Hey there!

I have an OEM fan for a E6300 @ 2,8GHz. Would it operate with a Q6600, or that's just a stupid as hell idea from me? If so, would I notice extreme high temperatures?

I believe all off those default heatsinks are the same. It should work under normal circumstances. I would monitor it though, I can't imagine it would run cool at full load. Those fans are loud as **** as well.

A better heatsink isn't that expensive btw. You could try it, but in the long run I would get another cooler.

I also thought these heatsinks are all the same, and looks like I'm not alone then. I'm running this one for years with the E6300 now, and I didn't notice the loudness really. But I guess a Q6600 or a Q8400 for 50 EUR is a bargain for a temporaily upgrade. At some point I will just sell the whole rig and get something from ground.

Heatsinks aren't expensive indeed, if it has problems it's not a fuss to upgrade. Anyways, how about the Q6600 or Q8400 in comparision? I mean they cost the same currently. How are they for gaming?

There are small differences between the factory coolers. Quad core coolers have a copper base and the ends of the cooling fins split up for more cooling area.

Propably won't matter at all as long as you don't overclock.

They're both fine for gaming I think. I honestly don't think you would notice a difference. I've got a Q9300 overclocked to 3GHz and still plays all games nicely.

Probably be ok, but if you've got a Q6600 in a decent board your really required to overclock it to the max.

Aftermarket coolers are really cheap, I got a Q6600, ROG ASUS board, 650 power supply and a GTX 275 for next to nothing, flicked the 275 for most of what I paid, got a decent cooler, a Scythe Katana 4, for about $20 nz ( 10 quid ) and it run's happily at 3.2 without raising a sweat. In fact it run's cooler than it did at default speed with the stock cooler.

Ok, it's also in a case I picked up for free a while ago with major fan's, that helps it......

These things overclock really happily so spend a bit on a good cooler is my advice.

Thanks for all the answers guys. Now I'm really considering a full PC upgrade, with i5 3570, because I actually have the budget for it, I wasn't just sure that I want to spend all that money on a whole new config. Thinking about it, the Quad Core would be something I'd get rid of in matter of months, or a year though, so upgrading to an outdated hardware might not be the best option after all.

It all comes down to your budget and wants.

TBH the Q6600 ( the easily oc version ) is actually fine for every use I can find for it. It really depends on how much money you have free to spend on a toy.
If you have a big budget then a Q6600 with a totally ott video card will give a better result than an i5 with an average video card.

If you have lots of cash, then, why not both

( Maybe I shouldn't say this but...... Scrawen couldn't get LFS programming working with 7, was thrilled that he got XP working, and DX 9 is a journey into the unknown.......... )

Hi ban !

Seriously thou, you really don't need to spend big bucks on your board and processor, they were already ott with the Q6600, video cards have improved and that's a better use of your cash IMHO.

I've already upgraded my video card all so recently, and I guess the current CPU is bottlenecking it a little too hard.