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processor
(23 posts)
Oz, what do you mean by "where does this processor rate"? I happen to have one of those and I consider it very poor. The Geek also has one and is raving about it. I guess it depends what you are doing. The only time I have seen it earn it's money was with Video editing. Other than that, it is just another 2.4GHz processor. There are faster quads, but the good ones cost a lot of money - and that's the only argument that speaks for the Q6600, it's cheap.
Oz, check the CPU charts at Tom's Hardware to see how the Q6600 rates against other current procs:
http://www.tomshardware.com/ch.....ks,31.html
And, you get to choose your benchmark so you can look at the type of operations that you are most interested in. As far as upgrades, if you stick with Intel Core2 Quads (C2Q), the Q6600 is basically now the entry level. Next up in 65nm is Q6700. Then, in 45nm, the Q8200 is a more entry level with less cache and a slower clock speed. The rest leap ahead of the Q6600: Q9300, Q9400, Q9450, Q9550, and Q9650. All of the Core2 Extreme Quad Cores (QXnnnn) would also be upgrades. See Intel's comparison charts here:
http://compare.intel.com/pcc/d.....ture=en-US
Oz, That's an interesting story. How old is this XPS that you have changed all but the CPU in? Does that change-all include the motherboard? The easy things to get to are RAM, hard drive(s), graphics, optical drive. Did anything else get changed? What about power -- the PSU? -- and cooling: fans, heatsinks? Well, it's good to know that the XPS is (was?) a good pre-made box for modifying.
i just got it in july, i haven't changed the mother board but the power supply, hard drives, dvd drives, etc. just the add-ons i've changed. the graphic card and tv tuner are fine, it came with 4 gigs of ram. it's already fast and stable, i was just filling in the blank spots inside.
Oz, just another thought. I have read a lot of positive reports about overclocking the Q6600. It can apparently be pushed to at least 3.2GHz. Maybe that's an option for you rather than changing the whole CPU. Note that I have not done that myself because I do not really need that kind of power. See this article for details.
The purpose is obvious, it makes the processor faster. But it also makes it hotter. The cooling has to be adequate. If the heat is controlled, there should be no side effects. But the Q6600 has been overclocked to more than 4GHz - so if you stay in the 3 GHz range, there should still be a safety margin.
Hmm, we're talking about $180. Get as much info and war stories from the web as you can. Well prepared, it should work. Maybe some of the hardware geeks around here have more detailed advice. Why don't you start a new thread like "Need advice for overclocking a Q6600". I am sure you'll get useful inputs.
jd, I am usually not a fan of those kinds of "tunings" either. But there seems to be a big fan community that has overclocked the Q6600 all the way to 4 GHz. If Oz wants to have fun, he should do it. Worst thing that can happen is a blue screen (or the house burning down - lol). For starters he can always put ice packs around it.
@whs & @jd2066,
In all seriousness; (whs) is Correct !!!!
Most of us "ole timers" have been doing this kinda stuff for years beginning when the first CPUs were produced.
Nothing wrong with running on the edge.
One just has to know where the edge is and not fall off :) :)
Kindest Regards,
Rick P.♦ :)
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