C2D E6750 Vs C2Q 6600?

[Caracortada_uk]

Hi all, sorry to be another person asking advice on this. But i have two options for new CPU in my PC for gaming but to also futureproof for possible vista upgrade if it proves viable after its SP1 release.


Currently thinking Quad 6600 (95W) with 2x1Gb DDR2 Corsair Dominator PC8500 CAS 5-5-5-15. Though 4GB (4x1GB) Corsair QuadX XMS2 DDR2 PC2-6400 (800) CAS 5-5-5-18 is the same as the 2x2Gb, but thinking the dual channel and faster speed would over rule this option?

But going for the cheaper C2D E6750 means i could get 2x2Gb Corsair XMS2 DDR2 PC2-6400 CAS 5-5-5-18

Whats the best option? Is Quad worth it Vs More Ram? I know crysis and UT will use quad, but last i read (6months ago) devs said quad is a royale pain in the hoop to code for compared to dual and there is little difference to be gained. So will quad in gaming be widespread in the future? This PC is to last me a couple of years.

 

[McManicMan]

if you go for the gigabyte P35C -DS3R motherboard that supports the new DDR3 ram and new intel core out next year then you'll be future proof in getting a quad core later in a couple of years time when more things actually require one at abetter price, so if i was you i would get the E6750, its a good cpu anyway for its price and with the mentioned motherboard will easy get 3.3GHZ speeds if you wish to overclock using the onboard overclocking setup in the bios

 

[mdjmcnally]

Theres a couple of games starting to come through now that make use of the Quad. If looking to not change the CPU for a few years then get the Quad.

Most motherboards come with 4 slots so get a 2 x 1Gb kit now and buy a further 2 x 1Gb kit next year when you got vista

 

[Caracortada_uk]

Problem with the DDR3 route is that DDR3 costs a fortune. Or are DDR3 slots backwords compatible with DDR2?

The board im thinking about is the ASUS P5W64 WS Pro, im basing that on the fact other boards only say they do up to DDR2 800, or can all DDR2 boards support 1066?

 

[McManicMan]

motherboard i mention takes ddr2 and ddr3 (has slots for either), so the choice is there for later on in say 2yrs time, there is only a few games and apps on the horizon that use more than 2 cores and in 2 yrs time they will be better and cheaper anyway. At the end of the day its the motherboard support thats important, buy one now and you'll be sorted wahtever route you go (in theory)

 

[azteched]

Whats the best option?

Quad+4GB RAM if you can stretch to it while DDR2 is still very cheap.

Is Quad worth it Vs More Ram?

Probably

I know crysis and UT will use quad, but last i read (6months ago) devs said quad is a royale pain in the hoop to code for compared to dual and there is little difference to be gained. So will quad in gaming be widespread in the future?

Yes; the main hurdle is going from single threaded (i.e. 1 core used) design to >1; now developers have experience with this, scaling further isn't so hard (although parallelizing things efficiently is still far from trivial).