buying pc, nerdy questions inside

[Vizzys]

So I have like a pc built on newegg (using wish list atm) and it will have an Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 because they have the cheapest price anywhere but ebay.

Anyway I was wondering, since newegg doesnt guarantee you get the newer g0 over the older b3 "stepping" if I should buy for a slightly higher price over at tigerdirect which does?

does it really matter? someone mind explaining the difference? I know it has to do with overclocking and is a revision of sorts, but thats about it.

I have an athlon 64 right now so Im just a *bit* behind on everything cpu wise.

[MrAngryFace]

Fuck, im so lost. I need to read up on CPUs again. I havent upgraded my PC in a while and all this shit left me in the dust again lol.

[Vizzys]

i guess stepping is just like a revision number, g0 being the latest and greatest, thats what I gather

but is it omg awesome

[MrAngryFace]

I miss the old days when they just did 1 2 3 4, then they got all wacky

[MCD]

quick google search:

http://anandtech.com/cpuchipsets/intel/showdoc.aspx?i=3066&p=1

G0 fixes a handful of bugs, but most of them were minor and or have software workarounds in play. The more noticeable aspect of G0 is its lower power consumption, which some have proposed as meaning G0 cores may be better overclockers.

http://forums.slickdeals.net/showthread.php?sduid=0&t=598548 (summary about the first article)

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20071121102006AA9dqLf

I believe the excitement over the G0 stepping versions is that, because they run lower power they can be overclocked significantly. I've heard of people overclocking them by 50% without needing anything meatier than the stock cooler.

[Vizzys]

good finds, the second link is a good summary I missed

I don't plan on overclocking that much so I guess I wont worry and will order from newegg hoping for the best