Processor – G0 Stepping is a must
Let’s move on to the technical details of the processors and how to recognize the right model and stepping.
| Core 2 Quad Q6600 | Core 2 Duo E6750 | |
| Code Name | Kentsfield | Conroe |
| Taktrate | 2.40 GHz | 2.66 GHz |
| FSB | 266 MHz | 333 MHz |
| Multiplier | 9x | 8x |
| L2-Cache | 2x 4 MB | 1x 4 MB |
| TDP | 95 Watts | 65 Watts |
| Stepping | G0 | G0 |
| sSpec Number | SLACR | SLA9V |
| Fabrication Process | 65 nm | 65 nm |
The Core 2 Quad Q6600 with the Kentsfield core runs at 2.4 GHz on a 266 MHz FSB (1066 QDR). Its lower FSB gives it an advantage when overclocking, since the motherboard’s northbridge does not need to be able to reach extremely high clock speeds. The CPU consists of four cores, with two cores each sharing 4 MB of L2 cache. Theoretically, its power consumption is twice that of the Core 2 Duo, since it contains twice as many cores.
Intel’s Core 2 Duo E6750 uses the Conroe core and runs at 2.66 GHz, slightly faster than the Q6600. The dual-core chip’s FSB is also faster, running at 333 MHz (1333 QDR), which means that the motherboard has to deal with higher frequencies when the processor is overclocked. The CPU’s two cores share 4 MB of L2 cache.
Buying the Right Model
Not every shop gives you the processor’s stepping version. In some cases, the sSpec number, which precisely identifies the processor, can also provide more information. If you buy the CPU in a brick-and-mortar store, the stepping version probably won’t be stated, neither on the box nor on the processor itself. This is where the sSpec number comes in, which you can find at the end of the product code of the CPU’s retail box.
Our processors are unfortunately not very good demonstration material, since they are both engineering samples that don’t possess such sSpec numbers.
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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?