this is a very good review Q6600 verses E8500

[trt740]

This question Dual core or Quad core is asked a bunch and this get to the point.

http://3dxtreme.net/index.php?id=e8500vsq6600p1


So while the overclocking results look just great, there are things to be concerned about with 45nm. One more thing I didn’t graph out here was the re-encoding of video. Using the multi-threaded ConvertX to DVD the E8500 was able to encode at about 350 FPS, where the quad was about 320 FPS. So even in the one thing that quads would excel at the sheer frequency of the E8500 won out.

Important Information on 45nm

There are a few things that are noteworthy. When overclocking these chips the E0 E8500 would be stable one minute and not the next. This was something really frustrating, it would run a 10 hour Prime95 session without a problem, then a few minutes later would fail 2 minutes in at the exact same settings. I ran into this with all the 45nm chips I’ve used and that would be about 6 chips now (C0 and E0). The 65nm chips just proved to be more reliable as far as this is concerned. Once stable at a set overclock, I could go back and run Prime95 at any time later and it will still pass successfully. The memory has been memtested stable, I have run Prime95 blend as well. I think many people that have used 45nm can relate to this however. There is another concern with 45nm and that is degredation. At first these chips look to be magnificent overclockers – in fact this chip was doing 4.5 @ 1.35v when I first got it overtime they degrade and now it requires 1.37v to be stable for the same speed it was able to run 1.35v at. There are a lot of threads on this at XtremeSystems and I encourage readers and prospective 45nm buyers to read up on this and make yourself aware of it. There is also the issue with voltage and 45nm. Intel suggests 1.36v as the “safe” voltage, anything above 1.45v will damage the gates of the CPU. I keep my 45nm chips under 1.41v just to be safe – overtime though no one is sure what the result will be. Since mine are all lapped I’d be SOL if it suddenly up and died.

Conclusion

So while the overclocking results look just great, there are things to be concerned about with 45nm. One more thing I didn’t graph out here was the re-encoding of video. Using the multi-threaded ConvertX to DVD the E8500 was able to encode at about 350 FPS, where the quad was about 320 FPS. So even in the one thing that quads would excel at the sheer frequency of the E8500 won out.

This was disappointing and unexpected. In the future as games begin to use more threads this will change, but who knows how much longer it’s going to take. A recently released game STALKER Clear Sky is only single threaded! Quad cores have been on the market for a few years and the games that actually take advantage of them are few and far between. Lost Planet is definitely faster with a quad, but that’s one game and not a favorite of mine. Gamers overclocking and looking for the best gaming performance should be looking at 45nm dual cores; I can’t believe I’m even saying that. As someone hell bent on keeping the quad in my machine because there was a placebo effect of it feeling smoother I’m truly surprised by the results. In my previous tests with C0 45nm E8400s the overclocking range topped out between 4.2 – 4.3Ghz. When I benchmarked at those speeds the gap was closer and the Q6600 still looked competitive. However with the new E0 stepping and overclocking range closing in on 4.6Ghz the Q6600 just can’t keep up.

[{JNT}Raptor]

Thats why I'm grabbing one around Mid-November.

With my Q6600 hitting 3.4 max I'm looking forward to 4+ghz on the E84/8500......don't really need It....just the e-peen thing ya know.