Intel's below $300 Gift

[txnetcop]

While Penryn is scheduled to come out sometime in November, let's face it...it ain't gonna be cheap and I really don't believe the Penryn ready motherboards are going to be much fun at least until version 1.1 or better. So what's body to do? Well how about affording a great overclocker that runs up there with the big boys in speed and durability. I just built one that shows 3dMark06 scores of over 14,000 and overclocks to 3.6 stable on air cooling. Yep, it's affordable...less than $300 and there are some bargain basement motherboards under $200.00 that will do it justice as well. I call the Q6600 The Poorboy Special and it brings the sauce with it!!!

Multi-Core Confrontation: Core 2 Quad Q6600 vs. Core 2 Duo E6850

http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/cpu/display/core2quad-q6600.html


Calling all bargain basement Core 2 Duo shoppers:

That quad above is great, but software has to be written to take advantage of Quad speed. Right now Core 2 Duo is still king in FSX, and most games(true this will change some day), and the new, higher bus speeds for a gravy price are only going to add to your enjoyment.

Now let me give you some more encouragement for those who can only afford Core 2 Duo...it's all about the BUS...no not BUS Bettis. The higher your front side bus throughout your system the faster and better your frame rates will be for gaming so here is another interesting read:

New Member In Core 2 Duo Processor Family: Introducing CPUs with 1333MHz Bus

http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/cpu/display/core2duo-e6850.html

Therefore, Core 2 Duo E6850, 6750 and 6550 should become very popular among overclockers, especially since Intel is going to price them very affordably. According to the preliminary data, Core 2 Duo E6850 will sell for $266, Core 2 Duo E6750 - for $183, and Core 2 Duo E6550 – for $163. This attractive price tag will certainly help Intel stimulate the transition to systems with 1333MHz bus.

Ted

[Scratch]

Interesting stuff. Thanks. I'm due for a complete rebuild/upgrade so I'll be watching more closely in the coming months.

[Wally-Bob]

Ted,
FS9 would not run on my PC when it came out, so I sort of dropped out at that point. I bought FSX at the PX for a little less than the best price I later found on the internet, and decided to get back into this favorite past time once again. I have read many of your threads, followed your links and have concluded you are a subject matter expert.

Here's what I am contemplating:
E6850 (3.0 GHz 1333 FSB)
vs.
Q6600 (2.4 GHz 1066 FSB)
and
Gigabyte Ga-X38T (FSB 1600 DDR3 1600) @ 2GB
vs.
Gigabyte GA-X38 (FSB 1600 DDR2 1066) @ 4GB
and
ATI 2900XT
vs.
ATI 2600XT crossfired pair
and
XP
vs.
Vista

I believe I know the solution, but I'm wondering what may be on the FSX software horizon to change the mix. The order date should be 27 DEC, shipped to my APO.

I have built every computer I have owned. (Except my first, 286-33MHz) You can deduce my budget here, so maybe there is a better tact than I proceeding on. Your advice is welcomed.

wb

[txnetcop]

First, I have seen little difference in speed between an E6850 and Q6600, but you should experience less stutters with the Quad Core and the Q6600 with GO stepping overclocks like crazy and stays cool with air. The rest of it looks pretty good to me, you may want to consider the Nvidia EVGA 8800 GT SSC over the ATI 2900 XT. It is much faster and gives a better picture for about the same price. I personally saw this tested at TechCorp and there are numerous articles demonstrating the speed of the GT over the 2900XT. The speed of the single GT card was very close to the more expensive GTX cards.

e-GeForce 8800GT SSC 512MB - fastest GT card available-$299.00
http://www.evga.com/products/moreinfo.asp?pn=512-P3-N806-A1&family=19

