Xeon X5355 processor
- Thread starter tbuck92
- Start date
mattr
Resident moody teenager
If you're running your Q6600 stock, that Xeon is marginally better (though with a higher TDP).
However an overclocked Q6600 (I run mine at 3.2ghz) should be a lot better than that.
Overclocking the Xeon? Maybe... don't know how well they overclock. I guess they're more or less the same chip as the equivalent Core 2 Quads.
But to run the Xeon you'd need a whole new motherboard (LGA771) which probably wouldn't come cheap as they're all gonna be aimed at the server market, and you'd probably have to get fully buffered RAM as well. Almost certainly not worth it over the Q6600.
Out of interest, do you have the B3 stepping or G0 stepping of the Q6600?
However an overclocked Q6600 (I run mine at 3.2ghz) should be a lot better than that.
Overclocking the Xeon? Maybe... don't know how well they overclock. I guess they're more or less the same chip as the equivalent Core 2 Quads.
But to run the Xeon you'd need a whole new motherboard (LGA771) which probably wouldn't come cheap as they're all gonna be aimed at the server market, and you'd probably have to get fully buffered RAM as well. Almost certainly not worth it over the Q6600.
Out of interest, do you have the B3 stepping or G0 stepping of the Q6600?
mattr
Resident moody teenager
If you bought it recently then its almost certainly the G0 stepping, which runs cooler and is better for overclocking.
I guess I'm still thinking back to when I got mine three or so years ago and it was just as they released the G0 stepping, so all the shops were trying to quickly sell off the B3s before anyone realised. I think I shop I got my G0 from was the only one that would guarantee to send you the G0 - nowhere else would make any promises about which one! I suppose if you have a few hundred near-obsolete CPUs left to get rid of, you're gonna do what you can to shift the stock! A few weeks later and that had died down though...
Anyway, no, the Q6600 is a foolproof overclock so long as you have a half-decent motherboard and some decent airflow inside your case. You can even safely get away with the standard Intel cooler for 'mild' overclocks, though a decent HSF (I have a Noctua one which has been really good) will run quieter and cooler.
I've run mine at 3ghz ever since I built the PC a few years ago - I don't think its ever run at stock clock speed apart from the first boot into the BIOS! Has been a "set and forget" job where I don't even remember about it being overclocked. A few months ago I knocked it up to 3.2ghz and the temps didn't noticeably rise. Never had any stability problems at either clock speed, and its crashed about a grand total of two times in the 3 years I've had it!
I guess I'm still thinking back to when I got mine three or so years ago and it was just as they released the G0 stepping, so all the shops were trying to quickly sell off the B3s before anyone realised. I think I shop I got my G0 from was the only one that would guarantee to send you the G0 - nowhere else would make any promises about which one! I suppose if you have a few hundred near-obsolete CPUs left to get rid of, you're gonna do what you can to shift the stock! A few weeks later and that had died down though...
Anyway, no, the Q6600 is a foolproof overclock so long as you have a half-decent motherboard and some decent airflow inside your case. You can even safely get away with the standard Intel cooler for 'mild' overclocks, though a decent HSF (I have a Noctua one which has been really good) will run quieter and cooler.
I've run mine at 3ghz ever since I built the PC a few years ago - I don't think its ever run at stock clock speed apart from the first boot into the BIOS! Has been a "set and forget" job where I don't even remember about it being overclocked. A few months ago I knocked it up to 3.2ghz and the temps didn't noticeably rise. Never had any stability problems at either clock speed, and its crashed about a grand total of two times in the 3 years I've had it!