Q6600 or Q8400 - Which is Better?

[newway01]

As the title says, pls solve this dilemma for me

Q6600 Specs - 8MB Cache, 2.45ghz, 1066mhz FSB
Q8400 Specs - 4MB Cache, 2.66ghz, 1333mhz FSB

Whats the deciding factor for processor series? Say, in case of Nvidia GPU's we know that a 8800 series provides better performance than 9500 series.. likewise for CPU's, Is Q8400>Q6600 or is it the other way around?

clock speed is low for Q6600, but we can OC it to 2.6ghz to match with the other proccy, rite?

In that case Q6600 looks better with extra 4MB cache, Am I right?

Also when talking about FSB's does Q6600 supports a 1333mhz DDR3 ram stick?

 

[Cilus]

Are you going to buy processor and motherboard or having motherboard and just upgrading your processor?
For a CPU+motherboard upgrade, none of the C2q IS A GOOD OPTION as they have reached their end of life already. Right now far better processor and motherboards are available in far cheaper price.

 

[Tachyon1986]

Cilus is right , don't go for the C2Q . You can try the i5 series of processors , they have 4 cores. AMD's X4 series is also a good option , or try the x6. If you have the money , get an i7.

I'll stick with my q6600 though, I got it really long back and it's still running strong.

 

[Joker]

both perform pretty much the same: AnandTech - Bench - CPU

q8400 lacks hardware virtualization.

and athlon II x4 645 (no cache) performs exactly similar to q8400 with lower power consumption. i dont even know if u will be able to find c2q now.

still..going for intel sandy bridge is the way to go.

 

[newway01]

Thanx for your inputs, guys. I am not going for any fancy new config new. I have a lga775 board sitting idle. So decided to put some life into it. The board is MSI P45 Neo, have 4gb DDR3 1333mhz ram, and a spare GPU (GT240 512mb). I guess a Core2Quad will do some mercy to this board. Only buying a used Quad core processor as buying anything new is simply waste of money. The main purpose of this PC is to play GTA4 at low settings and also some cpu intensive programming works and video encoding.

So which proccy will be a better choice? Forget the cost and stock clock speed. Does that 8Mb cache of Q6600 will be worth to go for than 4Mb cache of the other proccy?

btw, does the lack of hardware virtualization on 8400 affects overall performance?

 

[coderunknown]

all these fall in same performance section: Core 2 Quad Q6700, Q9300, Q8400, Q6600, Q8300.

Q6600 is based on 65nm process & run hot. check for used Q8300/8400.

 

[newway01]

^^^ thanx. As I don't intend to use any aftermarket cpu coolers, Q8400 will serve me well

 

[Cilus]

The price of C2Q 8400 will be around 7.5 to 8K. But it is very hard to find now.