Performance http://www.evga.com/images/common/blt_subnav.gif NVIDIA GeForce 8800GT http://www.evga.com/images/common/blt_subnav.gif 700 MHz GPU http://www.evga.com/images/common/blt_subnav.gif 112 Pixel Pipelines http://www.evga.com/images/common/blt_subnav.gif 400 MHz RAMDAC Memory http://www.evga.com/images/common/blt_subnav.gif 512 MB, 256 bit DDR3 http://www.evga.com/images/common/blt_subnav.gif 2000 MHz (effective) http://www.evga.com/images/common/blt_subnav.gif 64.0 GB/s Memory Bandwidth Interface http://www.evga.com/images/common/blt_subnav.gif PCI-E 16x http://www.evga.com/images/common/blt_subnav.gif DVI-I, DVI-I, HDTV-7 http://www.evga.com/images/common/blt_subnav.gif SLI Capable (http://www.evga.com/articles/public.asp?AID=220) Resolution & Refresh http://www.evga.com/images/common/blt_subnav.gif 240Hz Max Refresh Rate http://www.evga.com/images/common/blt_subnav.gif 2560x1600 Max Analog http://www.evga.com/images/common/blt_subnav.gif 2560x1600 Max Digital Requirements http://www.evga.com/images/common/blt_subnav.gif Minimum of a 400 Watt power supply.
(Minimum recommended power supply with +12 Volt current rating of 22 Amp Amps.)
Minimum 450 Watt for SLI mode system.
(Minimum recommended power supply with +12 Volt current rating of 24 Amp Amps.) http://www.evga.com/images/common/blt_subnav.gif An available 6 pin PCI-E power connector (hard drive power dongle to PCI-E 6 pin adapter included with card)
Since you have Vista you will want to use Acceleration and the preview DX10. Unless you are using 64Bit Vista you can only address 3GB of memory
Ted

[BladeRun]

Sounds like it's time to start building :)

[txnetcop]

Sounds like it's time to start building :)

Wally Bob is especially correct in using the x38 boards as they are the most compatible with Intel Penryn when he is ready for that upgrade, and they use DDR2 and DDR3 memory. It is a good time to build.
Ted

[Butcherbird17]

That GA-X38T-DQ6 looks to be a good board. I like the fact that it will support ddr2 1066mhz memory if you dont want to pay the price of ddr3.
Welcome to SOH and stay safe over there. S~

Joe

[Wally-Bob]

Ted,
Thanks for the reply.

Roger that about the GeForce 8800GT SSC 512MB, but wouldn't a 2900XT crossfired pair beat it? I am thinking about upgrade/expansion maybe not to far off when the $2900XT drops. I have always been an ATI fan and am waiting for them to retake the lead with their next issue, this is my bet for not choosing a SLI MoBo. Absolutely buy the best MoBo you can now for the future, thats why I'm leaning DDR3.

You are recommending Vista over XP, right? (Yea, momentarily forgot the 3 vs. 4GB issue)

wb

[txnetcop]

Ted,
Thanks for the reply.

Roger that about the GeForce 8800GT SSC 512MB, but wouldn't a 2900XT crossfired pair beat it? I am thinking about upgrade/expansion maybe not to far off when the $2900XT drops. I have always been an ATI fan and am waiting for them to retake the lead with their next issue, this is my bet for not choosing a SLI MoBo. Absolutely buy the best MoBo you can now for the future, thats why I'm leaning DDR3.

You are recommending Vista over XP, right? (Yea, momentarily forgot the 3 vs. 4GB issue)

wb

The ATI XT in crossfire is a good choice only if the individual price of the card comes down. If you have checked any of the sites that do reviews the GT really runs away from it, however I like the drivers for ATI better than the ones for Nvidia, so I use nHancer along with NVidia and get a superior graphics array. Honestly, if you can wait, the ATI 670 engine is pretty fabulous and should be out in a week. I'm still a 8800 GT fan, the only one I would have though would be the EVGA SSC right now just because I saw the numbers it put up on FSX compared to the 2900XT in Crossfire. In SLI mode the GTs overtook the GTX.

Stay safe my friend! Godspeed and come home in one piece.
Ted

Yes for DX10 usage you must use Vista and the ability to use DX10...there are some issues but nothing insurmountable. It does pretty up FSX, especially the 3D effects of ground textures and fuselages.

[Wally-Bob]

Many thanks Sir,

You have made both my short term and long-term path crystal clear.
I look forward to my first FSX simulated BlackHawk mission from Camp Liberty Pad to the Green Zone. (As close as I will come to actually piloting these missions I've been on.)

wb
:USA-flag:

p.s., Anybody know where I can acquire a BlackHawk, Lima model?

[Trans_1007]

Closet hc i could find for fsx is the seahawk.

