Q6600 Alternatives?

[crazysteve240]

I am planning to build a PC that can game, video edit, and multi-task. The main CPU that catches my eye is the Intel Core 2 Duo Q6600 for the overclock capability and the price. Are there any alternatives to this CPU?

[Mohenjo]

for a new cpu its the g4560, for older the Q8400, if you can find a mobo that supports it. 

[themctipers]

q6600 is being a bit too old now

on the really budget, go for a first gen i7/i5 i think

if you have a bit more, go for sandy/ivy

if you can find a used fx 8xxx for a good price, go for it 

[Bananasplit_00]

first gen I5s and I7s, the I7 2600, all other Q6XXX Q8XXX and 9XXX

[Bananasplit_00]

1 minute ago, themctipers said:

q6600 is being a bit too old now

on the really budget, go for a first gen i7/i5 i think

if you have a bit more, go for sandy/ivy

if you can find a used fx 8xxx for a good price, go for it 

problem with first gen I5s and I7s is that motherboards are scarce AF. i have seen one go by, sold for $80, but if you find a motherboard then they are great because they can all be overclocked

[flibberdipper]

Nearly all of the modern day Pentiums will smack the Q6600 when said Q6600 is at 3GHz. My G3258 is able to edge it out by about 5% when it's at stock and Q6600 is still at 3GHz.

[PCGuy_5960]

27 minutes ago, crazysteve240 said:

I am planning to build a PC that can game, video edit, and multi-task. The main CPU that catches my eye is the Intel Core 2 Duo Q6600 for the overclock capability and the price. Are there any alternatives to this CPU?

Budget? Because the E5-2670 is pretty good for around $70..

[TidaLWaveZ]

If you're going LGA 775 get the XEON X3360, it's base clock is faster and it's better with thermals you can overclock via FSB. $60 on newegg.

 

I'd advise just getting newer hardware like LGA 1366. It has much better performance and easier to find. Tons of dirt cheap Xeons for X58 boards.

[crazysteve240]

But is a Xeon good for gaming? I've heard a myth that Xeons are better-suited for video-editing rather than gaming, but I am not 100% sure. Budget is around $150 to $300 CAD.

[crazysteve240]

1 hour ago, PCGuy_5960 said:

Budget? Because the E5-2670 is pretty good for around $70..

But is a Xeon good for gaming? I've heard a myth that Xeons are better-suited for video-editing rather than gaming, but I am not 100% sure. Budget is around $150 to $300 CAD.

[crazysteve240]

1 hour ago, TidaLWaveZ said:

If you're going LGA 775 get the XEON X3360, it's base clock is faster and it's better with thermals you can overclock via FSB. $60 on newegg.

 

I'd advise just getting newer hardware like LGA 1366. It has much better performance and easier to find. Tons of dirt cheap Xeons for X58 boards.

 

But is a Xeon good for gaming? I've heard a myth that Xeons are better-suited for video-editing rather than gaming, but I am not 100% sure.

[PCGuy_5960]

1 minute ago, crazysteve240 said:

But is a Xeon good for gaming? I've heard a myth that Xeons are better-suited for video-editing rather than gaming, but I am not 100% sure. Budget is around $150 to $300 CAD.

It is nothing fantastic, but is definitely better than a Q6600....

[TidaLWaveZ]

30 minutes ago, crazysteve240 said:

But is a Xeon good for gaming? I've heard a myth that Xeons are better-suited for video-editing rather than gaming, but I am not 100% sure.

They say that mainly for 2 reasons:

 

1. They're built for servers so favor multicore performance at the cost of single threaded performance. So higher core counts, less speed.

2.They have a locked CPU multiplier, making overclocking problematic

 

These are non issues in your situation unless you decide to get more modern hardware because the hardware from the timeframe you're looking at requires FSB overclocking anyways and the Xeon has the same core count and a higher base clock than the Q6600.

 

[TidaLWaveZ]

Also I can personally attest that I've had a Xeon/X58 setup and the Xeon X5675 absolutely buried my i7 920 on the same board both clocked at the same speed.