Core 2 duo

[LeHaM]

hello all,
im building a new pc and was wondering what is a reasonible price for a 775 socket core 2 duo new or used.
thanks in advance

 

[clifford_cooley]

Are you asking about the CPU prices or CPU/Motherboard combo setup?

 

[davehc]

Have a browse around these pages. They are listed in nominal US.$, but will give you a guid line.
http://www.cpubenchmark.net/mid_range_cpus.html

 

[LeHaM]

Are you asking about the CPU prices or CPU/Motherboard combo setup?

just the cpu

 

[Nibiru2012]

I have the Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 3.0 GHz.

It kicks butt and does better than some Core 2 Quad CPUs.

Easy to overclock also. You can overclock it to 3.6 GHz with no problems.

 

[clifford_cooley]

I'm with Nibs on the E8400. I don't see a big enough difference to spend an extra 30 bucks on the E8500. The E7600 has a slower Front Side Bus and half the Cache.

As an answer to your question the reasonable prices will vary from person to person. For me a reasonable price for a Core2 Duo would be around $150 at the top of the scale. Anything over $150, I think I would prefer to go with a quad.

www.newegg.com price compare

Looking at the link that davehc provided, you can see that the Core2 Duo's will perform very closely.

• Quad core:
  • Q9400 scores 3803 for $199
  • Q8400 scores 3659 for $169
• Dual core:
  • E8500 scores 2405 for $189
  • E8400 scores 2242 for $169
  • E7600 scores 2096 for $149

 

[Triggaaar]

I'm about to be given a 775 socket MB with an E6600 and huge cooling fan

Using the PassMark bench test it gets a score of 1502.
I could buy an E8400 for £131 - for a score of 2243
or a Q8300 for £112 - and a score of 3567

I assume that the Q8300 wouldn't fit the same MB as the E6600, but since they're both socket 775 I thought I'd ask

And assuming the E8400 would fit, is it likely I'd need a new cpu cooler?

Thanks

 

[clifford_cooley]

The Core 2 Duo E6600 runs on a 1066MHz FSB. The Core 2 Duo E8400 and Core 2 Quad Q8300 runs on a 1333MHz FSB. The motherboard would atleast need to support both frequencies. Which motherboard is in question, so we can look up CPU compatibility.

 

[Triggaaar]

I think it might be an Asus P5B Deluxe
http://uk.asus.com/product.aspx?P_ID=o7He8KHagWiFxHRw
which doesn't seem to support 1333MHz FSB. (the spec says 'Intel® Quad-core CPU Ready', but that might not mean there's a quad core cpu to fit it.

 

[Triggaaar]

This is confusing
the spec also says 'LGA775 Intel® Core™2 Processor Ready ... With new Intel® Core™ microarchitecture technology and 1333 / 1066 / 800 MHz FSB, Intel® Core™2 processor is one of the most powerful and energy efficient CPU in the world.'

Assuming that is just misleading, and it's really only good for 1066MHz:
It seems the Q6600 and QX6800 are 1066MHz, but they're also 65nm Lithography - am I right in thinking this MB won't work with 65nm, but would with 45nm (please bare in mind I know nothing about these things, I'm just reading).

Further reading, Intel's website:
http://www.intel.com/products/processor/core2quad/specifications.htm
says that its 1333MHz quad processors are built on 45nm Intel Core microarchitecture
and its 1066MHz quad processors are built on 65nm Intel Core microarchitecture

the motherboards doesn't mention 65nm, but is that just a slower speed and therefore irrelevant (ie, an MB capable of 45nm will work with 65nm CPUs)?

 

[clifford_cooley]

Did you look at the CPU Support List from ASUS?

The board does support both 65nm and 45nm CPU's. The 45nm is newer technology than 65nm. The question here would be support of 1333MHz front side bus. Looking at the Support List the board will support 1333MHz but was never tested enough to pass ASUS requirements to be recommended. If you notice they all have Beta written beside the 1333MHz CPU's.

