E6400 and 6600, how much difference?

[Reyn]

I'm getting a new rig soon, I been looking @ 6600 and 6400 and I was wondering if the 6600 is actually worth the extra $120 for the bang per buck factor.

[batboy]

Yes and no. Depends on your motherboard and RAM. If you get a good mobo that is not FSB limited and RAM that overclocks well, then the E6420 (not E6400) is an excellent choice. The new E6420 is a Conroe with the same cache as the E6600, but has the multiplier of the E6400. No reason to even consider the E6400 right now unless you can get one used that is super cheap.

[golfking222]

The only difference between them is a 4MB cache on the E6600 and a higher multiplier. If I were you I would look at the E6420 which has 4MB cache compared to the E6400's 2MB cache.

EDIT: Beat me to it :P

[Reyn]

what about E6420 compared to E6600 in terms of performance?

[hUMANbEATbOX]

in terms of performance? it is 2.13ghz vs 2.4ghz. both have 4mb of cache. the e6420 has an 8x multi, the e6600 has a 9x multi. both will probably OC about the same, but the e6420 will need a mobo capable of higher FSB and ram capable of higher speeds, due to the lower multi.

with the e6600 you can lower the multi to 8 if you want.

really, with the right components, they should perform exactly the same.

[jws2346]

The only difference between them is a 4MB cache on the E6600 and a higher multiplier. If I were you I would look at the E6420 which has 4MB cache compared to the E6400's 2MB cache.

EDIT: Beat me to it :P

That's true there's a bigger cache in the E6420 over the E6400 (the E6420 is a true Conroe, 4 MB's cache and the later E6400's are Allendales, 2 MB's cache, not just 2 MB's cache disabled) with that said, I have a E6600 and maybe it's a "dud", but I've been impressed by my E6400 and even more impressed by my E6420. Although I'm primed for a quad I don't think I'll get a Q6600 (just two E6600's stuck together), when the price cuts hit and I go quad I'll probably get a x3210 (server chip, 775 skt, Q6400)

[Reyn]

but the e6420 will need a mobo capable of higher FSB and ram capable of higher speeds, due to the lower multi.

Depends on your motherboard and RAM. If you get a good mobo that is not FSB limited and RAM that overclocks well

i understand that but can't i just lower the motherboard FSB multiplier and ram clock in the motherboard bios?

What i did when i was overclocking my Athlon 64 3000+ is that i lowered the motherboard FSB multiplier from 5 to 4 and lowered the ram clock from 400 to 333. that way when i OC'd the CPU FSB from 200 to 250, ram and motherboard FSB stays the same.

[hUMANbEATbOX]

there is no FSB multiplier on 775. it is simply FSB * Multi = Clockspeed.

also, at least on 965 boards, there are no downward ram deviders. you can't make the ram run slower than the fsb. you can make it run faster tho.

lets say for example that your OC goal is 3.6ghz. with a e6600, you would need a fsb of 400, so 400*9=3600mhz. here, your ram will also have to run at 400mhz, or ddr2-800 speeds. if you want the same 3.6ghz with a e6420, you will need 450*8=3600mhz, and your ram will have to run at 450mhz, or ddr2-900 speeds.

*edit* typo:cry:

[straywolf]

Hey guys, I have been thinking about the same thing for the system I want to put together. A few thoughts...

Well, by April 22nd price cuts, E6600 will be $224, and E6420 will be $183, only $41 price difference.

Now with all things being equal, wouldn't the E6600 with a x9 mult be a better buy since you would be able to take it 9x450=>4.05Ghz? That's an extra 450Mhz for $41...

I suppose that would not be a realistic goal for air cooling (I plan to use ninja scythe). I suppose realistically, E6600 can do 3.6Ghz stable much easier than the E6420 can right?

[hUMANbEATbOX]

I suppose realistically, E6600 can do 3.6Ghz stable much easier than the E6420 can right?

no. i have seen certain e6300's and e6400's that will out clock certain e6600's. its all luck of the draw.

example, my e6300 is 12hrs++ orthos stable at 3500mhz, i have seen many e6600's fall short of that.

where it IS easier, is that you can buy any old super cheap ddr2-800 to get 3.6ghz with a e6600...you might not be so lucky with a e6420, as that super cheap ddr2-800 will have to run at ddr2-900.

[UglyChild]

With 975, you can run RAM slower then FSB, its a better option too look in to.

[hUMANbEATbOX]

With 975, you can run RAM slower then FSB, its a better option too look in to.
975 is not ideal for overclocking cpu's with a multiplier lower than 9. a lot of 975 boards max out around 400fsb, that would only give you 2.8ghz with a e6300 or e6320. to get much more than 420fsb can take a lot of work.

[batboy]

Right, even the best i975 boards tend to max out at 420-440 FSB. For the E6420 I'd go with Asus P5B-Deluxe or Gigabyte DS3. I've also heard the Abit AB9 Quad does pretty good too, but do more research before going down that route.

[jws2346]

no. i have seen certain e6300's and e6400's that will out clock certain e6600's. its all luck of the draw.
.

I say "amen" to that hUMANbEATbOX :p , I've got a E6600 (my be a "dud") a E6400 and a E6420. I do 24/7 folding with all my machines in Linux SMP. I require a cool running, stable and dependable OC'ed chip (not a record breaking OC'er) and I have had much better luck with my E64xx's, not being a skilled OC'er both chips were mucho easy to OC' ie E6400, 1 GB el cheapo PC6400 = 2.8 GHz, E6420, el cheapo PC6400 = 3.0 GHz and last but not least a E6600, with 2 GB' of 667 RAM OC'ed to 2.9 GHz with a 1.35v vcore. (I tried 3.0 GHz even with a 1.4v vcore, it won't boot :( , maybe my RAM is holding the clock back, it's the SST stuff :shrug:) , what does a skilled OC'er think about the RAM deal?, don't be bashful I know this forum is chock full of great OCer's) Thanx for helping a "noob" OC'er out :thup: