My Core Duo 2 Conroe E6600 Will Be Here Tomorrow [Archive] - Bjorn3d.com Forums brought to you by XFX

Kougar

08-18-2006, 06:54 AM

Miles, I'm definitely looking forward to reading that review! Any idea yet what motherboard you plan to use with it?

ClubIT has been highly recommended over on Anandtech forums for awhile now as well for Conroe/Allendale purchases. And right now ClubIT's prices for the E6600 are good, although they were at $399 a little while ago.

Should be a nice running system Miles, I'm still hoping to get a Conroe test system one of these day.

I've looked at ClbuIt a few time when they started advertizing at the [H]. Their prices seem pretty good, a little higher than some, but better than most. If their service is good, a few extra $$ is worth it.

The E6300 is already dropped to $195 shipped from ZZF for a retail model, and since the 2mb cache parts are the better overclockers it's a pretty darn good deal... ;) ZZF was also where I happened to get mine from.

Mirrim

08-18-2006, 07:01 AM

Woo, that's pretty exciting. If I wouldn't have to buy a new motherboard and memory, would have loved to get the E6300 at that price. Guess I'll just have to settle for the AMD 4000+ upgrade on my socket 939 motherboard ;P

Looking forward to see what kind of results you get!

mousiness

08-18-2006, 06:03 PM

well i ordered my e6400, ill use it on my ****ty mobo for now but by the time dx10 comes out ill have new components to use the e6400 on :)

Kougar

08-18-2006, 08:27 PM

well i ordered my e6400, ill use it on my ****ty mobo for now but by the time dx10 comes out ill have new components to use the e6400 on :)

Hey Mousiness! I hope you don't mean your 915G board? It won't work and I don't suggest even trying as the chipset is not supported and the VRM will also be wrong and give to high a voltage if it did somehow power up.

Abit has released the AW9D-MAX series today, and boy I've already heard it can do 470FSB with a X6800 on a lowered mutliplier... and I also found out it's not a 965P chipset, it's a full 975X board as well! Oops...

mousiness

08-19-2006, 03:32 AM

oh poo, well ill keep the processor until i get new components early next january- meh

Miles

08-19-2006, 03:45 AM

Well I got the shipment today, I I'm ultra impressed with ClubIT! The nicest packing job, I've ever seen! Their service is impeccable and the sent me 10 free DVD +R just as a gifte. I also ordered a Zalman CNPS9500 LED for cooling, as I want to really push this baby...Now if I just had a motherboard! Patience Miles, patience....:grin:

darkorb

08-19-2006, 06:23 AM

dude, OMG. nice job on getting a new conroe system. but isnt the one u have not AMAZING enough?

eko

08-19-2006, 09:01 AM

dude, OMG. nice job on getting a new conroe system. but isnt the one u have not AMAZING enough?

Hell, the Conroe 6600 is THE BEST thing you can buy today on the market regarding CPUs...
You have to ask for more each day, each year, so Conroe seems like the logical choice, if you are into high performance and price is not an issue.
Even if I personally dislike Intel, the best CPUs today belong to the Goliath of the IT industry. And they are also the most overclockable.
So GO FOR INTEL in 2006!

ToXic_WaSTe

08-19-2006, 10:49 PM

I know Intel is Goliath but i do want to say that intel had the right stuff, and it seems they are back on track and pushing it, all amd can do now is copy the tech ;) More or less ;) like apple and microsoft... If anyone else watched the WWDC keynote speech. D*** that was long, but anyway my point is... GO INTEL, AND GO ATI!!! Both finally back on track even if ATI was bought by AMD.

Kougar

08-20-2006, 01:04 AM

eko, people were buying AMD X2 3800+s for $300 not so long ago, so I realy don't buy the price argument anymore. You can buy a E6300 for $194 shipped right now, and it performs much better than a 3800+ just at stock.

