Q6600 or 45nm?

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DarkTide

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I'm building a new rig with DDR2-800 memory and was wondering what would be the better way to go with the processor. My original plan was to OC the Q6600 to 400mhz and then set the memory ratio to 1:1 which I had read was a good way to go.

However, I realize the 45nm processors have some nice perks that I wouldn't be against having, but will a change in memory timings negate that gain? I don't know if there's an easy answer but it's been on my mind lately.

Purely a gaming rig and I'm aware quad isn't worth it for gaming at the moment but I probably won't get a new proc for 2+ years. Thanks for any input.
 
Well to be honest the only benefits you'll mostly see would be lower power output and lower heat by going with the 45nm, unless you use apps that will benefit from the SSE4 instructions, the 45nm is also a tad bit faster clock for clock.

But. Most real world gains comparing a 45nm quad to the 65nm are minimal. The only reason im some what suggesting a Q6600 in your case is they are still great overclockers. I have a q9450 @ 3.4 running 1.136 volts, which is a great chip but honestly not most of them out there will do that.

It's just my opinion but really you can get the Q6600 for a great price, with a G0 stepping your almost guarenteed a better overclock than the 45nm, and what a lot of people dont realise is you cant push the voltage hard on these 45nm chips, keeping it under 1.36 is reccomended for 24/7 use, on a Q6600 with proper cooling you can run them at 1.5 all day and they'll keep on ticking.

Like I said, I own a q9450 quad - but getting one that overclocks well is a lot harder than getting a Q6600 and cranking it up, and for gaming i do not think you'd notice a difference between the two.
 
I was between getting a Q6600 and a Q9450, to upgrade from my p4 3.0ghz system which SUX, and I was pretty sure I'd be getting a q9450, but I decided on the Q6600 since it is known to OC really well, and I would upgrade my cpu in a year or so when the 45nm skt 775 cpu's go down in price. I'm not wasting my time with ddr3 and skt 1366, and I wouldn't have anywhere near enough money for that type of system, so 775 looks like the platform for me. Maybe intel will release some DDR2 editions of their 6 and 8 core cpu's for skt 775...I'm hoping.
 
Q6600 will probably be a great option until December of this year... maybe first quarter of next as well.
 
You just gotta hope Intel doesn't entirely ditch skt 775. not many people are gonna want to spend mucho money on ddr3 ram and dd3 mobods.
 
commissioneranthony said:
You just gotta hope Intel doesn't entirely ditch skt 775. not many people are gonna want to spend mucho money on ddr3 ram and dd3 mobods.
Click to expand...

Well they are pretty much ditching Socket 775 when Nehalem comes out with its two different socket types aimed at different markets later this year. The last new Intel CPUs for socket 775 are coming out next month IIRC. There haven't been any further announcements of any socket 775 CPUs coming out in Q4 2008 or next year. So yeah, socket 775 is on its death bed.
 
Want to save cash? Q6600.

Want a cooler, faster CPU that will last you longer and you really don't care about the extra $120 at all? Q9450.
 
can you go into further detail on the "two different socket types aimed at different markets." I haven't read up enough on the new skt 1366 and would like some more info.

Also what does "IIRC" mean?
 
commissioneranthony said:
can you go into further detail on the "two different socket types aimed at different markets." I haven't read up enough on the new skt 1366 and would like some more info.

Also what does "IIRC" mean?
Click to expand...

IIRC = If I Recall Correctly or If I Remember Correctly

Anyway, like I said earlier, Intel will have two sockets for their Nehalem CPUs: LGA 1366 and LGA 1160.

