![[H]ard|Forum](/styles/hardforum/xenforo/logo_dark.png){kind=logo}
With all the new info coming out about the mainstream Penryn quads, and with consideration to the whole 680i 45nm debacle, I decided to reevaluate my long-term goal of replacing my trusty E6600 (sitting in my main rig--see sig below) in one year's time with a Penryn.
The e-mail about the $90 promotional 780i upgrade price got me thinking... If I take the bate, which to me is less about paying $90 and more about the "no cross shipping" rule, plus having to practically re-build my PC (a working man's time is precious,) then the question is what do I gain in the end? After the latest round of information concerning the Q9450 mainstream Yorkfield and it's neighbors (barring anything over $500 of course,) I came to a conclusion of well.. nothing much. After seeing Intel's last processor refresh, where the E6600 essentially became the E6850 (same price, same multiplier, 1333mhz FSB) I had expected a similar Penryn replacement for the Q6600 (same price for a x9 multiplier at 1333mhz FSB.) It turns out, unfortunately, that the Q9640 (the 6600's replacement) ships with an x8 multiplier, so there goes any idea of a 4ghz quad w/o a new, yet unreleased and untested motherboard, and expensive DDR-3 RAM. Boourns!
So today at lunch, I decided to skip Penryn. I went up to the closing Comp USA in midtown (NYC) to see if they had any discounted G0 Q6600's. Turns out they had several, so instead of waiting to March to upgrade to a Penryn for well over $300, plus a 790i and 4 gigs of DDR-3 RAM for who knows how much, I'm now the proud owner of a G0 Q6600 for a mere $240 (plus tax.) That's not a bad deal
I won't be able to install until next week, but my aim is to basically add two cores to my existing setup... I'm planning for the same 3.6ghz OC. If it's a relatively good G0, and if I feel like experimenting, perhaps I'll consider replacing the Tuniq Tower with a water setup in hopes of reaching 4ghz... Of course, I may need to take the 780i upgrade anyway, but overall, I can't say I'm disappointed about Penryn. It is what it is. I'm just happy to be finally entering the world of quad core computing.
I'll post OC results next week, and assuming nothing goes wrong, I may have an E6600 I'll happily sell which OC's quite well to at least 3.6ghz.
Mark.
The e-mail about the $90 promotional 780i upgrade price got me thinking... If I take the bate, which to me is less about paying $90 and more about the "no cross shipping" rule, plus having to practically re-build my PC (a working man's time is precious,) then the question is what do I gain in the end? After the latest round of information concerning the Q9450 mainstream Yorkfield and it's neighbors (barring anything over $500 of course,) I came to a conclusion of well.. nothing much. After seeing Intel's last processor refresh, where the E6600 essentially became the E6850 (same price, same multiplier, 1333mhz FSB) I had expected a similar Penryn replacement for the Q6600 (same price for a x9 multiplier at 1333mhz FSB.) It turns out, unfortunately, that the Q9640 (the 6600's replacement) ships with an x8 multiplier, so there goes any idea of a 4ghz quad w/o a new, yet unreleased and untested motherboard, and expensive DDR-3 RAM. Boourns!
So today at lunch, I decided to skip Penryn. I went up to the closing Comp USA in midtown (NYC) to see if they had any discounted G0 Q6600's. Turns out they had several, so instead of waiting to March to upgrade to a Penryn for well over $300, plus a 790i and 4 gigs of DDR-3 RAM for who knows how much, I'm now the proud owner of a G0 Q6600 for a mere $240 (plus tax.) That's not a bad deal
I won't be able to install until next week, but my aim is to basically add two cores to my existing setup... I'm planning for the same 3.6ghz OC. If it's a relatively good G0, and if I feel like experimenting, perhaps I'll consider replacing the Tuniq Tower with a water setup in hopes of reaching 4ghz... Of course, I may need to take the 780i upgrade anyway, but overall, I can't say I'm disappointed about Penryn. It is what it is. I'm just happy to be finally entering the world of quad core computing.
I'll post OC results next week, and assuming nothing goes wrong, I may have an E6600 I'll happily sell which OC's quite well to at least 3.6ghz.
Mark.
