Best Quad CPU Bang For Buck?

[Hor$eman]

Which CPU is the best bang for the buck?

Please feel free to say why you think a specific processor is the best, and which is the worst.

Lastly, if you think a processor is great, could you include the batch number?

Sorry, there's only room for 10, so if you think the Q6600 or other is the best, post it and select the Q6700, thanks.

[zanzabar]

q6600, its cheap now and it ocs nicely

[politenessman]

q6700. you can get the oem on sale for around $239. i got one that price from td last week. overclocks to 3850, and runs cooler than my q9450 (which does not overclock anywhere near 3850) at the same vcore. 10x multi, few more mhz than the q6600 and you dont have to wprry about getting a b3, of which there are still 1000's around. some on-line retailers sell only b3 q6600.

[d50man]

i'll never own an intel extreme edition while they are greater than $600
45nm tech is nice
and extra cache memory is very sweet

[MomijiTMO]

Q6600 is the best quad for it's price but it isn't on your list.

[loonym]

Which CPU is the best bang for the buck?

Sorry, there's only room for 10, so if you think the Q6600 or other is the best, post it and select the Q6700, thanks.

lol, if I think q6600 is the best deal why would I vote when it's not on the list

[WhiteFireDragon]

definitely none of the QX series. for how much they cost, you wont get even double performance. unlocked multiplier is not worth the price tag

[Hor$eman]

I'm sorry all. I wanted to enter twelve, but there was room for ten. I entered ten...

[systemviper]

+2 Q6700 overclocks great, close to the Q6600 but just a little better!
Not impressed with the Q9450 except for the 12Mcache but price is still toooo high
and QX is just way to high for the end results

[Unoid]

q6600 is everyone knows that, look at everyone's sigs

[Hor$eman]

[Wiki] The mainstream Core 2 Quad Q6600, clocked at 2.4 GHz, was launched on January 8, 2007 at US$851. [/Wiki]

Nice price drop, hehe.

What I am trying to do here guys/gals is get a feel for what CPU I would like to run in my rig next. I've worked hard to get my E8400 so that I've got it to bench at higher than a lot of WC rigs I've seen obtain. I'd like to up my 3DMark a couple thou, if possible, with a Q on air.

I note that CPU for an E8400 in 3DMark06 is about 4200, and for the Q6600 it can be up to 6300. Since my video cards haven't changed, I can see obtaining over 22500 with a Q6600, but was wondering if higher with a Q9xx would be reasonable, price effective, and possible, on air. I think going 45nm would be better, due to lower heat, yes?

I could buy a QX, but I have to justify the cost vs. performance.

I caught the bug here... don't blame me!

[DerekT]

q6600, its cheap now and it ocs nicely

^^ Hear Hear ^^

[mustrum]

Strange list you got there tbh. The Q6600 is well known and most used and you skip it. The Xeon x3350 is a Q9450 but available and cheaper (at least here in europe) wand not on your list either.

[Telo]

In my opinion, I'd say the Q6700 [eventhough I do not own one]; it costs a mere $230-240 and it gives you 9x multiplier. Q3 is not that far off, and as some of you may know, the Q9550 will drop from the $500+ price range to the $300-350 range the Q9450 is currently on; so if you are in the market for a quad you should wait it out. The price might be a little steep for the liking of some, but the cache size and the 8.5 multiplier should give a nice bang for your buck.


PS: You should remove the QX#### CPUs from that list, they have a lot of buck but no bang to them. Only people that my see them differently are those super extreme oveclockers that use LN2 or DIce and are after some world record. I tell you this man, I miss the good ol' days of OC'ing; people now are after world records and endorsement deals while the principle of paying the least amount and getting the highest performance is diminishing every second.

[loonym]

Even though I've seen it mentioned twice I can't seem to find the q6700 for $240 anywhere and certainly not for $230. Best I could do is $250 at newegg for oem. Q6600 was $200 at the same store.

[(+[ ]:)]

why isnt Q6600 up there ??? Q6600 best for money way better then any core 2 duo

[Leithfield]

Another vote for Q6600; major omission from your list.

[Hor$eman]

I can't change the list....... once it was in, there's no editing

[Unoid]

not having q6600 was a total lack of knowledge, ignorance!!!

[hokiealumnus]

+1 for Q6600. Definitely the best bang for the buck. 3.0GHz is nothing for any of them, 3.6 GHz is the usual 'sweet spot' at 400 x9 w/ between 1.46Vcore & 1.52Vcore, depending on the VID and temperament of the particular CPU. You will definitely need a good cooler (read: Thermalright Ultra 120 Extreme) to keep it there on air and keep temps down.

If you order one from TankGuys, you'll pay a little more but it's a guaranteed G0 stepping. IMHO none of the QX's are worth it if you have any sort of budget. If you have cash to throw away, go for it and have some fun!

On a side note, take it easy guys, if you read the OP, he said:

Sorry, there's only room for 10, so if you think the Q6600 or other is the best, post it and select the Q6700, thanks.

[chispy]

+1 more vote for the Q6600

[safan80]

definitely none of the QX series. for how much they cost, you wont get even double performance. unlocked multiplier is not worth the price tag

I brought a qx6700 for $600 off ebay before any of the G0 chips were out.

[mojaveron]

Another vote for Q6600, should have been on list!

[Aivas47a]

Q6600, again.

[road-runner]

I cant vote in this poll, there is no Q6600 option....