new build - E6600 versus Q6600

jones

I'm just starting my new build and was wondering what people thought was the best option in the processor department.
Originally I was getting the Dual Core E6600 but with the Quad Core version out now "Q6600" I'm thinking should I go with the more 'future proof' version and spend that extra now???

I am aware that I wont see a massive increase in performance over the E6600atm as most games/apps aren't coded for quad core yet.

Basically is the Q6600 worth the extra money over the E6600???
anyone else having the same predicament?

hopeful

jones wrote:

Basically is the Q6600 worth the extra money over the E6600???
anyone else having the same predicament?

I don't have enough money to be in that predicament

Tis a good question..I've not seen direct comparison tests between the two yet. I'm guessing that the Quad will put out more heat and therefore will overclock less (or need more exotic cooling).
The lack of applications/games that multithread properly are few and far between. I'm guessing that the processor will be due for replacement before many are produced.

I'm just jealous that you have the choice really

jones

wouldn't usually have the money but SSIA came out yesterday so happy days

i agree with your think on "I'm guessing that the processor will be due for replacement before many are produced." it may well happen and so am i better off just going with the far cheaper 6600!! decisions decisions

Stephen

It depends, if you use your PC for stuff like encoding video, a lot of encoders now have SMP support, so you would see some pretty good speed gains there.

jones

i'll be mostly gaming and then regular internet use etc.
just trying to work out if its worth it going for quad core if i'm not going to see anything take advantage of it

8T8

jones wrote:

i'll be mostly gaming and then regular internet use etc.
just trying to work out if its worth it going for quad core if i'm not going to see anything take advantage of it

For those sort of tasks quad core is useless better off spending money on the E6700 instead.

jones

i was coming around to that thinking myself!
tbh my pc will be used mostly for high end gaming but maybe the E6700 would be a nice trade off between the Quad and Dual core 6600.

uberpixie

jones wrote:

i'll be mostly gaming and then regular internet use etc.
just trying to work out if its worth it going for quad core if i'm not going to see anything take advantage of it

Just get the E6600 and save the extra €280 euro and spend it on something that will actually make a difference in games.

I.e. better gfx card, more ram, a dacent set of speakers and a good sound etc....

hopeful

And of course, overclock the 6600 until it catches fire

DirkVoodoo

Exactly, if you are looking to game then the core2duos are grand. Only game i know of so far that seems to makes use of quad core is supreme commander. Wait till it becomes more mainstream unless you do lots of heavy CPU work as mentioned above.

jesus_thats_gre

Any multi-threaded game will take advantage of 2 or more cores. Supreme Commander is the first mainstream multi-threaded game released - afaik anyway.

Come the launch of Half Life 2: Episode 2, all source based games will be multi-threaded.

Crysis will also be multi-threaded. Unreal Tournament 2007 will also be multi-threaded. Any games based on the Unreal 3 engine will also be multi-threaded.

Multi-threaded development will also receive a massive boost as developers move to the PS3 and Xbox 360.

IMO, the majority of big games released towards the end of the year will take advantage of two or more cores, i.e. the Crytech2, Unreal 3 and Source engines will form the basis of a large percentage of the big titles released this year.

Soooo, following on from that, I would defo consider going quad core if the outlaw is not overly prohibitive.

This is a good options - and overclock the ****e out of anything you get:

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CP-150-IN&groupid=701&catid=6&subcat=793