Q9550 or 9650?

Arclight · 06-09-09, 10:34 AM

Quick question:

Go for C2Q Q9550 for 240,-, or fork over 290,- for Q9650?

Both 2x6MB L2-cache, 1333 FSB, E0 stepping.

Q9550: 2833MHZ / 8.5x multi
Q9650: 3000MHZ / 9x multi

Well, same chips really, but Q9650 has slightly higher multiplier / standard clock. Running air-cooling, so I'm not gonna take it to it's limit, likely end up running it on 1600 FSB, synced with 800MHZ DDR2.

AVGWarhawk · 06-09-09, 10:42 AM

I seriously doubt you will notice a speed difference in the two. Save you dollars go for the 9550.

Arclight · 06-09-09, 11:25 AM

Yeah, reading it back 30 minutes later, it seems like a stupid question.

In part it's to avoid future temptation; recently went from 2x1GB to 2x2GB RAM, now going from C2D to C2Q, and that's it, no more upgrading on this board (apart from graphics in the future, 8800 still holding it's own). Thought about just getting the Q9650 so I wouldn't have that voice nagging me further down the road...

I really should see a shrink about that voice.

Wolfehunter · 06-09-09, 03:31 PM

How much different is the price?

I've been using the Q9550 for months solid now. If the Q9650 is affordable go for it. Every little bit helps.

Arclight · 06-09-09, 03:50 PM

Ah, too late, the voice of reason has spoken and the order has been placed. AVG is right, what's another 200mhz? By the time I'm done with it, it should be running at 3,4GHZ; that darn well better be enough.

Besides, can't break my own rule: don't go for the cheapest (Q9450), but don't get baited by the most expensive either (Q9650). Offcourse there's the Extreme editions, but those things are just ridiculously expensive, I'll stick with mainstream, thank you very much.

(Core 2 Quad Extreme QX9650 = E881,-
Core 2 Extreme QX9770 = E1221,-)

Darn, there's that voice again! Blast you, Wolfehunter!

SUBMAN1 · 06-09-09, 08:19 PM

For that kind of money, why not buy a faster AMD Phenom II X4 955? Or a Core i7 920 is even in that price range! WHere are you buying your CPU's?

I'm torn between the Core i7 or 955, but they are both the CPU to get for the amount you are talking. I saw i7's the other day for about $260. THat will stomp the old Q9550 or Q9650. Massive cache and single threaded core throttling. Its a great CPU. No one should be looking at yesterdays tech in that price range!

-S

SUBMAN1 · 06-09-09, 08:31 PM

Not only will the i7 and 955 do well in games (The Q9650 will do equivalent and even slightly better in some cases in the games department, but nothing you can comprehend since they are so close, so it is a wash in the games department between the 955 and Q9650), it is the menial tasks you will see your greatest return on investment from. Check out the i7 920 scores!****

The downside with i7 is that it costs a bit more than the 955 to implement. But the return on investment is worth noting:

How many time have you compressed a file for example?

Probably the biggest reason for buying a quad right here - Dvix compression:

SUBMAN1 · 06-09-09, 08:49 PM

Oops. Posted some stuff in the wrong thread. Will move here.

-S

SUBMAN1 · 06-09-09, 08:50 PM

Copied from another thread that I accidently posted in thinking it was this one:

Post #1:

i7 920 - $ 279 at Newegg though you can do better than this if you hunt around - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819115202

X4 955 - $245 at Newegg. Not sure if you can do much better here since the overclockers are all over this CPU. It clocks to nearly 4GHz using the stock cooling that comes with the retail part. Add a custom cooling kit or water cooling to this and the sky's the limit it seems. Some idiot is posting online that he got one of these things running at 7 GHz. I'll have to read that one. I'll post a link to it when I get a second to find it again.

Post #2:

As I said - Some idiot has this thing running at 7.1 GHz. I bet he gets some impressive benchmarks.

-S

http://www.tomshardware.com/news/AMD...cked,7747.html

Quote:

AMD Phenom II X4 955 Overclocked to 7.1 GHz

A group called LimitTeam managed to overclock AMD's Phenom II X4 955 processor and reach a record speed of 7.1 GHz.

AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition
Windows XP Professional SP3 (Build 2600)
CPU Arch : 1 CPU - 4 Cores - 4 Threads
CPU PSN : AMD Phenom II X4 955 Processor
CPU EXT : MMX(+) 3DNow!(+) SSE SSE2 SSE3 SSE4A x86-64
CPUID : F.4.2 / Extended : 10.4
CPU Cache : L1 : 4 x 64 / 4 x 64 KB - L2 : 4 x 512 KB
CPU Cache : L3 : 6144 KB
Core : Deneb (45 nm) / Stepping : RB-C2
Freq : 7127.85 MHz (250.01 * 28.5)

MB Brand : Asus
MB Model : M4A79T Deluxe
NB : AMD 790FX rev 00
SB : ATI SB750 rev 00

GPU Type : ATI Radeon HD 4800 Series
GPU Clocks : Core 160 MHz / RAM 250 MHz
DirectX Version : 9.0c