Miles, I hope you enjoy yer rig! What motherboard are you using?? I honestly would of suggested the Scythe Ninja as it can cool better than a 9500 and at much less noise.

Miles

08-20-2006, 03:12 AM

Thanks Kougar, I was supposed to have a Foxconn 975X board coming for review, but that has been delayed and now I'm thinking seriously about buying the Intel D97XBX. It has the stability I like in a board and overclocks very well with the revision 304 and later. I just wish the NF 5 boards were out and then there would be no contest. The problem is that I need a board that will support the 7950 GX2 and only a few Intel based 965 and 975 boards will.

Kougar

08-20-2006, 04:26 AM

I will have to read up on the 7950GX2 support, I didn't know that was still a major issue for Intel hardware. I was just starting to notice "Quad-CPU" support signs popping up everywhere as well, so that may or may not be something else to consider? ;) I believe the Abit AW9D-MAX is on the support list for 7950GX2, but I need to check that... No one has reviewed this board quite yet... ;) ;)

In all frankness, the nForce5 is shaping up to be a very good chipset, but it is using older technology and process fab. So far no one has pushed a nF5 board above a 320FSB that I have seen, and more than a few have tried. It simply gets to hot and was never designed with astronomical FSBs in mind. I still have not even raised the FSB or MCH voltage on my motherbard, and it can do 486FSB/3.4ghz stable. I'm aiming for 3.6ghz with the Ninja, assuming I can keep voltages within safe and cool levels that I can run 24/7 with.

Also, I don't recall what Intel uses for their monitoring programs at the moment. Speedfan is still having issues with 965/975 and Core 2 Duo tech, however I am hearing that the latest patched version of Everest works and can read the temp diode that's inside each core. I'm currently using CoreTemp (http://www.thecoolest.zerobrains.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=137) though, and would highly suggest it if you do not use Everest, as they read the same two internal die sensors. This program will only work on "Core" architecture processors however.

Edit: Okay, I checked and the AW9D-MAX does support both Crossfire and SLI... ;)

Victor

08-20-2006, 07:49 PM

man, Miles, you are just so greedy:). So I guess your AM2 is not working up to the task then:). Care to ship your am2 to me. Can't wait to see your review.

Miles

08-20-2006, 09:25 PM

man, Miles, you are just so greedy:). So I guess your AM2 is not working up to the task then:). Care to ship your am2 to me. Can't wait to see your review.

Not greed Victor, I purchased this bad boy:lol: I used the $$ I got back from the New Egg debacle:paw:

Victor

08-21-2006, 12:28 AM

hehehehe. I really envy you for buying the E6600. Intel really has done something right that's so tempting, but must resist temptation:).

Can't wait and see how this performs.

Miles

08-21-2006, 08:17 AM

hehehehe. I really envy you for buying the E6600. Intel really has done something right that's so tempting, but must resist temptation:).

Can't wait and see how this performs.

Well Kougar, after doing some research, I bought the Intel 975XBX which should be here on Wednesday, I also bought a Scythe Ninja 1000 Plus and I agree with you on the cool and quiet aspect...Know anyone that wants to buy a Zalman 9500 LED cheap? :lol:

liqnit

08-21-2006, 09:56 AM

Congrats on the new system - it should be awosome one
post some pics please

Absolut352

08-21-2006, 05:18 PM

Miles with those killer setups u should fold with us.

Victor

08-21-2006, 05:31 PM

Kougar

08-21-2006, 05:33 PM

Well Kougar, after doing some research, I bought the Intel 975XBX which should be here on Wednesday, I also bought a Scythe Ninja 1000 Plus and I agree with you on the cool and quiet aspect...Know anyone that wants to buy a Zalman 9500 LED cheap? :lol:

Good luck with it Miles, I'm definitely looking forward to seeing what a fresh review of the Bad Axe paired with a E6600 and the best air cooler out there can do! You should have a blast with that set up, and really kick your F@H score up a notch or two, or if you are not folding yet then it will be a great rig to start with... ;)