 

[clifford_cooley]

Seeing that the last BIOS update was Feb of 2009, I don't see anymore updates coming out. From everything I see, I cannot suggest a specific CPU. It appears upgrading will be a gamble unless you specifically choose one that is not marked Beta on the support list. If you do decide to upgrade, Updating your system BIOS may not be such a bad idea after reading all the CPU support changes with all the BIOS versions that have been released.

Looking through the BIOS updates the BIOS version 1215 states this.
1 Enhance memory compatibility under FSB1333 mode

Looking through the BIOS updates the BIOS version 1004 states this.
1 Enhance memory compatibility
2 Support CONROE E0 CPU(FSB 1333)

 

[Triggaaar]

Did you look at the CPU Support List from ASUS?

No, I didn't even know there was one.

The board does support both 65nm and 45nm CPU's. The 45nm is newer technology than 65nm.

Thanks. So I could use the Q6600 and Q6700, although I don't know if there are any new ones about, and I'm unsure about buying them from ebay.

Seeing that the last BIOS update was Feb of 2009, I don't see anymore updates coming out. From everything I see, I cannot suggest a specific CPU. It appears upgrading will be a gamble unless you specifically choose one that is not marked Beta on the support list.

Damn, what's a guy to do.

Looking through the BIOS updates the BIOS version 1215 states this.
1 Enhance memory compatibility under FSB1333 mode

Looking through the BIOS updates the BIOS version 1004 states this.
1 Enhance memory compatibility
2 Support CONROE E0 CPU(FSB 1333)

What does all that mean? I assume that doesn't take anything away from the fact that 1333MHz is listed as Beta?

If I could use a Q8300, for £112, with a PassMark of 3567 (vs the 1502 of the E6600 I'd have), that would seem like a great value upgrade to me (not sure what I'd have to spend on cooling the chip, presumably the cooler on the E6600 won't fit). But what are the chances of it working without problem?

Many thanks for the help.

 

[clifford_cooley]

This is the best I can do for a 1066MHz FSB Quad

Intel Core™2 Quad Q6600, 2.40 GHz (BX80562Q6600) Boxed Processor

 

[Triggaaar]

Thanks for that cooley - checking that site in the UK gives me a couple of places out of stock, and amazon at a whopping £205

That's too much, at that price I'd be better selling what I've got and going for a lovely new MB & cpu - which I plan to do at some point, but if I could get a nice cpu for a reasonable price now it would be good.

I could try a used Q6600 for about £100, if I can find a reliable seller
EDIT update - found the Q6600 for £75, which is good - but it's the 6600 GO, which although the better model, is also listed as Beta on the Support list

- or if I could find reason to believe a Q8300 would work, I could get one new for £112, and it's even faster. There seem to be some old threads doted about, with Bios 1238, but it's not straightforward.

So, do we just have to stear clear of things that remained in Beta? Or is it worth contacting Asus to see if Beta testing was finished? Or perhaps searching online for people who successfully used a P5B with a 1333MHz cpu?

 

[Triggaaar]

I have the Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 3.0 GHz.

It kicks butt and does better than some Core 2 Quad CPUs.

Easy to overclock also. You can overclock it to 3.6 GHz with no problems.

How much would overclocking to 3.6 GHz improve its performance? The PassMark score for an E8400 @ 3 GHz is 2243, Q6600 is 2977.

 

[clifford_cooley]

found the Q6600 for £75, which is good - but it's the 6600 GO

I would feel better about ordering that CPU than the 1333MHz FSB. Atleast that CPU has Beta support from an older BIOS revision. The 1333MHz FSB Quad CPU's are all listed within the last two revision's. Looking at it from that stand point seems to me the Q6600 would have been tested for a greater length of time.

Shame really, I must say I am disappointed in ASUS for not finishing the Beta test and marking the CPU's compatible or incompatible.