Looking for processor upgrade. A) is it worth it B)what should I get?

[stainer711]

That's what i've read.

 

[dario03]

The q6600 is no longer a great overclocker. IIRC they get up to about 3 - 3.2ghz and I believe the cache in the q6600 is actually 4mbx2 which means two cores can access 4mb and the other 2 can access the other 4mb (since the q6600 is not a "true" quad core but 2 dual cores on one chip). Considering most games don't use quad cores and you probably don't run other intensive programs in the background while gaming I gather you would get about the same performance, possibly less.

Also are you sure you can't overclock your current cpu higher? I've seen them get around 4ghz before with a decent cooler. And that should be enough for just about anything.

 

[stainer711]

I could overclock further, but my ram is limiting me.

 

[dario03]

What kind of ram do you have and are you running the ram at 1:1?

 

[stainer711]

I'm running a 4:5 ratio. my ram is running at 910mhz. If I were to overclock more I would have to change the FSB:RAM ratio again. Here's my ram:

Newegg.com - OCZ Platinum Revision 2 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Desktop Memory

I still have it set to the 4-4-4-15 timings @ the rated 2.1v.

I'm not sure if overclocking any more would be a good idea. I'm at 50C load right now at a 78C ambient room temperature. Of course, I would like to overclock more if possible. I heard that changing the FSB:RAM ratio to a higher divider would put more stress on the ram.

(362x9.5) = 3.4ghz

I have the option to set a different divider that would get me at the same ram mhz running speed at an overclock of 3.6ghz.

 

[chesirecat1701]

ahh good ole Far Cry 2, try running it on a AMD 5600 it isn't pleasant with 1 MB cache your e7200 really shouldn't have a problem, I'd say just wait another 6 months then if you wanna upgrade go with a good i7 build

 

[philbar71]

the q9300 is 2 e7200's on the same chip, so you wouldn't see a big performance increase but 4 cores is better than 2.

 

[baron5]

I'm running a 4:5 ratio. my ram is running at 910mhz. If I were to overclock more I would have to change the FSB:RAM ratio again. Here's my ram:

Newegg.com - OCZ Platinum Revision 2 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Desktop Memory

I still have it set to the 4-4-4-15 timings @ the rated 2.1v.

I'm not sure if overclocking any more would be a good idea. I'm at 50C load right now at a 78C ambient room temperature. Of course, I would like to overclock more if possible. I heard that changing the FSB:RAM ratio to a higher divider would put more stress on the ram.

(362x9.5) = 3.4ghz

I have the option to set a different divider that would get me at the same ram mhz running speed at an overclock of 3.6ghz.

give it a go, you should get 3.6 easily. if you have to loosen the timings to 5-5-5-15, 2T of course. increase the Vcore as needed also.

 

[stainer711]

Do I need to loosen the timings even if I have a lowered FSB:RAM ratio?

 

[baron5]

depends whether your computer runs stable or not, that why i said if you have to, loosen them. But i'd say you should be fine running at CLK4