S-70B-6 Aegean Hawk Hellenic Navy http://library.avsim.net/images/ZipDive.png (http://library.avsim.net/zipdiver.php?DLID=98483) http://library.avsim.net/images/Download.png (http://library.avsim.net/download.php?DLID=98483)

Images related to this file:

s-70b-6_aegean_hawk-1.jpg (http://library.avsim.net/sendfile.php?Location=AVSIM&Proto=file&ImageID=154589)
s-70b-6_aegean_hawk-2.jpg (http://library.avsim.net/sendfile.php?Location=AVSIM&Proto=file&ImageID=154590)
s-70b-6_aegean_hawk-3.jpg (http://library.avsim.net/sendfile.php?Location=AVSIM&Proto=file&ImageID=154591)
s-70b-6_aegean_hawk-4.jpg (http://library.avsim.net/sendfile.php?Location=AVSIM&Proto=file&ImageID=154592)
s-70b-6_aegean_hawk-5.jpg (http://library.avsim.net/sendfile.php?Location=AVSIM&Proto=file&ImageID=154593)
s-70b-6_aegean_hawk-6.jpg (http://library.avsim.net/sendfile.php?Location=AVSIM&Proto=file&ImageID=154594)

http://library.avsim.net/sendfile.php?Location=AVSIM&Proto=file&ImageID=154588 File Description:
The Sea Hawk is a naval version of the famous Black Hawk helicopter. Hellenic Navy has total 11 Sea Hawks. In Greece they are know as Aegean Hawks instead of Sea because of the Aegean Sea. The Hellenic Nay decide to order 5 S-70B-6 Aegean Hawks in the July of 1991 for use with the 4 MEKO 200HN Frigates Idra Class. Other 3 helicopter were ordered and in the year 2000 3 more were bought with advanced electronics. This Aegean Hawk mainly is for the FSX, but in case you want to fly it on your FS2004, we have included the needed files. The package is complete. It contains model with Virtual Cockpit, new Panel, Sounds, rework Flight Dynamics.
Filename:s-70b-6_aegean_hawk.zipLicense:Freeware, limited distributionAdded:26th February 2007Downloads:6452Author:Thanasis Delizisis, Panagiotis DelizisisSize:19371kb

[Bjoern]

What do you think, Ted?

Would it be worth binning my E6600 for one of those?

[txnetcop]

What do you think, Ted?

Would it be worth binning my E6600 for one of those?

Amigo that would be a very rough decision in light of the new Penryn line coming out, the second set of Penryns will be introduced in January and the new x38 boards are HOT, but with that said, I really am impressed with the overclocking range of the Q6600 as is TechCorp and xbitlabs. With DDR2 1066 fast RAM it really screams. The price is right for price/performance, but it may get better just before Christmas.
Ted

[Bjoern]

Oh, those aren't Penryns?

Well, I'll wait then. My 975X is 45nm ready, and I think there are good chances that Asus makes their former high-end boards Penryn compatible.

Aaaand I still need the money. :d

[txnetcop]

Here is the only Penryn available right now

Intel Core 2 Extreme QX9650 Yorkfield 3.0GHz 12MB L2 Cache LGA 775

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115034

12MB cache...WOOOOOHOOOOO!

More coming in the next 30 to 60 days
Ted

[Bjoern]

Here is the only Penryn available right now

Intel Core 2 Extreme QX9650 Yorkfield 3.0GHz 12MB L2 Cache LGA 775

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115034

12MB cache...WOOOOOHOOOOO!

More coming in the next 30 to 60 days
Ted

This sucker costs almost as much as my whole system did a year ago. :isadizzy:

[heywooood]

yeah, $1350.00? :173go1:

I guess a couple of people in here won't have to wait for the price to settle into reality....but I'm not one of them

I'll check the price again in 6 months to a year from now

[txnetcop]

This sucker costs almost as much as my whole system did a year ago. :isadizzy:

Retail OEM $989.00 thru pricewatch.com but still way outta my price range...however I'm still accepting doantions:costumes:
Ted

[Bjoern]

Gnah, this thing is even unusually expensive in Euros (997).

[DennyA]

The cheap Penryns (actually, Yorkfield, for quad-core) come in January. You'll be able to pick up a super-fast chip in the $300 to $500 range.

[Bjoern]

Sounds much better.

...but I still need the money for one. :d

[DennyA]

I lied. According to this chart, the entry-level quad-core will be $266.

http://techgage.com/article/intel_core_2_extreme_qx9770_performance_preview/

I remember paying like $400 for a 25MHz 68040 processor. :)

[Bjoern]

Might go for a Q9550 then. The Duos wouldn't be much of a step up for me.