The Processors – E6750 or Q6600?
Let’s begin by taking a look at the component which arguably has the greatest impact on a system’s performance – the CPU.
When selecting the right CPU, the stepping plays a very important role. Only the current G0 stepping of the 65 nm generations’ dual-core and quad-core CPUs ensures the highest overclocking potential. Also, these processors with this stepping are also more energy efficient.
Our Q6600 uses the popular G0 stepping and is competing against...
...the E6750, also using the G0 stepping, in our overclocking duel.
Of course, you can also buy CPUs with the older B3 (quad-core) or B2 (dual core) steppings, but those older versions’ overclocking headroom is much lower.
A comparison of the current prices for G0-stepping processors makes a purchase decision easier. Within the quad-core family, the Q6600 sells at an unbeatably low price. In the dual-core segment, the E6750 hits the value-for-money sweet spot of its class.
| Processor | Price |
|---|---|
| Core 2 Extreme QX6850 | €840 |
| Core 2 Quad Q6600 | €215 |
| Core 2 Quad Q6700 | €455 |
| Core 2 Duo E6550 | €140 |
| Core 2 Duo E6750 | €155 |
| Core 2 Duo E6850 | €220 |
We decided to compare the Core 2 Quad Q6600 and the Core 2 Duo E6750 in this review. In the past, readers have asked us about the Core 2 Duo E6850, whose price tag is almost identical to that of the quad-core part. Since both models reach approximately the same clock speeds, we chose the E6750, which is cheaper and thus offers better value for you money – a main concern in this review. In the end, it is your decision whether you choose the more expensive dual-core model – the results presented in this article apply to both parts, as both offer identical performance.
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so what you just said, is the newer stuff is better
i dont know why they take 10 pages to show what can be said in 1 page + a few graphs
On top of that Crysis is meant to be very cpu dependant and prefers 4 cores - it's the way things are going
Hmm, if they'd have gone for a different motherboard they could have gotten the q6600 to 3.6 on air.
Dunno if you have a duff chip or mobo. I have a Q6600 and exactly the same cooler and I can do 3.41 GHz at stock voltage on a Gigabyte 965P-DS3P.
"Its stock clock speed is 2.4 GHz, which it operates at using a comparatively low core voltage of 1.3125 Volts – the lowest core voltage available for this chip"
Wrong my Q6600 is 1.26V although it runs slightly higher in practice.
http://i152.photobucket.com/albums [...] s/Quad.jpg
I guess this shows how OC'ing can vary depending on luck. Even hand picking the best S numbers is no guarantee. A bit of luck (unless you have deep pockets) can be key.
Fortunately for myself, my Q6600 is 1.28v core, and hits 3.6GHz with only slight bump.
Indeed electron migration is a significant issue at high Vcore but realistically most of us overclocking are probably running 6-12 month cycles on our hardware (at least from my experience) and the cost of killing a mid range part every year against taking a top end part is still more cost effective.
That's given only one CPU in the past 15 that I've OC'd have failed (possibly luck?) on me and that was due to a faulty voltage regulator on my motherboard
Very nice review/test. Highly informative. I was gonna buy a 6850 or a quad core but now im just gonna grab the low cost msi board and a 6750 and spent my cash elsewhere.
question, you end up recommending the MSI motherboard, but the test system states that you used the gigabyte for the test. Will i be able to get the same clocking abilities with the MSI?