really do switcharoos I'd think.

But yes, you can return after opened. In fact, I bought mine open box - I asked them about it and they said someone had opened it, tried it, then returned it, so they (Frys) tested it to make sure it worked right, and now sold it to me. But I am going to return it soon. Just got in line for the Tank Guys G0 guarantee.
 
Everyone is patiently waiting for the G0 stepping processors to arrive. Why?

The test results so far that have been splashed around are for Engineering Sample ( ES ) processors that have been hand picked by Intel to create some new buzz and some good looking numbers. Most of the big MHz numbers that look so much better than what's presently available are not 4 hours Orthos stable like all the ones listed in the [H]ard OC database.

Here's X-Bit wringing 3787 MHz out of a new G0 stepping dual core.
http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/cpu/display/core2duo-e6850_11.html#sect0

and here's [H]ard's dnottis doing quite nicely running Orthos stable at 3735 MHz and climbing with his retail B2 stepping E6420.
http://www.hardforum.com/showpost.php?p=1031203769&postcount=301

With air cooling your wall will be the ability of your cooler to keep your quad cool long before the stepping will become a factor. Your Zalman 9500 should be adequate but if it's not then sell your Zalman and invest the proceeds into a better air cooler like the Thermalright Ultra 120 extreme.

Your overclocking goals are modest so there's no need to wait. I'd put more thought into a good motherboard and some good memory than worry about the CPU stepping.
 
Everyone is patiently waiting for the G0 stepping processors to arrive. Why?

The test results so far that have been splashed around are for Engineering Sample ( ES ) processors that have been hand picked by Intel to create some new buzz and some good looking numbers. Most of the big MHz numbers that look so much better than what's presently available are not 4 hours Orthos stable like all the ones listed in the [H]ard OC database.

Here's X-Bit wringing 3787 MHz out of a new G0 stepping dual core.
http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/cpu/display/core2duo-e6850_11.html#sect0

and here's [H]ard's dnottis doing quite nicely running Orthos stable at 3735 MHz and climbing with his retail B2 stepping E6420.
http://www.hardforum.com/showpost.php?p=1031203769&postcount=301

With air cooling your wall will be the ability of your cooler to keep your quad cool long before the stepping will become a factor. Your Zalman 9500 should be adequate but if it's not then sell your Zalman and invest the proceeds into a better air cooler like the Thermalright Ultra 120 extreme.

Your overclocking goals are modest so there's no need to wait. I'd put more thought into a good motherboard and some good memory than worry about the CPU stepping.

Wow, thank you. You have convinced me to keep it. I will probably be getting the Asus P5N32-E SLI Plus motherboard, but I am not quite sure on the RAM.
 
Everyone is patiently waiting for the G0 stepping processors to arrive. Why?

The test results so far that have been splashed around are for Engineering Sample ( ES ) processors that have been hand picked by Intel to create some new buzz and some good looking numbers. Most of the big MHz numbers that look so much better than what's presently available are not 4 hours Orthos stable like all the ones listed in the [H]ard OC database.

Here's X-Bit wringing 3787 MHz out of a new G0 stepping dual core.
http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/cpu/display/core2duo-e6850_11.html#sect0

and here's [H]ard's dnottis doing quite nicely running Orthos stable at 3735 MHz and climbing with his retail B2 stepping E6420.
http://www.hardforum.com/showpost.php?p=1031203769&postcount=301

With air cooling your wall will be the ability of your cooler to keep your quad cool long before the stepping will become a factor. Your Zalman 9500 should be adequate but if it's not then sell your Zalman and invest the proceeds into a better air cooler like the Thermalright Ultra 120 extreme.

Your overclocking goals are modest so there's no need to wait. I'd put more thought into a good motherboard and some good memory than worry about the CPU stepping.

