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Upgrade from Q6600

L

Lugztaz

[H]ard|Gawd
Joined
Jun 21, 2004
Messages
1,783
Right now I've got an Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 2.4GHz Kentsfield CPU and I'm looking to upgrade.

My mainboard is a Gigabyte P35-DS3P and I've got 8GB of DDR2 RAM.

I'm looking to get more overall performance, I do a lot of DVD Riping for archives, Photoshop & Lightroom work along with virtual machines and a list of small programs multi-tasking in the background.

I'm willing to spend $175-$250 if I can get a decent upgrade from what I currently have. What should I be looking for?

Edit: Lets say $175-$300
 
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Will you be overclocking?

That's $175 to $250 for just the CPU correct? Not including the new motherboard and DDR3 RAM?
 
Danny Bui said:
Will you be overclocking?

That's $175 to $250 for just the CPU correct? Not including the new motherboard and DDR3 RAM?
Click to expand...

No OC and if I can get a decent jump in performance I'd like to stick with the MOBO/Memory that I have now so yes just that price for CPU

EDIT: Lets say $175-$300
 
Lugztaz said:
No OC and if I can get a decent jump in performance I'd like to stick with the MOBO/Memory that I have now.
Click to expand...

Unfortunately, the best CPU available for socket 775 is the Q9550. However I don't think the Q9550 is that much of a performance increase over the Q6600 to justify the costs. And speaking of the costs, unless you can find the Q9550 for $170 to $180, there's really no cost-effective CPU upgrade for socket 775 from a Q6600.

So if you really want a CPU upgrade, you're looking at a new platform altogether. Though at least with AMD's Phenom II CPUs, you can reuse your DDR2 RAM which means a savings about $100 to $220 by not buying DDR3 RAM.

Do note that for $215, you can get a Phenom II based setup that uses DDR2 RAM:
$215 - AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition CPU + Gigabyte GA-MA785GM-US2H AM3/AM2+/AM2 AMD 785G HDMI mATX Motherboard

It is a pretty decent upgrade over the Q6600:
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/53?vs=88
 
Don't go from a Q6600 unless you're jumping to i5 heavily oc'ed or a i7. It's just not worth it imo.
 
Gaming performance in the Intel 775 platform loves bigger caches since it doesn't have an integrated memory controller like the iX series. I swapped my QX6850@ 3.5GHz to my current CPU and barely notice a difference, I did it because it was free plus lower power consumption and heat dissipation. QX6850 is essentially a Q6600 G0 stepping with an unlocked multiplier.

I wouldn't go to anything below the Q9450, Q9450 is a very nice processor with 12MB of cache running at 2.66GHz and is very overclockable. A Q9400 or Q8x00 series are based on Penryn and has some optimizations, but have much less cache and may negate its benefits.
 
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If I wanted to upgrade to an i5 or i7, I think the biggest cost would end up being the upgrade in 8GB of DDR3.

I've got to save for other things, such as more HDD's before I decide to upgrade to a new mobo, CPU and DDR3.
 
You can get Q9550 for $200 at microcenter stores or upgrade to core i7 860 for $200 which also need to spend $100-150 for motherboard.
 
Lugztaz said:
If I wanted to upgrade to an i5 or i7, I think the biggest cost would end up being the upgrade in 8GB of DDR3.

I've got to save for other things, such as more HDD's before I decide to upgrade to a new mobo, CPU and DDR3.
Click to expand...

Why do you need 8GB DDR3? i7 P55 chipset is Dual channels DDR3 memory which requires (2*2GB) 4GB DDR3 - $115-130$ each. i7 X58 chipset requires triple channel 6GB DDR3 (3*2GB)
 
Grow a pair and go into the bios and set the FSB to 300 and increase the Vcore to 1.375 and MCH voltage +.2 If all ok try 333. (your 8GB of memory might make it a bit tricky to acheive but you have tons of performance you are just wasting and with the proper bios settings it is usually not difficult to get a rock solid and stable OC of 3.0-3.2GHz with even the stock cooler. ) You will think you bought all that high dollar stuff. Defrag the HD. Twice. Tell me what case you use so I can check the thermals and recommend if any additional fans etc. are needed. At 3.0+ GHz a Q6600 starts working the way it should.
 
Yeah I would just sell your stuff and take that money combined with the 150-300 you planned on spending and build a new i5/i7 system.
 
BillParrish said:
Grow a pair and go into the bios and set the FSB to 300 and increase the Vcore to 1.375 and MCH voltage +.2 If all ok try 333. (your 8GB of memory might make it a bit tricky to acheive but you have tons of performance you are just wasting and with the proper bios settings it is usually not difficult to get a rock solid and stable OC of 3.0-3.2GHz with even the stock cooler. ) You will think you bought all that high dollar stuff. Defrag the HD. Twice. Tell me what case you use so I can check the thermals and recommend if any additional fans etc. are needed. At 3.0+ GHz a Q6600 starts working the way it should.
Click to expand...

I doubt you'll need to go +.2 on the MCH nor would you want to unless you have some good active cooling for it. The thing runs pretty hot when you have 4 populated DIMM banks even at stock FSB and voltage. I only needed to go +.1 on my P35 to get 3.2GHz with 4 DIMMs on my Q6600.

And I agree with what most of the others are saying. Unless you're getting a new chip for free or close to free like the person a couple posts above, there is nothing in the 775 relm that would be a worthwhile upgrade.
 
fullvietFX said:
Q9550@3.8GHz (Guaranteed basically) would destroy a Q6600 at stock.
Click to expand...

Yes, but if you're going to OC the 9550 when you buy it, why not simply OC the Q6600 that you have now? 3.2GHz is pretty easy on the majority of Q6600's and that speed, it certainly isn't worth the asking price.
 
Nothing is gauranteed, ever, period. But it also costs alot more like Ramon basically said. Not very cost effective.
 
If you haven't already at least tried to overclock your Q6600, that would be where you should start.
 
I was in the same situation. Had a Q6600, and wanted some improvement in gaming. I tried oc'ing, getting a new video card, which didn't go far, at least not at the improvement that I wanted to see. Ended up putting together a brand new system. Definitely spent way more money than I originally planned to ($300 vs. $1300!), but it was all worth it.
 
nlkc said:
Had a Q6600, and wanted some improvement in gaming. I tried oc'ing, getting a new video card, which didn't go far, at least not at the improvement that I wanted to see.
Click to expand...

How far did you overclock it to? On my Q6600 the difference between 2.4Ghz and 3.6Ghz is fairly significant, especially when playing a game like BC2 or GTA4.

The thing about the Q6600 is that it's stock clockspeed of 2.4Ghz is REALLY SLOW. The reason that has never mattered is that almost all chips from day 1 could hit at least 3Ghz typically at stock volts even using the stock cooler. Though that is still a ways off from 3.4-3.6 that you should be able to get to with good cooling, it is still 600mhz over stock.

There is almost no risk whatsoever to overclocking a Q6600 if you are only looking to hit 3-3.2 so no reason not to try it.
 
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