Upgrading E6700 to Cord2Quad?

[Trunkz_Jr]

I'm thinking of upgrading my CPU, he's my setup

EVGA GeForce GTX 275
Intel Core 2 Duo E6700
X-FI Xtreme Gamer
OCZ SLI-Ready Dual Channel 8 gig ram
EVGA Nforce 680I SLI Motherboard
Thermaltake VA8003BWS Black ATX Tower Case
Windows Vista x64

Just wondering which Cord2Quads I can put in.

 

[Bluescreendeath]

Probably 65nm quads such as the Q6x00 series. Maybe 45nm quads if your mobo has a BIOS update that supports it.

Q6600s go for about $100-$120 used on ebay.

 

[saaiello]

This is straight from EVGA website

Socket 775:
Wolfdale **
E8600 - 1333 FSB - 3.33 GHz
E8500 - 1333 FSB - 3.16 GHz
E8400 - 1333 FSB - 3.00 GHz
E8300 - 1333 FSB - 2.83 GHz
E8200 - 1333 FSB - 2.66 GHz
E7400 - 1066 FSB - 2.80 GHz
E7300 - 1066 FSB - 2.66 GHz
E7200 - 1066 FSB - 2.53 GHz
Kentsfield
QX6850 - 1333 FSB - 3.00 GHz
QX6800 - 1066 FSB - 2.93 GHz
QX6700 - 1066 FSB - 2.66 GHz
Q6700 - 1066 FSB - 2.66 GHz
Q6600 - 1066 FSB - 2.40 GHz
Conroe
X6800 - 1066 FSB - 2.93 GHz
E6700 - 1066 FSB - 2.66 GHz
E6600 - 1066 FSB - 2.40 GHz
E6420 - 1066 FSB - 2.13 GHz
E6400 - 1066 FSB - 2.13 GHz
E6320 - 1066 FSB - 1.86 GHz
E6300 - 1066 FSB - 1.86 GHz
Presler, Smithfield, Cedarmill and Prescott family processors are not fully tested on the 6 series motherboards.
Yorkfield Core 2 Quad processors are not supported on the 6 series motherboards.
** The latest BIOS update is necessary to run Wolfdale Core 2 processors

So Q8xxx and Q9xxx are not going to work you will have to go with a Q6xxx

 

[Trunkz_Jr]

So the best I could get for mine is a QX6850? how much better is that then my E6700?

 

[saaiello]

It will be a big gain of performance but try finding one at a decent price isnt going to happen your looking at $250 to $300 for that processor and around $180 for a Q6600 for that money you can buy a Phenom II that will be much faster then the QX6850. If you are really serious about upgradeing you could prob sell your motherboard and cpu on ebay for around 100.

For a good quad on a budget an AMD Phenom II x4 965 BE will be a better choice then a Q6xxx. The 965BE will be a good bit faster then all then a QX6850. For around 250 you can get a decent AMD motherboard and the Phenom II 965BE and reuse your DDR2 ram for 250 or for around 300 you can move up to DDR3 ram.

 

[saaiello]

This benchmark will show you how much better the Phenom II is compared to a Q6600.


http://www.anandtech.com/bench/default.aspx?p=53&p2=102&c=1

 

[Trunkz_Jr]

So this AMD Phenom II X4 965 BE will fit in my motherboard? And it's better then a Q6600? And I'll see a huge difference between one of these and my E6700?

I also Have an I7 with a 5750 I got as my second computer for my friend to use, we play Battlefield Bad Company 2 side by side, but obviously I'd like to upgrade the one I use that has the E6700, I'm not too picky on price, but if you say this Phenom is better and will fit in then the Q6600 then I might look into that one.

Again I don't mind about price, I just wanna get the best I can for my motherboard before I need to do a complete upgrade (the I7 I got replaced a P4 3.0 setup).

 

[saaiello]

You need to get a new motherboard for the Phenom II. If you dont mind spending the 200 on an outdated obsplete processor go for it. But you would be betyter off replaceing the motherboard and processor with these.

Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128342

CPU
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103727

Total 241.98

Replace motherboard and CPU with those and reuse everything else you have and it will be a great gameing rig.

 

[Trunkz_Jr]

I don't really know how to replace a motherboard lol I'd probably better off just doing the CPU, what which would be the best I could get for it XD

 

[saaiello]

Well replaceing the motherboard is very simple its 6 screws that holds it in the case anybody can do it. But if you are that determined to throw an obsolete processor in there your best bet would be to go with a Q6600 but to get decent framerates in gameing you will have to learn how to overclock it no matter what Q6xxx your gonna have to overclock it to get a good gaming experience.

Whatch this video and also whattch the videos about installing the motherboard and cpu
http://www.ehow.com/video_4767040_change-motherboard.html


also look it up on youtube

 

[Trunkz_Jr]

How much better is the Q6600 from the E6700

 

[saaiello]

For gaming you will not see much of an improvement

 

[outlw6669]

How much better is the Q6600 from the E6700

Not enough to justify the cost.
As with above, save a bit more for a new motherboard, CPU and RAM together.

 

[rodney_ws]

If the OP is uncomfortable replacing a motherboard, I think it's safe to say he'll be uncomfortable reloading his OS/drivers/apps... so I think his best bet is to get the cheapest, used Intel quadcore he can find that is supported by his mobo... and overclock it to 3.2-3.6 GHz to help bring it up to more modern speeds.

