Since most processors cost $100-200 dollars, does that mean the Extreme processors are good for life?

Question

Because the QX6700 and the X6700 cost about $1000. Whats up with that? But I'm wondering because the extreme processor is the best upgrade available at the moment for anyone with a 775 socket in their motherboard. So if I get a computer equipped with the Intel Core 2 Duo E6420 / 2.13 GHz, with a 775 socket, will I be able to get an even better processor in the future? Whats going to be new thats coming out? Is it possible that its going to be a 775 socket?

Answer 1

Technology will continue to progress and anything you buy today cannot be the best performing processor forever. To answer your questions in order:

1) The reason why the extreme processors are $1000 is due to a process called 'binning'. A company will design a processor and due to random variations in the manufactoring process some will be able to run faster than others. The best performing ones will cost more because so few chips lucky enough to hit the high clock speeds.

2+3) Intel is releasing a slightly optimized processor called 'Penryn' and will most likely have an extreme version also. It is likely that when this processor gets released, the extreme version based on the Penryn design will perform faster than the current extreme processors. So yes it is possible to get a better processor in the future.

4) Yes, it's rumored that it will use the same socket but not all motherboards will be able to support it. You need to research that.

Answer 2

NO! The extreme processors could be outdated and not so fast anymore in perhaps 3-5 years. Look at the former Pentium 4 EE w/ L3 cache. They were fast and very expensive back then.

Go with the E6420 and pair it with a good enthusiast board from Asus or Gigabyte. You may be able to tweak it to near X6700 performance and forget about the costly upgrade.

Look at what some of my idols did w/ their E6300 & E6600:
http://valid.x86-secret.com/show_oc?id=166889
http://valid.x86-secret.com/show_oc?id=166676
http://valid.x86-secret.com/show_oc?id=166676