Owners of Intel Core 2 Quad processors are now suffering more than ever, since such chips have ceased to cope with their tasks. Time passes, and new products are replacing the already "experienced" product. The only thing that may help to somehow improve the system is overclocking the Q6600. We will talk about this processor further.
Appearance
The history of this “crystal” begins in 2007. Then Intel announced dual-core processors of the Core family. They turned out to be a good product that was able to replace obsolete versions.
So that the buyer does not relax, the manufacturer next launches the quad version. So there was Intel 2 Quad Q6600. Acceleration has not yet been studied, and there was no particular need for this.
Although such a company’s activity seemed commendable, they didn’t bother much with the implementation of new products. To get a quad-core chip, we took two cores from Core 2 Duo and placed them on one platform. As a result, in fact, we got both a dual-processor system and a quad-core crystal.
So that users can try out new products, they first decided to release an extreme version of the QX6700. It was distinguished by its powerful architecture and rather considerable cost.
And while enthusiasts were satisfied with the productive crystal, the manufacturer pleased the “mere mortals” with the budget version of the Core 2 Quad Q6600. Acceleration can still be tested, but to expect an unprecedented increase was not worth it.
The only problem that had to be encountered when entering the market was the high cost. On the one hand - we have a budget chip in front of us, on the other - the equivalent of $ 500 is not a low price. Fortunately, after a few months there was a sharp decline in prices, and the model became cheaper by 2 times.
Sale
In 2007, most of the chips were delivered to test laboratories without packaging or equipment. This model has become an exception. The box is already familiar to the buyer from Intel. Made in blue with minimal graphic elements.
There is a mention in front of which processor model is in front of us. On the sides there is more detailed information.
The chip itself is packed in a plastic protective container. It is small in size with a familiar appearance. In addition to the processor, there was a cooler with a copper core and an instruction manual.
general information
Looking at the heat distribution panel of the product, one could notice basic information about it. In large letters, his model was indicated - Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600. The overclocking of the novelty could not be determined at first glance, and one could only guess what the processor could give out.
The operating frequency of 2400 MHz, the cache value of the second level and the bus frequency indicators were immediately indicated. The following code provided information on the motherboard's nutrition. This indicator, by the way, has become less stringent, so the number of supported motherboards has increased, which means that there are more variations of the assembled systems.
Technologies
Now some technologies that were used 10 years ago have evolved and become better, some have completely disappeared due to uselessness. One way or another, then the technologies used in the chips were praised, and some of them could affect overclocking.
For example, Intel Thermal Monitor 2 monitored the heating temperature and, in the event of an increase to critical, introduced comprehensive measures. Clock pulses were activated, the frequency and operating voltage decreased. All this had to be done to prevent the failure of the system.
Intel Virtualization Technology was an auxiliary tool. The technology gained access to hardware resources at the request of virtual machines.
A similar function was performed by Enhanced Halt State technology. She kept the indicators of heat dissipation and power consumption due to the shutdown of units at the time of inactivity of the processor.
Benefits
The above options were found in the early generations, but besides them there were updated ones that appeared in the new family. They influenced the architectural potential and distinguished a new product from the rest.
Overclocking the Q6600 processor could not take place without PECI. This technology performed several tasks to control the system. She autonomously processed the temperature sensors. If necessary, it easily controlled the speed of the fans: main and case.
For this option to work fully, it was necessary to have it on the motherboard. If it was there, then all indicators became more accurate, which means that overclocking became safer.
Main settings
Before starting overclocking the Quad Q6600, it was important to study all the features of the new product. Before us is a chip that worked with a Socket T. Its clock frequency was 2.4 GHz. The bus frequency reached 1066 MHz.
The second level of cache size was 8 MB. The kernel began to be called Kentsfield. Inside there were four cores. The crystal supported a series of instructions. He worked at a supply voltage of 1,100-1,372 V. The average power dissipation was 105 watts.
Activation
With the correct selection of the motherboard, the processor was automatically detected by the system at startup. No additional operations and installations were needed. To work in parallel with four independent threads, you had to immediately reboot the system. Then four logical processors came into operation.
Of course, four cores were not needed for every program. There were text packs and games that loaded two cores. There were also such software that, thanks to multi-threaded processes, increased the speed of their work.
Even if you did not use the Q6600 overclocking, you could safely use the available parameters for any tasks. Active technologies increased productivity, adapted non-optimized applications and used maximum resources.
Tests
But in order to test the new product and test its potential, it was necessary not only to conduct testing, but also to test overclocking.
Testing, by the way, showed a not very good result, but made it possible to draw some conclusions. It turned out that the new product had almost no effect on the performance of games and most standard applications. The quad-core processor turned out to be useful only to those who wanted a workstation, a system for 3D-modeling or a simple server.
For computer games, I would have to choose something else.
Overclocking
Overclocking the Quad Q6600 processor was an urgent problem. Then any product dreamed to improve and test the potential. Then the main problem of overclocking was the cooling system. A regular cooler rarely coped with over-operations.
The same thing happened this time. Air cooling conditionally raised the frequency to 3.6 GHz. The system was able to start only with a stable indicator of 3.4 GHz.
For some time, working at this speed showed that this value is not stable. The reason for this was bench cooling. The temperature rose to 75 degrees, at a critical rate - 62.
In order for the system to work stably, it was necessary to reduce the frequency to 3.1 GHz. In this case, the processor received the highest quality overclocking. The Q6600 potentially turned out to be a very good overclocker product, but with the purchase of a good cooling system.
As a result, we got a good product from a budget processor with the ability to improve performance. Overclocking amounted to 30% and affected the overall performance of the processor, its efficiency, optimization and performance.
findings
As a result, we have an interesting model, about which much more can be said. Those who worked with her remember how much ahead of her time. At the time of release, it was difficult to find applications that could load this chip at 100%.
Such software could include software for 3D-modeling, rendering, video processing, codecs. In this case, multi-core architecture realized itself completely.
And while most buyers used simple programs that did not fully reveal the new product, this model could hardly become a sales leader. Even despite the good overclocking performance of the Intel Q6600 processor, it still remained in the shadow of more efficient, albeit less productive, chips.
Therefore, buyers who planned to build a home gaming PC did not even pay attention to this model. But after a few years, the processor has become really useful and in demand, although less competitive.