Collection of Conroe Data. (Core 2 Duo and Core 2 Extreme!)

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For any of the old hands, here's a very, very good article on the difference that memory timings will have, between 4mb and 2mb cache Core 2 Duo processors.

http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/2006/07/18/core_2_duo_memory_timings/1.html
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FiringSquad did a similar test on memory timings. Their's focused mostly on games at 2 resolutions with single card and Crossfire. They tested DDR2 667 with 5-5-5 timings to DDR2 800 3-3-3 timings and DDR2 1067 5-5-5 timings. Not a huge amount of variation with DDR2 800 3-3-3 and DDR2 1067 5-5-5 obviously coming up on top. Decent DDR2 667 with 4-4-4 timings is quite sufficient for the average person though.

They're going to do an overclocking review next.
 
Question! We all know how Core 2 Duos are currently limited to the 1066 FSB. But is that limit due to the processor itself or the mobo? And if we do want to take advantage of the 1333 (or whatever) FSB, will have to buy a new CPU/mobo/both?
 
Overclocking options on the mobo will vary. On the CPU itself the multiplier will be locked on all the chips except the X6800. All the Conroe chips will allow modification of the FSB. For best OCing options, you should make sure the RAM you buy can handle the increase in the FSB.
 
From the early benchmarks it seems most of the limit on FSB is from the motherboard itself. It's because most mainstream motherboards have components that are only designed to withstand 1066MHz FSBs + standard overdesign. Enthousiasts boards are designed to withstand much higher FSBs and voltages needed to sustain them in order to allow for overclocking. If you want to have an FSB higher than 1066MHz you'll have to overclock manually. I believe the Bad-Axe BIOS has a 1333MHz FSB divider, but that's only a test feature and I don't believe that would work on Conroe so you'll have to overclock by individual MHz as usual.

In any case, no Conroe is officially supports a 1333MHz FSB so getting there will void your warranty. Individual overclocking results will vary and is determined by your experience (playing with timings and voltage) and cooling. If you aren't experienced with overclocking then I certainly wouldn't suggest to try to reach 1333MHz since that's a serious overclock.

In order to overclock you'll want to look for a good motherboard as mentioned before. Generally Intel motherboards just don't have the BIOS options for it. Boards based on the i975X chipset certainly will since that is an enthousiast board. Most P965 chipsets should also be good. Personally I'm partial to ASUS so the P5W DH Deluxe (i975X) and P5B Deluxe (P965) are great choices.

If you want specific help your going to have to provide more information though like you current or expected motherboard choice and price range if you plan on buying. You might have to wait a bit on prices though since Conroe isn't even launched yet.
 
Hi guys, I don't know if this is the right spot, but I found this and just thought I'd share it. (heck, it may have been posted already, if so im sorry...)
http://secure.hypersonic-pc.com/scripts/custom_sys.aspx?sysid=boom

If you look at the processor its the core2, all 3 options are.

i like reading the collection of core 2 stuff. :wink:
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Not sure if you notice but the X6800 ships after 7/31 and the others ship after 8/7. Tells me that Intel has probably already sent the X6800 chips and the others will be available for the launch.
 
Just a heads up to everyone the Gigabyte GA-965P-DQ6 are now on New Egg. I went ahead and ordered one disregarding my previous concerns (I keep my fingers crossed). Anyways, it looks like a good board with features similar to the ASUS P5W DH Deluxe and the P5B DH Deluxe just minus the WIFI and remote.
 
Just a heads up to everyone the Gigabyte GA-965P-DQ6 are now on New Egg. I went ahead and ordered one disregarding my previous concerns (I keep my fingers crossed). Anyways, it looks like a good board with features similar to the ASUS P5W DH Deluxe and the P5B DH Dwluxe just winus the WIFI and remote.
Click to expand...

If you do more shopping, you can find the dq6 @ ewiz for < $220... Is ewiz crazy charging low? or newegg crazy charging high? I think somewhere in between but would happily take the $50 savings. Personally I think asus offers more features at the same price (eg. x8 xfire)... Though dq6 does support the next kentsfield chip.
 
is the kentsfield the quad core one? if yes i think that the asus p5w dh deluxe has support for it already i think it saiz in the specs"supports next generation of multicores" or something like it.
 
