Help me decide, X6800 or QX6700

[XtAsY]

Basically as some of you may already know, I'm after a new CPU. Its either gonna be the X6800 or the QX6700. I've decided not to go for an E6600 because it doesnt have the unlocked multiplier like the x6800 does which I'd like to be able to play around and experiment with. However, as I do a lot of CPU rendering inside of Maya (thats a widely used 3d content creation package) I'm really considering a quad core as this is what I'm studying at uni. Also, I want to be able to run Crysis at highest details (already got an 8800 GTX) and I'm hearing rumours the game will run a lot better than on dual core. However, the price of the qx6700 is what puts me off. Is it likely to come down? I would be able to get an x6800 for £500 but I'd have to pay the full £760 for the qx6700. Guess it might be bit cheaper to look for one on an internet auction site (when they start appearing on there that is) So basically guys, I just need some advice on what would be the best all round processor for me. Cheers

 

[Gommsta]

In your position i personally would go for the quad core, if you're unable to wait.
As with most things electronic the longer you wait, the cheaper it gets.
The x6800 doesn't make a lot of sense to me.
I know you said you don't fancy an E6600 but you could easily clock one past x6800 speeds and then maybe get quadcore when a native solution comes out?

 

[XtAsY]

In your position i personally would go for the quad core, if you're unable to wait.
As with most things electronic the longer you wait, the cheaper it gets.
The x6800 doesn't make a lot of sense to me.
I know you said you don't fancy an E6600 but you could easily clock one past x6800 speeds and then maybe get quadcore when a native solution comes out?

thanks for the response,

when you say native, are you referring to the fact that the QX6700 is in fact 2 cores on 2 dies rather than all 4 cores on a single die? How would a native quad core solution be better?

Thanks

 

[Mordor]

The main advantage with a native solution would be that crosstalk between the 2 sets of cores would be over an on-die link, while the current "quickie" version of quads have to do core communication over the FSB which is inherently a lot slower than an on-die solution and as well it will then steal some of the fsb bandwidth from the normal communications between cpu-ram-hdds etc. But the performance difference between the 2 solutions under the same architecture is generally very limited (said to be in the 1-3% range). There are some situations and programs that might see a larger performance delta between the solutions.

IMO, I would say get a e6600, OC it up to 3ghz or a little over for a solid 24/7 clock and wait 4-6 months and grab a cheaper quad core then, and save a few bucks

 

[XtAsY]

decided to go quad as I'll be able to reap the benefits straight away when I'm doing all my 3d animation and rendering and stuff. Looking at the benchmarks, render times are almost cut in half with the extra 2 cores there. If I went dual core, that means I'd be waiting around a lot longer for a batch render to finish on a dual core.

 

[maddness]

good choice, you wont be dissapointed

 

[XtAsY]

so should I go retail or OEM I'm getting an aftermarket cooler obviously but I wont get a sticker with OEM Only 1 year warranty with OEM though....

 

[maddness]

if your spending that much then id get the retail tbh
(assuming your getting it from here)

 

[XtAsY]

if your spending that much then id get the retail tbh
(assuming your getting it from here)

yeh.. im getting it from here yeh, i think the extra warranty is deff worth it cos ill be needing the processor for my 3 years through uni. Thanks for everyones help on this thread.

 

[gjc10212]

decided to go quad as I'll be able to reap the benefits straight away when I'm doing all my 3d animation and rendering and stuff. Looking at the benchmarks, render times are almost cut in half with the extra 2 cores there. If I went dual core, that means I'd be waiting around a lot longer for a batch render to finish on a dual core.

Excellent choice - quad all the way.