I've actually had to about-face on my thoughts as to the best OCing boards right now... the ASUS P5B, now with the last two BIOS revisions is able to OC to the moon, and still best the DS3 in pure features, overclocking ability, tighter RAM timings, ease of use, and less hardware issues. I've read that Intel's last quick switch from B1 Stepping 5, to B2 Stepping 6 Core 2 Duo's was the exact reason so many 965P motherboards were and still are having such a large variety of issues, because the change reportedly broke the previous BIOSs that worked fine with the ES chips. :???:

The Zalman 9500LED is still a good cooler nonetheless, and I am sure worst case you can get a good chunk back on your local ebay for it if you can't find any takers on these forums or others! :) Heck even the 7700cu is worth something there still... hmm.

Miles

08-21-2006, 06:42 PM

I would love to get your am2 for really really really cheap:)

I'm afraid Scott would desecrate my testicles if I were to even think of selling it yet:grin:

Scott Sherman

08-23-2006, 01:36 PM

Miles needs several test systems for reviews. Basically Bjorn, Miles and I are going to have AMD and Conroe systems built so we can test in both worlds.

Sorry Victor you can not have it.

dukeman

08-23-2006, 02:40 PM

those core's are really looking good. i am pissed that i just bought my 165 for $270 in june. i should of waited and got one of them for less money.

tomo

08-25-2006, 03:15 AM

His old system probably beats 90% of the people's computers on this board...I'm jealous....

ANYWAYS, congratulations on your purchase...hopefully everything works out well.

Miles

08-26-2006, 12:19 AM

Well the site I ordered the Intel "Bad Axe" from that guaranteed it to be "Conroe Ready" sent me a revision 302 which "IS NOT CONROE READY". The good thing if this is good is that they're paying for shipping back to them and giving me a full refund, so back to the drawing board.

I do have an nVidia 570 based "Intel Edition" board that I will be reviewing soon, it's a starting point anyway and we'll see what happens with it. I'm now strongly considering an Asus P5WDG2 WS Professional 975X board as my reference board...It's a workstation/server board that just happens to be one of the best overcloking Conroe boards currently avialable; but the current price is prohibitive around $325 - $375 which in my opinion is ludicrous.

Victor

08-26-2006, 12:21 AM

there's a new revision of conroe that is suppose to be out:). HOpefully you get that newer stepping cpu.

Man, the nf5 for intel should be an awesome setup, specially the 590sli,.

Kougar

08-26-2006, 08:29 PM

NF5 is great, but unless you have an unlocked x6800 then OCing is not going to best 320FSB, which is pitiful compared to the 400-500FSBs any ASUS or Gigabyte 965 or 975 boards can attain. Not even mentioning the power consumption for nf4 & nf5 is the same chart topping levels.

Miles, if I may ask, what was it that interested you in the P5WDG2 WS specifically? It is about an exact copy of the ASUS P5W-DH, except that both PCIe x1 slots have been exchanged for two PCI-x 64bit slots. It is still the most expensive non-workstation board at $260-280, but I don't know of any other real differences between it and the WS version?

werty316

08-26-2006, 08:36 PM

If you a user wants a C2D and SLi they have not choice but to use a NF5 board.

Kougar

08-27-2006, 01:15 AM

Not if you use a 7950GX2, it works on most 975X boards but I couldn't say about 965P.

werty316

08-27-2006, 02:45 AM

In reality that is a very few ;)

Miles

08-27-2006, 04:17 AM

Miles, if I may ask, what was it that interested you in the P5WDG2 WS specifically? It is about an exact copy of the ASUS P5W-DH, except that both PCIe x1 slots have been exchanged for two PCI-x 64bit slots. It is still the most expensive non-workstation board at $260-280, but I don't know of any other real differences between it and the WS version?