Just making sure,
in conclusion, picking up a cheap B3 sooner rather than waiting for G0 would be... fine?
(using mobo and ram in my sig)
 
It'll be fine, depending on your definition of fine. But my thinking is, why pay the same price and receive less? I mostly want it because it goes up 11 degrees C more, which is crucial for me. In the heat wave on the west coast recently, I had my CPU go up to 69C at 100% load, which is way over the rated specs. But if that spec is bumped up by 11C, then it'll be safe again. I didn't even overclock anything yet either and have an excellent Scythe Ninja Plus B cooler, so it makes me worry. 11C more headroom will definitely help out.

If you don't already have the quad core, just wait for G0.
 
I've had mine up to 3.3 on water at around 1.4375. I havent been able to find the right GTL values yet for my DFI i680. Temps are also starting to get a tad higher than I want to go. ~65c loaded Quad Prime Small FFTs.

I bumped it down to 3.15 @1.375. Temps don't go over 56 with all 4 cores loaded now.

Mine runs around that temperature at 3.2GHz. I haven't tried 3.4GHz yet, but I will.
 
Everyone is patiently waiting for the G0 stepping processors to arrive. Why?

The test results so far that have been splashed around are for Engineering Sample ( ES ) processors that have been hand picked by Intel to create some new buzz and some good looking numbers. Most of the big MHz numbers that look so much better than what's presently available are not 4 hours Orthos stable like all the ones listed in the [H]ard OC database.

Here's X-Bit wringing 3787 MHz out of a new G0 stepping dual core.
http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/cpu/display/core2duo-e6850_11.html#sect0

and here's [H]ard's dnottis doing quite nicely running Orthos stable at 3735 MHz and climbing with his retail B2 stepping E6420.
http://www.hardforum.com/showpost.php?p=1031203769&postcount=301

With air cooling your wall will be the ability of your cooler to keep your quad cool long before the stepping will become a factor. Your Zalman 9500 should be adequate but if it's not then sell your Zalman and invest the proceeds into a better air cooler like the Thermalright Ultra 120 extreme.

Your overclocking goals are modest so there's no need to wait. I'd put more thought into a good motherboard and some good memory than worry about the CPU stepping.

I second this advice.
 
Well the guys @ XS got a Retail Box E6850 that clocks 4Ghz Orthos stable on air :D
 
What program is he using to monitor temps?

Secondly, how much better can it get at the moment?

I'm running a Q6600 at 3.0 right now and my CSS stress test is 270 fps.

Right now, it's looking pretty damned sweet. When I pushed it up to 3.2 ghz stress test got a massive 2 fps improvement (however temps rose VERY quickly).

I think I need a game that will really push my system. (A fun game preferably.)
 
Mine runs around that temperature at 3.2GHz. I haven't tried 3.4GHz yet, but I will.

My issue is that the Q6600 and the 8800GTX is starting to oversaturate my GTS 240 Rad.

Coolant temps gaming are going upwards of 95F in a 72F ambient room. Way too high of a delta for my liking.

With 3 cores running small FFT, and the 8800GTX fully loaded, coolant temps are peaking at 102F.

I think a new rad will do wonders for me.
 
That's exactly why I'm using dual loops............:eek: I built the water cooling with a Quad core in mind (Thermochill PA120.3 for the CPU) and still have a spot set aside foe a Dual 120 radiator if and when I get a hot running video card. Right now the single 120 is more than enough for my 7900GT.
 
That's exactly why I'm using dual loops............:eek: I built the water cooling with a Quad core in mind (Thermochill PA120.3 for the CPU) and still have a spot set aside foe a Dual 120 radiator if and when I get a hot running video card. Right now the single 120 is more than enough for my 7900GT.

Yea the system was a carry over from my Opty 165 7900GT setup.

I was running a chipset block also with no issues.

I don't have room in my case for a 3x120, I think I am going to research a new case. Going to run a 120x3 for the CPU, Chipset and VRMs, and the 120x2 for the GPU.
 
