775 CPU

[sydeccles]

I would like to upgrade my E2180
Loads of people on this forum swearing that the best bang for buck upgrade for a 775 set up is the Q6600
Please can someone clarify
A used Q6600 go for circa £80 or £90 with zero quarantee, is it not worth paying the extra and getting a brand new Q8300 for £111 or a new Q8400 for £122.
Syd

 

[easyrider]

No,

Q6600 all the way.

 

[Dark_Angel]

No,

Q6600 all the way.

TBH.

775 isn't really worth spending tons on now... when AMD and Intel release their new chips, it'll be a couple of gens behind.

 

[pastymuncher]

The 45nm Quads (Q8300/8400/9400 etc) available now are so cut down they really are not worth considering unless you can find a Q9450/9550/9650 for a reasonable price.

The G0 stepping Q6600 would be a far better buy.

 

[sydeccles]

So sounds like I should stick with the E2180 running @ 3 GHz as little will be gained by swopping to a quad core CPU.

 

[pastymuncher]

I did'nt say that. What i said was the Q8***/Q9300/9400 series should'nt be considered. They have been badly cut down yet fill the price points that the Q9450/9550 (these have double the cache) used to occupy. Basically the E2180 sucks. Anything above it will kick it's butt big time. I did a benchmarking review a while ago using a E2140, E4300, E5200, E6600, E8500 over clock speeds from stock to 3.6Ghz (4.5Ghz in the case of the E8500). The E2140 was way behind all the other cpu's so a overclocked Q6600 (basically a pair of E6600's on the same die) would be a very good upgrade. It's not as if you will lose any money on a Q6600 when it comes to selling as they are in such high demand.

 

[Vir]

One of the below:
1. Q6600 or Q9450/Q9550
2. Get new i5 / i7
3. Overclock the E2180 to 3.2Ghz and wait for newer tech, sandy bridge
4. Go for a new quad core AMD rig...

Basically don't go for a stripped down version of a quad core.

 

[sydeccles]

I did'nt say that. What i said was the Q8***/Q9300/9400 series should'nt be considered. They have been badly cut down yet fill the price points that the Q9450/9550 (these have double the cache) used to occupy. Basically the E2180 sucks. Anything above it will kick it's butt big time. I did a benchmarking review a while ago using a E2140, E4300, E5200, E6600, E8500 over clock speeds from stock to 3.6Ghz (4.5Ghz in the case of the E8500). The E2140 was way behind all the other cpu's so a overclocked Q6600 (basically a pair of E6600's on the same die) would be a very good upgrade. It's not as if you will lose any money on a Q6600 when it comes to selling as they are in such high demand.

Just finished reading your review, an excellent piece of work, also read all the posts that followed for the second time, I think it is slowly being absorbed by the grey matter between the ears.
Anyway, I will now look out for a cheapish Q6600 with proven over clocking.
Thanks
Syd

 

[pastymuncher]

Don't forget it needs to be a G0 (SLACR) stepping. Do not go for a B1 just because it's cheaper. They are harder to clock, hotter running and need more voltage than the G0 stepping.

 

[ChrisLandin]

Q6600's are good chips and can be had for around the £70 mark. Ive had one and they are good. My advice is this look out for a cheap q9650 or 9550 if you can find one. They usually will clock to around 3.8 and if you could get one for say £100 notes snap it up. If you arnt lucky enough to find one get a q6600 but pay no more than £80 tops. Like Pasty says make sure its the G0 stepping version as its easier to clock.