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Q6600 a worthwhile upgrade for me?

I

itguru

Weaksauce
Joined
Sep 28, 2004
Messages
97
I am considering switching to Intel and upgrading to a Q6600 quad core. I would keep everything in my system, and just upgrade the Motherboard, CPU and RAM. My last Intel based computer was a Pentium 166 mhz w/ 128 mb ram, so I have used AMD processors for a quite a while.

I would really like to get into overclocking, and hearing how the intel's are running so much cooler than the AMD's is making me want to make the jump. I would also like this to be the last motherboard/cpu combo i purchase for the next few years. Is this a worthwhile upgrade for me?
 
It's a good upgrade if you're using multi-threaded apps, and more and more games are taking advantage of dual/quad cores. Though benchmarks are obviously going to be much better, for general gaming, you may not notice much seat-of-the-pants improvement just from the CPU.

If you do upgrade, spend the extra money for an X38 DDR2 board instead of a P35 so you're more future proof (dual 16x PCI-e 2.0 is one of the big things).

Going from an X2 to a Q6600, cooler is relative though. If you were going with a dual-core C2D, they do tend to run cooler than X2's at stock speeds...but the Kentsfield quads pack two more cores in the same space, and put out more heat, the supplied Intel heatsink/fan is barely enough to keep them safe at stock speeds and voltages.

So, don't skimp on cooling if you plan on overclocking, a big heatpipe unit like the Tuniq Tower, Thermalright Ultra Extreme 120 or something comparable is needed to keep Q6600 temps under control, B3 or G0 versions.
 
yeah definitely put some money into cooling if you are going to overclock. i have a zalman 9700 fan it it gets a bit loud at full load but keeps my proc nice and cool when playing games. Also definitely get the x38 chipset, i have a p35 and am already looking to upgrade for the faster bus and the better chipset for more speed
 
mr_tea, thank you for your reply. :cool: From what I am reading, the zalman coolers are the way to go...
 
Great CPU so far, just got one for myself installed yesterday, look for my thread I'm actually selling one ;).
 
If you have a wide case look at HR-01 plus. It cools better than a Thermalright 120 ultra but not as good as the 120 extreme. My Q660go @1.42v @3.5ghz runs at 61degC with 4xPrime and at 46deg C folding. At idle it at 26deg C
 
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