Kougar, I've been reading alot at XtremeSystems and it appears to be the best overall board for the Conroe currently available. It is extremely stable and overclocks as well or better than any other board out there. It has a huge amount of features and the PCI-X isn't a real concern for me as it's backwards compatible with PCI. I'm still looking though, I still like the Intel board quite a lot as well, I just wish there were more really stable Conroe boards out there now.

I'm playing currently with an Asus P5NSLI nVidia 570 based board and am not overly impressed with it for a reference board. I will have a review up on it in the next few days... but I'll say this If the 590 isn't extremely better it will be a huge waste of time to buy. This board will not go past 325 FSB and I guess I better leave it at that. They also run kinda hot as compared to either the 965 or 975 chipsets.

Victor

08-27-2006, 08:23 AM

mmmh, maybe it needs an bios update. The asus board looks realy nice on anadtech's review. It seems to me that most of current board doesn't really have a great chipset for the new conroe, maybe we'll have to wait till next gen of conroe and/or mobo. Could the problem due to the conroe's errata? I read on theinquire that ther'es new stepping coming out soon.

I read that the 965 alsod din't performs as good as the old 975. The NF chipset generally runs hot (hopefully nvidia can get that fixed soon).

Vaerilis

08-27-2006, 08:42 AM

mmmh, maybe it needs an bios update. The asus board looks realy nice on anadtech's review. It seems to me that most of current board doesn't really have a great chipset for the new conroe, maybe we'll have to wait till next gen of conroe and/or mobo. Could the problem due to the conroe's errata? I read on theinquire that ther'es new stepping coming out soon.

The new stepping will fix issues we wouldn't even notice.
On the other hand, Intel might limit the overclocking capabilities of the C2Ds after the stepping change (after all, it has happened a few times before...). I hope that's not going to happen.

Miles

08-27-2006, 02:31 PM

The processor I have has the latest stepping: B2 Step 6.

liqnit

08-27-2006, 03:19 PM

The processor I have has the latest stepping: B2 Step 6.
Congrats
Post some pics of the new beast...

Kougar

08-27-2006, 04:49 PM

Hm, well the only difference between the 570 SLI and the 590, is that the 590 adds a second power hungry chipset to expand the number of PCIe lanes. 325FSB for any nF5 chipset is the absolute best I have seen.

The only 975X board that I have not seen anything (Credible) about yet is the Abit AW9D and AW9D-MAX. According to Abit it should be one of the best OCers, but I'm waiting for some unbiased reviews to spring up of it first... ;)

The Gigabyte DS3/DQ6, and ASUS P5B/P5W-DH are the major boards I know of that OC the best the most often, and ASUS has reportedly released a new BIOS for the P5B that might unlock some C2D multipliers up, but I'll believe it when I see it. The only thing about Intel's own Bad Axe is that the board is limited to a 50% OC, although some people mod around that limitation. Gary Key over on Anandtech has released a new OCing article on the P5B which completely blows away my own OCing efforts, as he's been able to attain a 24/7 stable 532FSB with no physical mods used. That's a 100% FSB overclock!

I could write an entire litany of issues with the DS3 (Most about Gigabyte's software), but it runs and it runs stable. ASUS seems to be better suited for 4mb cache C2D OCing, and they also reportedly have tighter memory controller timings. Most C2Ds seem to top out around 3.6-4ghz, and any ASUS board should be capable of getting you there, the rest is only dependant on if you get a good batch of Conroes, and how good the CPU cooling is. I can even run 3.6ghz right now, but I can't keep the temps down and once both internal CoreTemps reach ~70c (About 58c showing as the mainboard's own CPU temp) then the OC goes unstable. I will probably teardown the system to reinstall the Scythe Ninja as so far it is only able to match the cooling of the Zalman 7700Cu, when SPCR has published hard numbers to the contrary. If OCing is important enough to you to invest in a P5WDG2-WS over any other board, then you should already be using watercooling! That alone in my opinion, will get you further and retain more stability than changing from say a P5B or P5WDH to a better OCing board.