Well the guys @ XS got a Retail Box E6850 that clocks 4Ghz Orthos stable on air :D
That retail E6850 is running great at 4 GHz but it's not running any faster than the best E6600 processors in the [H]ard OC database. The only difference is the [H]ard users are 4 hours Orthos stable with small FFTs versus his 1 hour Orthos stable with the less stressful large FFTs.

I'm not going to argue that the G0 isn't going to be a great stepping because it looks like it is. If you're in no hurry to build a computer then there's nothing wrong with waiting for one. Any performance difference in day to day use though will never be noticed compared to the currently available revision B2 dual cores or revision B3 quad core processors. With the appropriate motherboard / heatsink and ram, the currently available B3 Q6600 will have no trouble reaching your 3200 MHz goal so you don't need to wait if you want a fast computer today.
 
I had my CPU go up to 69C at 100% load, which is way over the rated specs. But if that spec is bumped up by 11C, then it'll be safe again.

Way over what rated spec? Is the maximum core temperature of these new processors being raised? Can you post some more information about this.
 
okay if you want to get te4chincal. on LN2 cooling the E6850 has hit 5.4ghz..

feeling any better ?

needless to say 6850 still runs cooler then the 6600.
 
Those G0 steppings of the e6850 are mighty tempting, but I think a G0 stepping q6600 calls my name..
 
needless to say 6850 still runs cooler then the 6600.

Do you have any links to tests to confirm this? Is there a difference in temperature between them when the 6850 and 6600 are at the same voltage and MHz while using the same cooler or does the 6850 run cooler because it can run the same MHz as a 6600 with less core voltage?
 
BTW even if you hold out for a G0 stepping CPU it may not overclock worth a damn. That is a possibility.
 
Is there sales tax from TankGuys if they ship to California? I know NewEgg has a 7.25% online sales tax for California orders.

It sucks that the price of the G0 stepping Q6600 will definitely be higher than the one I got at Frys yesterday. The $266 price is for OEM CPUs directly from Intel in quantities of 1,000. I'm not sure how they make OEM into retail if they are buying it retail, but whatever, that's the retailers job. That means Tank Guys and other retailers will have to boost prices up a bit more to make any sort of profit, therefore the retail price after the July 22 price cut will probably be around $290 (hopefully including the stock Intel heatsink fan), not including shipping/handling and sales tax (if any). With S/H and taxes, I'd expect the price to be around $325 (or $304 if no sales tax).

But I got my retail (not OEM) Q6600 B3 stepping from Frys for $266.92 + CA sales tax of 8.25% (1% higher than onsale CA sales tax), which is $288.94. Of course I got a stupid motherboard from Frys too that came with the combo. But I'll try to return just that if I decide to keep the quad core. That's about $36 (or $15 if no sales tax) cheaper than my guess at the price I'd be able to get it for from Tank Guys, and no definite ship date. Having waited this long and still not yet being on the wait list for Tank Guys, I'd guess I wouldn't be able to get my CPU until mid September and for a higher price (but newer revision).

I wonder if I can just go to the Frys physical store and buy the Q6600 then, after the July 22 price cuts, and ask for them to search for G0 steppings.

One more thing.
I just read that the G0 stepping requires updating your BIOS. What does this mean? I am new at building computers, and had someone else do all the BIOS, drivers, or whatever else...the software portion for my current build of about 2 weeks (it has the E4300 Core 2 Duo CPU). So, does this mean upgrading my CPU is not a simple swap-out of the actual hardware part? I need to somehow update my BIOS? How do I do that?

What if I just want to upgrade to the B3 Q6600 that I have in my possession now? If I swapped my current CPU to a B3 stepping Q6600 in my computer, would I need to update BIOS then?
Let us know if you try to return the ECS. Guy behind components dept said returns had to include both, not either or.
 
It has a lower TDP, so whatever the reason, it does run cooler at the same speed.
 
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