E6850 vs Q6600

[cmmcnamara]

Hey everyone, I've read for a while but this is my first post. My question regards the Core 2 Duo E6850 which is at 3.0 Ghz and a 1333MHz FSB and the Core 2 Quad Q6600 which is at 2.4Ghz and 1066MHz FSB. I've been researching for an new gaming rig and seeing how these two are at nearly identical price points I'm having trouble deciding. For starters I realize that the E6850 is better for game at the moment because of its speed. But at the same time the Q6600 has the additional two cores which may not be used now but I'm looking forward to their usage in games like Alan Wake as well as their flat out multi-tasking abilities. Also I have never over clocked before without hardware assistance (eg. my motherboard only lets me over clock my CPU via percentages like 5%, 10%, nothing can be done manually.) and when I have it was simply to try, nothing that I kept longer than 10 minutes. So I know that I've heard the Q6600 can be overclocked to the 3.0 Ghz point which essentially would make it a E6850 with 2 additional cores. However being that I am unexperienced at overclocking I'd like to know the consequences of this. I do not want to damage a $250+ item in my rig. I read here at TomsHardware.com about something called electron migration which damages the core and whatnot. I've also gathered that by simply upping the FSB from 1066 to 1333 on the Q6600 will bring it to the 3.0 point. So tell me, what to do? To the advantages outweight the disadvantages? If the effect on my CPU from overclocking will shorten its life by 4 years when it's life expectancy is 10 that would be fine--I plan to upgrade before it get's close to that point. Is 3.0 Ghz a safe overclock? Thanks for your help in advance!

Oh and by the way I'd like to stay away from water cooling as well.

 

[night_wolf_in]

yeah, u can overclock it. there is a guide for overclocking. which explains things in many details. go read it, it is very simple.

i myself overclocked my q6600 to 3ghz n im happy with it.

 

[nxcmp]

I myself have overclocked my E6850 from 3.0 to 3.6gHz. It can be air cooled with proper room temp and air circulation. 3.6 will work with Stepping turned on or off (I ask for caution on turning stepping off, I will not be responsible for any damage that might come from overheat if occurs) and core voltage can stay on auto, any higher and it will need to be maintained from my experience.

-Steve

 

[dobby]

okay dokey, the general concencious among gamers and enthusiasts is that you should get the quad. theres a THG article. although most games you buy now (or torrent, ha) might currently prefer the due, give it a few months (think COD4, Crysis) benefit greatly from the quad advantage. btw: a good idea is to set the q6600 fsb 1333 then you are at the same levels and it get there on the stock HS/F

 

[chookman]

might currently prefer the due, give it a few months (think COD4, Crysis) benefit greatly from the quad advantage.

If it doesnt support it now in the base code, how will a small patch applied give quad core improvements? the way i see it if it dont work now then it wont period. Besides from what ive seen these games are VERY GPU dependant so the cpu may not come into play enough for quad to have an improvement.

 

[zombeat]

Hi, im wondering about the same thing, I appreciated your comments but I would like that you leave overclocking away from the evaluation, since both processors can benefit equaly from it, stating an article i red here on tom's:

-"Overclocking: Dual- vs. Quad-Core CPUs

by Bert Töpelt

November 8, 2007 07:04
Conclusions: Intel Quad-Core And MSI P35 Neo2 Get Our Nod

In general, we can say that overclocking definitely pays off, regardless of whether you choose the dual-core or the quad-core CPU".....

i studied them both in the benchmarks matchups, and it seems that Q6600 Quad-Core is better at processing, multi-tasks, most multimedia tasks , while the Core-Duo E6850 won most of the FPS-based benchmarks ( better for gaming ?)
i do a lot of both (a lot of photoshop and audio editing, 3d renderings, unreal tournament, world of warcraft) , i cannot priorise one over another, so it boils down to finding the best overall cpu
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Core 2 Quad Q6600 Processor Intel Core 2 Duo E6850 Dual Core Processor
GHz 2.40 3.00 GHz
FSB 1066 VS 1333 FSB
MB 4x2 2x2 MB
$ 271.00 271.00 $

Thanks in advance for bringing new perspectives on that matchup