» Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Quad-Core Processor, 2.40 GHz, 8M L2 Cache, LGA 775

Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Quad-Core Processor, 2.40 GHz, 8M L2 Cache, LGA 775 Reviews

Customer Rating:
Summary: Overclocks REALLY well
Comment: I have had this processor running for a year now; it is a G0 (lucky me) and I ran it for 10 months at stock speeds. Those 10 months were heaven (not mentioning a problem with the motherboard here) and so I decided to overclock. I never overclocked a computer in the past, this was going to be my first.

Before starting, note that I used the stock cooler, and the processor's VID is 1.3250V.

Now, because it is important to others, I must say I run this processor on a Asus P5E. Great board EXCEPT the memory voltages are bogus... or better stated, augmented. An increase of 0.02V in the BIOS is actually 0.05V, and the base of 1.8V is the only one that is correct. Therefore, 1.82V in BIOS is 1.85V, 1.84V is 1.90V, 1.90 is really 2.05V, etc.

Even with the rather high VID, I started overclocking. My first attempt was 2.70 GHz (300 FSB x 9). All settings in auto, and the computer works nicely. Second attempt I went for 3 GHz (333 FSB). Worked just fine on auto (not sure if it was stable, though). Next step, 345 FSB for 3.1 GHz... no boot. For the first time I had to manually raise the CPU voltage to get it to work. At this point I ran Prime95 for 8 hours and worked OK, and maximum Vcore temperature was 80 °C, 20 °C below the red. :) And all this on air, and all this with the stock cooler. I was able to OC almost 30% just by typing some numbers!

After that I decided that I wanted to OC more, so I got the OCZ Vendetta, 92mm fan, and I am now running rock stable @ 3.3 GHz (366 FSB) and below the 80 °C on the hottest core during Prime95, and attaining stability by setting the voltage to the scary number of 1.4350V in BIOS (it is scary to me anyways).

End result is a chip running on 37% OC on air, with an aftermarket $35 cooler. I cannot be happier. If I were to buy another Quad right now, I would not buy a 45 nm, I would buy this one again, especially now that Core I7 is out and should make this one drop in price.

If you have/want a pre-x58 motherboard, this is THE way to go.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: For the money you can't have more processing power
Comment: A processing powerhouse!!! that's what this processor is.
It can handle anything you throw at it, photoshop, music ripping, video editing, games, developing, or if you wish, everything at the same time.
Note: it can be frustrating to wish to top the processor and can't.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: WOW!!!! Great Processor!
Comment: I jumped from and AMD Athlon XP 2600+ to this and the difference is huge!!! I can play, burn a CD, hear some music and everything runs fine. Great Processor and Excellent Price!!!

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Awesome processor
Comment: There is so much written about the product there is nothing to add. It is my master desktop processor in an intel board. I am going to upgrade my board and move this processor to it. This with RAID striping is outstanding. Spending more for a faster processor isn't really necessary unless you are a gamer. I am not, but I have very high requirments as I work on PC's for a living.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Misleading price
Comment: Amazon is very misleading when they quote a Retail Price of $329.00 This processor has been widely available for $199 or less for almost a year.

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