Vaerilis

08-27-2006, 05:06 PM

The latest ASUS BIOS for the P5B unlocks the C2Ds' multipliers downwards, not upwards, resulting in no real overclocking advantage.
By the way, the current FSB record is 555MHz (E6300 @ 3885MHz). It's weird that the retail (B2 stepping) Conroes rarely reach higher clocks than the much cheaper Allendales.

werty316

08-27-2006, 05:35 PM

Vaerilis

08-27-2006, 06:28 PM

Since the Conroe cores are at a much higher frquency, the Allendales allow for more headroom based on how far a board's FSB can be pushed. Every core has its limit.

Its like buying a low end/cheap CPU and OC'ing it the the speed of a more expensive CPU.

True, but it also means that - unless you don't overclock - buying an E6700 is a waste of money, since you could reach the same performance level with a much cheaper CPU. According to a test at Anandtech, all retail C2Ds have roughly the same limit: http://www.anandtech.com/mb/showdoc.aspx?i=2822&p=4

werty316

08-27-2006, 09:50 PM

So are you saying if you OC, buying a E6700 would be a waste of cash? True to some but not everyone OCs.

I follow the theory of buying a low end CPU and OC'ing it to the speed of a more expensive CPU.

Scott Sherman

08-27-2006, 10:25 PM

Humm,

But if the E6700 has a higher multiplier and your chipset will not overclock the FSB that much then having the E6700 would make it a faster chip than the other Conroes.

Vaerilis

08-28-2006, 08:37 AM

Humm,

But if the E6700 has a higher multiplier and your chipset will not overclock the FSB that much then having the E6700 would make it a faster chip than the other Conroes.

Good point, but there are no good overclockers among the current motherboards, just bad ones and great ones. Some are stuck at 300-333MHz FSB (i945 and NF570, MSI P965...), and some are great overclockers, easily reaching at least 400MHz (DS3, DS4, P5W DH, P5B...).
Giving 700$ for an E6700 and 100$ for a mobo doesn't make much sense, but by spending 50$ more on the board, overclocking becomes a lot easier. Since a lot of cheap 667MHz sticks reach 800MHz-900MHz without any problem, expensive memory isn't an issue, either.
If a high multiplier and lower FSB (<400, since 3.6GHz seems to be the limit of the current retail CPUs) is desired, the E6600 overclocks just as well as the E6700, but costs roughly half as much.

werty316

08-28-2006, 05:58 PM

Don't forget that the C2D chips costs alot because it is newer technology and it practically just got released.

Cache size and frequency determine part of the costs difference between differeent models. The E6700 isn't twice as much as the E6600 in north america. Cheapest difference between the E6600 and E6700 I found in Canada is $265CAD.

Kougar

08-28-2006, 06:42 PM

Well back in reference to my other post on the previous page... Miles, if OCs are what you want then I would not suggest the Intel Bad Axe. Most people are pencil modding the thing just to reach the 50% OCs that the BIOS is limited to, which the P5W-DH/DQ6, and especially the P5B/DS3s can top easily. The Asus/Gigabyte boards are otherwise apples vs oranges to each other, but they both can OC very well. And whatever people say about the 965P chipset, at the moment I believe it has the edge in OCing. The ICH7 southbridge that comes with any 975X board is somewhere around 18 months old.

In all honestly I may have been to skittish in giving my chip the volts to OC higher, because 1.4v seems to be the usual just for ~2.8ghz OCs on a E6300... I'm currently at 1.356v at 3.33ghz. :-P

ToXic_WaSTe

08-28-2006, 08:26 PM

Miles

08-29-2006, 12:19 AM

To be perfectly frank with you guys the Conroe that I have, a 6600 B2 stepping 6 leaves the 5000+ in the dust with both at stock speeds. It does everything faster except for memory intensivve applications where the AM2 smokes it from a bandwidth standpoint.

