Get this or the Q6600 G0? Is it better to get the E8400 OC to 4.0 or spend the extra $20 for the Q6600 OC to 3.2?
462571
If you check an independent rating site, like tomshardware.com, you'll see the E8400 has an edge on the Q6600 in just about every category of application... and it's a few bucks cheaper!
585593
Yes, overclocks great;update BIOS version if possible,always best to have latest drivers.
1211085
sigma recently came out with 17-70 version which has a C mark on it. its a good walk around woiyth f2.8 to 4. IS or OS is a good thing and its a personal decision. I have always preferred them as sometimes you forget to hold your breath for that magic moment which may not be as crisp otherwise.
82630
3630qm at 2.4 is correct. I wondered myself but my Y580 reports this in the bios so it must be right.
138397
Since you plan on keeping it a long time (more than 5 years), it might be best to get the i7. However the difference between them does not appear to be significant. I too am about to buy a Pro. I was gonna get the i7 but after watching countless Youtube videos and reading reviews about it I decided paying $400 more from the 2.4 ghz i5 was not worth the miniscule bump in power. From what I gather on youtube, the 2.4ghz is capable of playing all current games on high or close to high settings (not extremely high though). I've seen videos of people playing everything from Modern Warfare 2 to Mass Effect 2 to Crysis with relative ease. I've also seen a video of someone testing how capable the i5 was at multitasking by running multiple programs at the same time. He had 3 VMware windows open + itunes + email + Dreamweaver and a few others open and it ran very smoothly. If you are planing on keeping your Pro for at least 10 years (not impossible) then you may as well get the i7. If like me you predict you might upgrade in 5 years or so, then I would get the 2.4 ghz i5. The difference between that and the i7 is rather small and not worth the extra $400. Check out this video for more info: www.youtube.com/watch?v=z0-l37pgqa0 In case the link isn't working just go to Youtube and type in "2.4 GHz Core i5 or Core i7 2.66 GHz MacBook Pro". Also, according to this review, the 2.4 ghz i5 is faster than the 2.8 ghz mid 2009 macbook pro: www.macworld.com/article/150146/2010/04/15inch_macbookpro_corei5i7.html
745631
I would opt for the msi card especially if you plan on overclocking. The triple over voltage of the msi card will give you higher stable overclocks. It also runs extremely silent compared to the evga blower style cooling system. Just my two cents :).
1920590
I had a 240 and the upgrade wasn't amazing straight out of the box - if you're lucky and get one that you can unlock, then you're obviously in good shape. Otherwise you won't notice much improvement until you overclock it a bit - luckily there you have a lot of guides on the Internet specifically for the Phenom X2 550. Mine's running comfortably at 3.72 GHz, (1.45v, x15.5 multiplier, CPU up from 200 to 240) - it's on all the time because it's a work/media server, and restarts are only necessary when I'm installing updates (or it crashes playing Far Cry 3). For the price, it was a good stopgap upgrade, but I'm still looking to move to Intel at the middle-to-end of the year. I had a 240 and the upgrade wasn't amazing straight out of the box - if you're lucky and get one that you can unlock, then you're obviously in good shape. Otherwise you won't notice much improvement until you overclock it a bit - luckily there you have a lot of guides on the Internet specifically for the Phenom X2 550. Mine's running comfortably at 3.72 GHz, (1.45v, x15.5 multiplier, CPU up from 200 to 240) - it's on all the time because it's a work/media server, and restarts are only necessary when I'm installing updates (or it crashes playing Far Cry 3). For the price, it was a good... » Read More I had a 240 and the upgrade wasn't amazing straight out of the box - if you're lucky and get one that you can unlock, then you're obviously in good shape. Otherwise you won't notice much improvement until you overclock it a bit - luckily there you have a lot of guides on the Internet specifically for the Phenom X2 550. Mine's running comfortably at 3.72 GHz, (1.45v, x15.5 multiplier, CPU up from 200 to 240) - it's on all the time because it's a work/media server, and restarts are only necessary when I'm installing updates (or it crashes playing Far Cry 3). For the price, it was a good stopgap upgrade, but I'm still looking to move to Intel at the middle-to-end of the year. « Show Less
831456
The latest BIOS is 4404. I don't know what BIOS is currently shipping with this board, since it would depend on when the board was manufactured. However, 4404 was released in October of 2013, so if the source of the board has fresh stock, you'll likely get the latest BIOS. In any event, I use G-Skill 2133 memory (8x4GB - Quad Matched Sticks) in this board and run it at XMP setting with a hex-core 3930 CPU running at 4.2 GHz, and a Corsair H80i cooler. I replaced the stock H80i cooler fans (noisy) with the Corsair PWM High Static Pressure models (2 fans - push-pull - blowing out of the case), and even when all 6 cores are running at 100% while recoding video for hours at a time, the temp never gets above 70 degrees C. It's a fine board and once I added that H80i and those fans, it has run flawlessly. Buy it, you'll like it!
1564122
I was planning to buy next week too. Hopefully its a temporary issue...I don't want to pay $200 more for a 2.0 Ghz processor & Superdrive.
719140
cant remember the exact number . but there is no oc on this processor&#65292;should be around 2.6
2284195
Preferably 1600 to 2400mhz will do, your definitely going to want to overclock this APU to squeeze out it's performance. I do not recommend going over 4.1 on the overclock though. But even 1600 mhz ram can be sped up a bit to get some extra performance out of the thing.
65227
Not really. If you are browsing the web and word processing I would go with 2.0 GHZ. I would use the extra money to buy the extended applecare or add more memory.
1178657
The only difference is their cooling solution and which brand you prefer. Factory overclocks are very low and you can easily increase them over what is done at the factory yourself. Basically just look for the price and brand you want, the clock speed shouldn't be a factor.
408891
I tried the HS 20 not once, but twice -- because I thought the first had to be a bad copy. It wasn't. Both provided a nightmarish experience, leaving me with the feeling that anything would be better than the HS20. In that context, I'd opt for the 7000. But in the broader, more realistic context of the year 2014, you should rule out both the 10-year-old 7000 AND the HS20. Immediately, and irreversibly. Even if they cost you nothing, you'd still be wasting time, energy, and precious moments.
2071363
Check with Asus for recommended upgrades is always the best move to save you the trouble of buying the wrong CPU. Here is a link to the G2 socket family of CPUs
554253
Anyone have ideas? I'm looking at either the newer 810 or last year's 1000 as well. Specs looks similar. Thanks.
1344507
I bought the 20inch 2.0 ghz iMac last week. I dont think an upgrade of the CPU is required but wont hurt. I went with a RAM upgrade as I am a developer (100 bucks only for 4GB). It gives good performance with 2.0 ghz CPU.