 

[Bluescreendeath]

Just get yourself a Q6600 for about $100, and overclock it. It overclocks to 3.6GHz easily and depending on the stepping, will sometimes reach 4.0GHz on good air cooling.

Comparing a PhenomII 965 with a Q6600 is ridiculous since the PII is a 45nm chip at 3.4GHz and the Q6600 is 65nm at 2.4GHz...an entire 1GHz difference.

When the Q6600 is overclocked to the same speeds at a PhenomII, it will perform about the same.

The OP's best option is to get a used Q6600...not replace his motherboard for an AMD chip.


As you can see from these benchmarks, a Q6600 @ 2.4GHz performs roughly the same as a PhenomII x4 around 2.5GHz

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/default.aspx?p=53&p2=86&c=1

An overclocked Q6600 will have no trouble rivaling a stock PhenomII x4

 

[saaiello]

Ok yea overclocked Q6600 will keep up with a phenom II x4. Ok well overclock the Phenom to 3.8 4 ghz and the q6600 has no chance. To get a Q6600 to perform on par with a Phenom you would have to overclock it to its max just to get in the same ballpark. IDK where you see Q6600 for $100 every where i see them they go for 180 to 200 so if you spending that why wouldnt you go to a newer processor its just makes sence. But hell if you can find one for 100 go for it.

 

[Bluescreendeath]

Ok yea overclocked Q6600 will keep up with a phenom II x4. Ok well overclock the Phenom to 3.8 4 ghz and the q6600 has no chance. To get a Q6600 to perform on par with a Phenom you would have to overclock it to its max just to get in the same ballpark. IDK where you see Q6600 for $100 every where i see them they go for 180 to 200 so if you spending that why wouldnt you go to a newer processor its just makes sence. But hell if you can find one for 100 go for it.

1. A Q6600 is equal to or marginally better than a PII when at the same speeds. A Q6600 can overclock to 3.6GHz easily and 4.0GHz and over with some effort.

2. Ebay usually have Q6600s for $120-$140. There have been people here on tomshardware's classifieds selling it around the same price as well.

3. He already has a 775 motherboard so the best & cheapest option is just get a Core2Quad. Yeh buying a new AMD PII and AMD motherboard will give him more performance, but the performance wouldn't be worth the time and cost.

 

[outlw6669]

1. A Q6600 is equal to or marginally better than a PII when at the same speeds. A Q6600 can overclock to 3.6GHz easily and 4.0GHz and over with some effort.

2. Ebay usually have Q6600s for $120-$140. There have been people here on tomshardware's classifieds selling it around the same price as well.

3. He already has a 775 motherboard so the best & cheapest option is just get a Core2Quad. Yeh buying a new AMD PII and AMD motherboard will give him more performance, but the performance wouldn't be worth the time and cost.

1) Correct. Intel's Kenstfield is roughly equal, to just a hair better, than the Phenom II arch clock-for-clock.

I think you are confusing the overclocking ability of the 45nm Yorkfield arch with this 65nm Kentsfield though.
While a Q6600 can be pushed to 3.6Ghz, it is quite a stretch and requires very good cooling.
I have never seen one running above 3.6Ghz with out excessive and unsafe voltage.
A more realistic goal would be 3-3.4Ghz, assuming the cooling is good enough.

2) Sure you can but how bad has it been abused in the past?
I personally would never buy a CPU, or any used computer component for that matter, from fleBay.

3) Cheapest, yes.
Best, debatable.

Keep in mind that the nForce 680i is a heat machine and a questionable overclocker.
I would not expect to get more than 3-3.2Ghz out of a used and abused CPU and this board.
From what I remember of this chipset, even that may be pushing it.

Yes, getting a used Q6600 is defiantly the least expensive upgrade path.
Personally, I would consider that $100ish better saved towards a $300ish platform/CPU/RAM upgrade.
My 0,02€

 

[Trunkz_Jr]

Places like NCIX or Tigerdirect.ca aren't even selling the Q6600 even if I wanted to buy it new lol

 

[Trunkz_Jr]

What Duo cores is my board about to have then, maybe I could just get like an E8500 or something?

 

[Raidur]

With a GTX 275 you won't be able to tell the difference with even an i7 extreme and a Q6600 (with a slight OC especially) let alone a phenom II.

Go for a Q6600 and a little overclock and save yourself some money and be good for another couple years.

Also guys go look on toms charts of a QX6850 vs Phenom II 940 and you'll see just how close kentsfield IPC is to Deneb (Phenom II), its quite surprising/sad to say the least.

 

[Trunkz_Jr]

How come when I match a E6750 (they didnt have 6700 listed) against a Q6600 it doesnt seem that much better (or maybe Im missing something)

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/default.aspx?p=60&p2=53&c=1

 

[outlw6669]

That is because the E6750 (and your current E6700) runs at 2.66Ghz while the Q6600 is at 2.4Ghz.
The performance between your E6700 and the E6750 are directly comparable.
Unless the software in question is able to utilise more than 2 threads, the dual core's higher clock speed will allow it to outperform the quad core.

Unless you are mainly working with multi-threaded apps, your current E6700 will outperform a stock Q6600 in most cases.
If you wish to have better performance in all situations, overclocking the Q6600 to at least 3Ghz would be recommended.
[strike]This will give it performance directly comparable to the QX6850 in the benchmarks you list.[/strike]

Edit:

Woops, there is no QX6850 on there...
Instead use the Q9550 as a rough comparison point.
It should perform about the same to just a bit better than a 3Ghz Q6600.