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Tell me about quad core Intels

6xxx are 65nm CPU's 9xxx are 45nm CPU's.

Clock for Clock the 9xxx are slightly faster and use less juice.

The 9xxx also have a faster FSB atr 1333 rather then 1066.
 
THe Q6000 (Kentsfield) quads are the first generation of intel core 2 quad cores and are somewhat legendary as they are old tech but overclock very well and hold up in modern games and apps, they use the 65nm process. This is the only Kentsfield chip currently available, and a very good chip at that.

The Q9000 series quads are called "Yorkield", they have loads of cache (12MB L2), are 45nm and faster clock-for-clock compared to the Kentsfields (around 15% I believe). They run very cool and overclock well (especially the newer E0 steppings). This is the cheapest Yorkfield available.

There are Q8000 series quads, but they don't have much cache and don't overclock fantastically. If you are wanting to spend money on a Q8000 series, you may be better looking at the Q6700.

One thing that needs to be confirmed before you press the buy button on your new quad, can your motherboard support it? If you post your motherboard model name/number i'll be happy to tell you which quads are compatible.
 
cmndr_andi said:
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Thanks, very informative! The MB is a Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3L. The Gigabyte website suggests it supports most if not all quads if I upgrade the BIOS firmware.

One more question then. The E2200 is cooled by a Scythe Mini-Ninja at the moment. If I switch to a faster quad and buy OEM so I have no HSF will this cut it? I don't really have any overclocking plans.
 
P35, excellent. That will indeed support all of the Quads, 45nm included. With that in mind, my suggestion would be to go for the Q9450 I linked to above.

As for the cooler, the Mini-Ninja is a great cooler. If you don't plan to overclock much, then you will be running nice and cool, its a heck of a lot better than the stock intel cooler.
 
Absolutely. You'll have no problem with DDR2 800 (PC-6400) :)

Edit: For your needs, I'd recommend the Q9450 as well. I'm about to get a 9650 hopefully! (Well not hopefully, one way or another I'll have one by Monday Evening!)
 
SiD the Turtle said:
I'm looking to rebuild my E2200 HTPC as my main machine, replacing the processor with perhaps a quad. Which quad is which confuses me somewhat
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Hi SiD the Turtle,

sorry to throw a spanner in the works, especially after everyone made some nice posts describing the LGA775 quads . . .

I don't think it's the wisest move bunging good money at your LGA775 HTPC when the new LGA1156 Lynnfield Quad-Cores are up for grabs and I would seriously consider flogging your existing LGA775 chip, LGA775 Mobo and DDR2 memory and starting again! . . . If you do that maths you may find out it won't cost you that much if you can be bothered to sell your older kit.

If you are feeling Sloth like then a used Intel® Core™2 Quad Q6600 would probably be the way to go but it's a lot more power hungry than a Lynnfield Quad-core so I don't think it's the best choice for a HTPC! :cool:

Intel Core i5 750 2.66Ghz (Lynnfield)
Socket LGA1156

£139.99 inc VAT This Week Only Offer
 
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There's also the AMD path so your spoilt for choice! :)

I like the Lynnfield because it's offers the possibility of combining your gaming pc and HTPC into a single machine, all that's needed now is the new Radeons that apparently idle at very low wattage!

I dunno what your personal set-up is but I'm guessing you have multiple machines?
 
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