Which CPU Q9300 or Q6600 @ same price
saltydog806
Bowie MD
Micro Center has intel's Q9300 on sale for $179. I had been looking at getting the Q6600 at the same price. I do fold, want to overclock and play the newest games. The chip will be going on a Gigabyte X38-DQ6 mobo.So which should I buy? The sale ends this Sunday so I need to decide soon.
HAPPY HOLIDAYS ALL
HAPPY HOLIDAYS ALL
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Comments
If you had a P45 board, the Q9300 would be a better choice. 45nm chips run cooler and P45 boards can push crazy high FSBs -- more than enough to make up for the low multiplier.
Stock or only moderate overclocking? Q9300.
Q6600s overclock like crazy, but you need good cooling and a quality power supply.
Q9300 is 45nm - less power draw and potentially cooler running. It also has 6MB L2 cache, which is 50% more than the 4MB of the Q6600. L2 is very important for SMP Folding@Home.
You are going to have a great processor with either choice. Keep in mind, the Q9300 at stock will fold as well as the Q6600 with a moderate overclock, but you can overclock the Q6600 to 3.5 or higher with the right motherboard and good cooling.
Q6600 has 8MB L2. (I know you know this, Leo. Late night? )
I think Buddy pretty much nailed it.
Thanks for the info folks. I decided to get the Q9300 at the sale price however they are now sold out.