First and foremost, I'm looking for a reference board that will support Crossfire as I have several articles planned. I want a board that overclocks well, but I'm not trying to set some new record with L2 or anything like that. I'm mainly interested in speed, features, and most importantly stability. The Intel has all of these but so do some of the Asus 965 and 975 boards. I'm of the opinion right now from everything that I've read that the 975 will be hard to beat and BTW, Intel will soon be releasing the "Bad Axe II" which will support both Duo 2 Core and quad core processors.

The problem is I can't wait, I need it in no more than 10 days or so to meet some deadlines. I need the best of all worlds now:mrgreen:

Victor

08-29-2006, 12:25 AM

hehehe, I do agree that intel board usually is nice. They are not the flashiest or the best OCer, or even most featured riched, but intel usually is rock solid stable, and won't fail as much as other boards. Current benchies all show that 975 performs equal is not slightly better than 965 chipset.
Have you check out this review on the Ati's chipset (http://techreport.com/reviews/2006q3/ecs-msi-xpress3200/index.x?pg=1)

Man, stop praising conroe, you are making me so want to upgrade, but I got to have some self-control. I think I will upgrade when the quad core is out. Must resist tempation.

Kougar

08-29-2006, 01:35 AM

http://www.legitreviews.com/article/380/1/

They prefer the Badaxe, that is with a E6300 but thats not the point. Yes you have to pencilmod it but when you do, you unlock all features. And its a simple mod.

But the 975 is old and you cant deny it, even if the P965 arent turning up too good, I think its where new potential lies.

But buy the cheapest CPU an Oc the hell out of it, thats what evryone should do. Otherwise find something that fits in your price range when it comes to both the C2D and the mobo.

Well, I'll admit I am being extremely focused on only the OC abilities, but that is simply because this processor above any other that has been previously released delivers more performance per clock, and therefore more performance per extra clock that you give it. That Legit Reviews showing the OCed benches will prove that, simply OCing the E6300 into a "E6700" with half the cache dropped the SuperPi 1m calc time in half.

In that Legit Reviews article their E6300 could not even reach a 400FSB with a Bad Axe, and as you pointed out that was with a pencil mod and 1.4v going into it! Any E6300 should be reaching ~450FSB, about 3.1ghz without physical mods and with less than 1.4v. Any ASUS should be capable of a minimum 400FSB, even with a 4mb cache E6600.

Miles, I did not know there was even a Bad Axe II coming out!! I am very curious what the differences will be... maybe a ICH8 southbridge?? I have read (and been told) the current Bad Axe is already drop in compatible with Kentsfield, so that can't be the only new feature... hmm. I know some Kentsfield users are running them on MSI boards, so I'd be pretty sure the ASUS P5W-DH would accept one. From everyone you've said then, I would strongly suggest the ASUS P5W-DH over the Intel Bad Axe. But that is just my opinion, nothing more... :mrgreen:

Miles

08-30-2006, 04:58 PM

I agree Kougar, the Bad Axe is now out of contention.

Miles

09-06-2006, 10:14 PM

Well guys the search is over, I bought the ASUS P5WDG2 WS Pro, got a really good deal...it will be here tomorrow!

Victor

09-07-2006, 12:42 AM

saw the review on the mobo, it looks like an awesome board. Miles you would have to update your signature soon:)

Kougar

09-13-2006, 09:29 PM

Miles, it's been about a week and not a peep from ya?! I couldn't leave my new rig alone for a few hours during the first week... :-P How's it shaping up?

And to my utter surprise, have you seen this one?!? "ASUS P5W64-WS (http://www.hothardware.com/viewarticle.aspx)".

ASUS stuck an extra chip on there, adding an extra 8 PCIe lanes.. For a total of 4 PCIe 16x slots capable of "X8, X8,X4,X8" speeds... that's a first for any Intel chipset board. :-P Maybe Bjorn3d could see about offering the second review of that board? ;)