The LGA 1366 socket will be geared towards the high-end enthusiast or performance market. So expect to see $200+ for socket LGA 1366 motherboards. Some other key facts about LGA 1366:
- It will be launched in October 2008
- Will have Intel's new Quick Path feature which is suppose to boost performance.
- Most LGA 1366 CPUs will have a TDP of 130W
- Triple Channel DDR3

Socket LGA 1160 will be geared towards the mainstream and value markets. So LGA 1160 motherboards should be cheaper. However they won't be released until Q3 2009 according to rumors. Some key facts about LGA 1160:
- No QuickPath feature meaning that LGA 1160 CPUs will be slower than LGA 1366 CPUs
- TDP ranging from 75W to 95W.
- Only Dual Channel

Now there are a few unsubstantiated rumors out there saying that LGA 1160 CPUs and motherboards will not allow for any kind of overclocking. These are rumors but keep that in mind just in case.

@OP:
You won't notice the difference between CAS4 and CAS5 Memory timings in real world apps.

Also, like everyone here has said, the Q9450 and Q9300 OC about the same as the Q6600. However, those two CPUs do use less power doing so and will be faster clock for clock than the Q6600 (A 7% and 10-15% performance edge for the Q9300 and Q9450 respectively) . But the Q9450 and Q9300 are a bit more difficult to OC due to their lower multipliers and they cannot take as much voltage as the Q6600 (Max 1.5V for the Q6600, Max 1.4V for the 45nm CPUs)
 
will a new LGA 1366 socket nehalem geared towards high-end enthusiasts give you an extra 30 FPS with the same vid card as with a q6600?

I doubt it..
 
DarkTide said:
Purely a gaming rig and I'm aware quad isn't worth it for gaming at the moment but I probably won't get a new proc for 2+ years. Thanks for any input.
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You don't need to OC for gaming
C2Q doesn't scale well for multi threaded applications/games. Only if the application is optimized it will run well and don't use a lot of memor then C2Q scales, Nehalem is for scaling or you could go to the AMD side
 
Honestly I'm not looking for multi-core in the interest of a single game (with the exception of Supreme Commander) but I want it so I can run a game and multiple apps in the background without noticing any delay. Dual Core might be enough for that but quad isn't vastly more expensive so what the hell.
 
DarkTide said:
Honestly I'm not looking for multi-core in the interest of a single game (with the exception of Supreme Commander) but I want it so I can run a game and multiple apps in the background without noticing any delay.
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Then you probably will do better with AMD Phenom, one AMD Phenom 9550 is cheap and scales very good
 
I'd like to stick with an Intel chip and the Q6600 is known to be a good processor, especially when I OC it. Thanks for the ideas though.
 
Danny Bui said:
Also, like everyone here has said, the Q9450 and Q9300 OC about the same as the Q6600. However, those two CPUs do use less power doing so and will be faster clock for clock than the Q6600 (A 7% and 10-15% performance edge for the Q9300 and Q9450 respectively) . But the Q9450 and Q9300 are a bit more difficult to OC due to their lower multipliers and they cannot take as much voltage as the Q6600 (Max 1.5V for the Q6600, Max 1.4V for the 45nm CPUs)
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They are OCing the same ? I thought I read numerous times that the Q6600 was a better OCer because of it's higher multiplier. So a lot of people are achieving 3.5-3.6ghz on the 45nm quads ? I guess I had it backwards...:(
 
Any rumours on how well the nehalem will oc? I've heard some bad ones aboud mainstream and the extreme versions.
 
AncientTechno said:
They are OCing the same ? I thought I read numerous times that the Q6600 was a better OCer because of it's higher multiplier. So a lot of people are achieving 3.5-3.6ghz on the 45nm quads ? I guess I had it backwards...:(
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The Q6600 is the easier OCer due to the it's higher multiplier. The 45nm quads are harder to OC to 3.5 to 3.6Ghz. Hence why not a lot of people can hit 3.6Ghz with the 45nm Quads. But it is doable.
 
i agree ... for you're money you're probably not ganna find a better chip with more "Bang for your Buck"
 
