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qx6850 help please

S

skasol

Limp Gawd
Joined
Dec 6, 2006
Messages
152
I am about to buy this processor and I was wondering if I need to upgrade my mobo or memory, I currently have the evga 680i and crucial ballistix 1000, any help is welcome
 
The 680i chipset does not support quad-core Yorkfield CPUs like the Q9300 and the QX6850. So you will need to switch to the 750i/780i chipsets (if you want to use SLI) or P35/X38 (if you want a more stable system and are only using one card) to use any of the newer quad-core CPUs out there.

One question though, why are you spending $1000 on a CPU that can be matched in performance by a slightly OC'd $275 Q9300?
 
Or, indeed, a Q6600 for the most direct comparison; mine is running at exactly the same specification as a stock QX6850 (stock voltage, 1333MHz FSB, 9x multiplier = 3.0GHz). The unlocked multiplier isn't at all worth the huge price difference, and both chips are made on the same process.
 
Danny Bui said:
The 680i chipset does not support quad-core Yorkfield CPUs like the Q9300 and the QX6850. So you will need to switch to the 750i/780i chipsets (if you want to use SLI) or P35/X38 (if you want a more stable system and are only using one card) to use any of the newer quad-core CPUs out there.

One question though, why are you spending $1000 on a CPU that can be matched in performance by a slightly OC'd $275 Q9300?
Click to expand...

Thank you for your reply, I am actually only buying it for $239 as part of the intel retail edge discount for retailers, once you complete certain quizzes you qualify to purchase this product for only $239.

Thanks for the feedback, what is the most stable and overclock friendly board for single video card, Thanks.
 
Mithent said:
Or, indeed, a Q6600 for the most direct comparison; mine is running at exactly the same specification as a stock QX6850 (stock voltage, 1333MHz FSB, 9x multiplier = 3.0GHz). The unlocked multiplier isn't at all worth the huge price difference, and both chips are made on the same process.
Click to expand...

I got my Q6600 running at 3.4 I believe my board wouldn't let me go any higher without crashing, so you mean to tell me that there would be no benefit of me getting the qx6850 other than I have to upgrade my mobo? which it isn't a benefit at all.
 
skasol said:
I got my Q6600 running at 3.4 I believe my board wouldn't let me go any higher without crashing, so you mean to tell me that there would be no benefit of me getting the qx6850 other than I have to upgrade my mobo? which it isn't a benefit at all.
Click to expand...

Kind of. If you OC the Q6600 to 3.0Ghz and leave the QX9650 at its stock speed of 3.0Ghz, the QX6850 is only 4 to 7% faster than the Q6600. In addition, the Penryn derived CPUs cannot take as much voltage as their older brothers. The max voltage for Penryn CPUs is 1.4V whereas the Kentfield, Conroe, and Allendale based CPUs can take up to 1.5V. In addition, the QX9650 does use more power than the Q6600, 130W and 95W respectively.

So there is a benefit but you're gonna have to decide if that 7% speed increase, slightly higher energy usage, getting a new motherboard, and potentially higher OC is worth the extra costs.

I'm actually surprised that your 680i mobo could OC the Q6600 that high. Most 680i mobos have trouble overclocking quad-core CPUs.

I recommend these motherboards for overclocking:
Asus P5Q Intel P45 Intel Motherboard - $135
Gigabyte GA-EP45-DS3R Intel P45 Motherboard - $150
 
Uberbob102000 said:
Your wrong Danny, the QX6850 is a Kentsfield CPU.
Click to expand...

Oops. You are correct. The QX6850 is a Kentfield. My bad.

Well then, there is no reason to go with the QX6850 then. Clock them both the same and they'll perform close to on another.
 
thank you all for your replies, I will probably still buy it and sell it then. I am currently running my Q6600 at 3.4 so no need to go anything better than that.
 
so upgrade or not? I now last time you guys said no go, but I hate my 680i board so I am thinking of getting a new board anyway, so what's the best board out there for a single gpu that allows me to overclock nice and run lot's of ram.

Thanks.
 
What do you mean by lots of RAM? 8GB or 16GB?

Some motherboard recommendations:
Gigabyte GA-EP45-DS3R Intel P45 Motherboard - $146
Asus P5Q Pro Intel P45 Motherboard - $150
DFI Lanparty DK X38-T2R Intel X38 Motherboard - $185
Gigabyte GA-X48-DS4 Intel X48 Motherboard - $225

The P45 motherboards support up to 16GB of RAM while the X38 only supports up to 8GB of RAM.


Just to help you out: If you don't need RAID, more than 6 SATA ports and only need semi-decent overclocking, check out the DS3L. If you need 8 SATA ports, RAID, 4 PCI slots, and legacy ports, then get the Neo3-Fr. If you don't need more than 6 SATA ports but want RAID, firewire, a second PCI-E x16 port, a second gigabit port, support for 16GB of RAM, optional eSATA, and high overclocks, then get the DS3R. If you like the DS3R but need 8 SATA ports, want an onboard pre-installed fast booting Linux setup or don't need a second gigabit port, get the Asus P5Q Pro. If you want Crossfire with full x16/x16 bandwidth, get the Lanparty DK X38.
 
Danny Bui said:
What do you mean by lots of RAM? 8GB or 16GB?

Some motherboard recommendations:
Gigabyte GA-EP45-DS3R Intel P45 Motherboard - $146
Asus P5Q Pro Intel P45 Motherboard - $150
DFI Lanparty DK X38-T2R Intel X38 Motherboard - $185
Gigabyte GA-X48-DS4 Intel X48 Motherboard - $225

The P45 motherboards support up to 16GB of RAM while the X38 only supports up to 8GB of RAM.


Just to help you out: If you don't need RAID, more than 6 SATA ports and only need semi-decent overclocking, check out the DS3L. If you need 8 SATA ports, RAID, 4 PCI slots, and legacy ports, then get the Neo3-Fr. If you don't need more than 6 SATA ports but want RAID, firewire, a second PCI-E x16 port, a second gigabit port, support for 16GB of RAM, optional eSATA, and high overclocks, then get the DS3R. If you like the DS3R but need 8 SATA ports, want an onboard pre-installed fast booting Linux setup or don't need a second gigabit port, get the Asus P5Q Pro. If you want Crossfire with full x16/x16 bandwidth, get the Lanparty DK X38.
Click to expand...

thank you for all this, what os are people using with 16gb of ram? 64bit vista?

I don't need raid, I have a raptor 150, and 2 500gb hd for storage, also I have 1 sata dvd drive, for a total of 4, I don't see myself needing more than this.
and only a single gpu, as far as the gigabit port I don't even know what it does, I think I currently have it on my 680i and never used it.
 
skasol said:
thank you for all this, what os are people using with 16gb of ram? 64bit vista?

I don't need raid, I have a raptor 150, and 2 500gb hd for storage, also I have 1 sata dvd drive, for a total of 4, I don't see myself needing more than this.
and only a single gpu, as far as the gigabit port I don't even know what it does, I think I currently have it on my 680i and never used it.
Click to expand...

The Gigabit port is also known as your ethernet or LAN port. Which you are using if you're not using a wireless connection.

Anyway, yes Vista 64bit is the preferred 64bit OS now for gamers. So look over the motherboards I recommended and see which one you like the most.
 
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