Interesting thread with some unique E6700 benches (stock 2.66Ghz, actual 3.2Ghz). It's in German but the pictures are either English or self-explanatory.

http://www.hardwareoc.at/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=1227&sid=f5905047a481132fb9196c9e3ec99b9b

In particular I was after the rc5-72 bench (http://www.hardwareoc.at/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=1227&sid=f5905047a481132fb9196c9e3ec99b9b)

For those familiar with it, Conroe has a minor Achilles' heel with the RSA algorithm that makes it clock-for-clock slower than the Athlon64. Still, its higher clock range and overclocking headroom compared to Athlon64 make the two comparable with key rates.
 
Personally, I would avoid the Intel one since they usually don't come with very good overclocking options at all. That might not be as relevent for you, but their integrated audio also appears weaker than ASUS or Gigabyte. I'm assuming since you are getting a budget system that you'll be relying on integrated audio. Personally, I'm an ASUS fan myself, but the Gigabyte is $20 cheaper and seems very well equipped. The solid capacitors they use are supposed to be better quality, last longer, and don't leak. It's really a marketing feature, but it's still nice to have.

Have you looked at Abit?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813127005

They have been quite for a while, but they're making a come back now and are offering great value. The AB9 for example only costs $148 yet comes with an excellent cooling system for the motherboard. Certainly better than the Gigabyte while in it's price range. You'll have to see if someone else here has more personal experience with Abit or Gigabyte.

For RAM what type are you looking at right now? DDR2 800 prices have actually dropped quite a bits so DDR2 667 isn't as attractive as it once was. It depends on your specific price range though.
 
Beware the ABIT if you intend to use IDE, it sits right on top of one of the PCI slots - in the middle of the board! :evil:

The rest is great, but that is poorly designed.
 
Personally, I would avoid the Intel one since they usually don't come with very good overclocking options at all. That might not be as relevent for you, but their integrated audio also appears weaker than ASUS or Gigabyte. I'm assuming since you are getting a budget system that you'll be relying on integrated audio. Personally, I'm an ASUS fan myself, but the Gigabyte is $20 cheaper and seems very well equipped. The solid capacitors they use are supposed to be better quality, last longer, and don't leak. It's really a marketing feature, but it's still nice to have.

Have you looked at Abit?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813127005

They have been quite for a while, but they're making a come back now and are offering great value. The AB9 for example only costs $148 yet comes with an excellent cooling system for the motherboard. Certainly better than the Gigabyte while in it's price range. You'll have to see if someone else here has more personal experience with Abit or Gigabyte.

For RAM what type are you looking at right now? DDR2 800 prices have actually dropped quite a bits so DDR2 667 isn't as attractive as it once was. It depends on your specific price range though.
Click to expand...

I'm wanting to avoid Abit due to horrible placement of the IDE as Hoppy said, and also because it only has 2 PCI vs the 3 on the ASUS and Gigabyte. I really like the Gigabyte, it seems like a very well designed board IMO. Also, can any of you tell me if the Gigabyte has a native IDE? I heard that a lot of newer mobos do not have native IDE (since I plan to use a IDE optical to install my OS).

I'm currently looking at some Corsair DDR2 667.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820145015

Will stock DDR2 800 perform better? I was told that Core 2 CPUs don't benefit much from better memory unless you plan to OC. I could go for some 5-5-5-15 DDR2 800 memory if I'll see a good boost over 4-4-4-12 DDR2 667 (they're both similarly priced).
 
Question!
Are there any comparisons between a stock 4600+ and a E6300? I can't find any... if not, which do you guys think is better (at stock speeds!).
 
Since almost every benchmark I have read puts the 6300 above an FX-60 on most tests, and the FX-60 is FAR superior to the 4600 X2, I think its safe to make this reference:
E6300 > FX-60 > X2 4600+

E6300 still wins.
 
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