Danny Bui said:
The Q6600 is the easier OCer due to the it's higher multiplier. The 45nm quads are harder to OC to 3.5 to 3.6Ghz. Hence why not a lot of people can hit 3.6Ghz with the 45nm Quads. But it is doable.
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I have never overclocked anything before, and I broke 500 with my q9450 today. I am looking at nearly an hour prime95 stable at 485 right now. Did I really just get lucky with my CPU? I like to think that all my reading and trial & error paid off. :p I seemed to get stuck around 3.4-3.6 too, but I kept trying and found the settings that work for my hardware combo. Clock skews are essential. Getting to 3.4-3.6 was pretty easy, after finding the right clock skews I can push that only changing vcore.
 
Maybe you should wait a few days and see if the intel price cuts will materialize.
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Thanks I didn't know about that. I noticed the Q6600 dropped about $5 today, maybe there's more to come.
 
obviously by my sig, i think the q6600 is the better buy. it is EASIER to oc, with the high multi.

a couple things to consider with the 45nm quads:
-yup, 10-15% faster
-3rd quarter price cuts are coming, meaning the q9550 will be around 325-350 (high multi, prob 3.6-4ghz oc)
-kind of a misconception that they run cooler. while they would run cooler due to the die shrink, there is 12mb of cache vs. 8mb of cache which heats things up. all in all, temps are very close between the two.

real question is, is the 10-15% performance increase (clock for clock) and maybe a 4ghz ceiling (if you wait for price drops) worth the price premium? only you can answer that based on your disposable income and how you chose to spend it.
 
samsonJS said:
I have never overclocked anything before, and I broke 500 with my q9450 today. I am looking at nearly an hour prime95 stable at 485 right now. Did I really just get lucky with my CPU? I like to think that all my reading and trial & error paid off. :p I seemed to get stuck around 3.4-3.6 too, but I kept trying and found the settings that work for my hardware combo. Clock skews are essential. Getting to 3.4-3.6 was pretty easy, after finding the right clock skews I can push that only changing vcore.
Click to expand...

Pretty lucky I'd say. But hopefully by the time you read this, you've been Prime85 stable for at least 4 hours or max 24 hours.
 
8+ hours @ 490 ... I think the q9450 must've got a bum rap from people OCing them with older boards or something. Mine likes a lot of vcore but it's still able to push high enough clocks. A gain of >1GHz seems like a great OC, no?

wadec22: Yeah, I don't find my q9450 runs any cooler than people's OCd q6600s. Maybe at stock settings, but even then a couple degrees at most I think.
 
1.44 idle / 1.36-1.39 load. I've lowered it for every day use though, keeping idle at or below 1.4 just to be safe (lower clock too obviously).
 
94xx has SSE4.0 a bit more cache and a die shrink, thats pretty much it.

SSE4 if you encode and your encoder is optimized (has a "use SSE4" option for example )or your favorite game uses SSE4 and you are not happy with gameplay on existing cpu, SSE4 MIGHT be worth the price difference. Othewise 6600 all the way.
 
Well, I've been holding out for a new CPU & saving cash.
I was hoping the E7200 would hit the $100 point after July 20.

Since it hardly dropped at all & I saved $200... I'm thinking Q6600!
I am also thinking of waiting a bit more & getting a Q9300 45nm quad.
Haven't read anything about that one yet though... your info is welcome.

As far as usage - I game, photoshop skins, rip my movies to hard drive & edit home DV.

I thought about the C2D E8400 with 6mb cache & 1333 FSB too.
I'd like to know the diff. RE: Q6600 spec of 2x4mb (isn't that 8mb?) cache & 1066 FSB?
 
if you are ocing the 9300 should probably be out. it has a very low multiplier and is therefore much more difficult to overclock than the q6600.
 
Too bad my next best option looks like Q9450 @ $330
- verses the Q6600 @ $200 and the Q9300 @ $270

PS - Why does the SEARCH function disappear?
It was gone the last 5 times I was here, but now it is back?
 
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