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The introduction of the new Quad Core
processors from Intel have not only provided many with technology that will offer
a greater level of performance, but has sparked an unusual amount of interest
among many overclockers thanks to one particular release. Leaving AMD struggling to release their own competitive
solution, Intel has now manage to not only take a much stronger hold of the
enthusiast market, but have managed
to convert many of these users over to their platform in general. In
this short article, I'm not referring to all their Quad Core
processors but one in particular that has not caused this much interest
since the release of a select few Pentium 4 processors that many overclockers went completely ape over
years ago. I'm referring to the Q6600 with
G0 stepping.
This somewhat difficult to find processor has cause
quite a stir and has managed to gained this unusual amount interest with
very good reason. I can't possibly cover everything in detail here,
but perform a Google search simply on "G0 Stepping" and you'll quickly not
only find out what all the hype is about, but will probably interest you
enough to finally give in and upgrade or build that next system you've been
planning for some time now. If there is one product I find that is
finally capable of justifying an upgrade, this is certainly the one on many
levels.
What is G0 Stepping?
Considering the wide demographics we target,
it is important to at least briefly cover processor releases in general.
Without getting too technical or too detailed, you must look at processors
in somewhat the same way you look at the software you use on a daily basis.
When a manufacturer, in this case Intel, finds some issues and or "bugs"
with a release, they will actually act upon this and release a product that
will, in mostly all cases, provide a higher level of performance in a number
of different levels. Like software, think of them as revisions to a
product that has already been released to the public. Unfortunately
though, unlike the comparison chosen here to software, the manufacturer will
not "officially" notify the public that an improvement has been made and
that it is actually available for purchase. In fact, unless you're a
professional in the field, one who follows technology closely or simply a
very smart shopper that does their research before any purchase, you will
not even know that you actually have an option on the very same product that
you are after. Yes, this may sound like something that can upset many
users but when looking at it through their eyes, the simple truth is that
unless you are an avid overclocker, most will not even
have a clue that the product they purchased is any different.
Q6600 G0 Availability
Currently, the Core 2 Quad Q6600 is available
with either a B3 stepping or G0 stepping. Without some research on
your part, the chances of you getting a G0 model is roughly 25%-50%.
Note that these findings were based on some pretty intense research that not only
involved the results of most purchases from certain vendors and/or
retailers, but all based on a large number of calls to a majority of
companies offering this product for purchase. You really want a
"guaranteed" G0 stepping Q6600? You actually do have options if you
take the time to do your research. However, what most should note is
that some online shops have actually taken advantage of the high demand by
luring most into purchase using some clever techniques that may not only
guarantee a G0 model, but offer no real indication as to when you may
actually receive the product and no refund on your payment. I'm not at liberty to discuss sites that
do offer them or sites that take this approach, but will say that most will
not actually allow an option to buy but rather offer a "pre-order"
option. When in search of this product, please do take the time to do
your research. If you search hard enough, you will find sites that not
only guarantee a G0 stepping Q6660, but offer it at the same or even a lower
price than the more readily available B3 model.
Reason Behind All the Hype
So, the most important question here is what
benefits the G0 stepping Q6600's do indeed offer. Well, in short, it
will run significantly cooler than the more common B3 offerings that are out
on the market. For any hardcore overclocker, this is actually a big
deal and I would like to take this opportunity to emphasize on the term
"cooler". I've build so many systems with so many different kinds of
processors where I can honestly say that I
have not come across a CPU that runs this cool in a very long time. In
fact, it was very clear when using what I consider is the best cooling
option on the market. For any experienced overclocker, achieving the
highest stable overlock can be quite a challenge and will indeed
involve a considerable amount of time an effort on your part. What the
G0 Q6600 will offer you is not only some outstanding results, but require
little effort and/or knowledge to achieve it. Most importantly does not really require
expensive cooling options to reach such levels.
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