RAM : 4096 MB DDR3 Dual Channel
RAM Speed : 833.7 MHz (3:10) @ 7-7-7-24
Slot 1 : 2048MB (PC3-10700H)
Slot 1 Manufacturer : Apacer Technology
Slot 2 : 2048MB (PC3-10700H)
Slot 2 Manufacturer : Apacer Technology

Arclight · 06-09-09, 11:30 PM

For I7 or Phenom II, I'd have to get a new board. I have a friend who would be very happy if I did

, but I'm not quite finished with this one yet. Besides; new board > ddr3 > new CPU cooler > perhaps new PSU, etc, it's gonna keep adding up (trust me

). Once Core2 is ancient and the system can't keep up anymore, I will move on, but for the moment plugging in a fast quad will make sure it has a respectable lifespan.

Besides, gaming will be the main purpose, and at the moment even my current C2D is still overkill for most. There's only 1 game I know that is CPU limited on this thing. Video-encoding is done once in a blue moon, and I don't care if it takes 5 min more than on an I7; I've got 5 minutes to spare. Same for compression.

Thanks for the input, graphs and bars can be very tempting.

:rotfl:

7ghz?! That's retarded! 3:10 RAM ratio, unbelievable.

Something's up with his GPU though. 160 core, 250 mem can't be right for HD4800.

BTW, I get my parts from a local (NL) webshop. Cheaper than over the counter, but still a bit pricy. Everything over here is.

Though I see the Q9550 at newegg for $230,- (~165 euro, E75,- cheaper), there's no mention of which revision it is. At my usual shop I can get anything, not just what they have lying around and are trying to get rid off at the moment (probably C1). Buying from shops that purchase in bulk can be cheap, but in this case I have to insist on the latest revision of the chip.

SUBMAN1 · 06-12-09, 12:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Arclight

For I7 or Phenom II, I'd have to get a new board. I have a friend who would be very happy if I did

, but I'm not quite finished with this one yet. Besides; new board > ddr3 > new CPU cooler > perhaps new PSU, etc, it's gonna keep adding up (trust me

). Once Core2 is ancient and the system can't keep up anymore, I will move on, but for the moment plugging in a fast quad will make sure it has a respectable lifespan.

Besides, gaming will be the main purpose, and at the moment even my current C2D is still overkill for most. There's only 1 game I know that is CPU limited on this thing. Video-encoding is done once in a blue moon, and I don't care if it takes 5 min more than on an I7; I've got 5 minutes to spare. Same for compression.

Thanks for the input, graphs and bars can be very tempting.

:rotfl:

7ghz?! That's retarded! 3:10 RAM ratio, unbelievable.

Something's up with his GPU though. 160 core, 250 mem can't be right for HD4800.

BTW, I get my parts from a local (NL) webshop. Cheaper than over the counter, but still a bit pricy. Everything over here is.

Though I see the Q9550 at newegg for $230,- (~165 euro, E75,- cheaper), there's no mention of which revision it is. At my usual shop I can get anything, not just what they have lying around and are trying to get rid off at the moment (probably C1). Buying from shops that purchase in bulk can be cheap, but in this case I have to insist on the latest revision of the chip.

Sounds like that 4800 is either declocked (maybe a voltage thing - the CPU is sucking all the colts down for lunch so they want to make sure the vid card is out of the way), or its reporting wrong.

The Q models are still valid CPU's. They hang right up there with the brand new AMD's too, until you decide to boost the stock speeds that is. I hardly overclock so A Q would probably work for me most days too.

I can't say go buy one for gaming. I cannot recommend one for that. I would say go buy one for compression though. That is where you will see your biggest return on investment. I do a lot of compression of video so I got sick of waiting on my dual core recently. I bought the 955. I still have yet to test it with compression, but it is cool to see 4 seperate threads on the CPU performance meter!

-S

Arclight · 06-12-09, 07:52 AM

I'm not really buying it for either gaming or compression/encoding, to be honest. It's more like a "get (close to) the biggest CPU the board can handle" thing; plug in one of those suckers now, and don't worry about upgrading untill I build my next system (hopefully 1.5 or 2 years or more down the road).

Even so, quads have benefits, all of which I will thoroughly enjoy.

I didn't know you could downclock a card that far. On mine I can't set clocks lower than 50% stock, but it probably depends on what software you use (rivatuner, in this case). Makes sense that they'd want to cripple it like that to squeze out a little more volts for the CPU.

7 GHz :rotfl:

Wonder what would happen if the cooling failed?

06-09-09, 11:25 AM	#3
Arclight Navy Seal Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Land of windmills, tulips, wooden shoes and cheese. Lots of cheese. Posts: 8,467 Downloads: 53 Uploads: 10	Yeah, reading it back 30 minutes later, it seems like a stupid question. In part it's to avoid future temptation; recently went from 2x1GB to 2x2GB RAM, now going from C2D to C2Q, and that's it, no more upgrading on this board (apart from graphics in the future, 8800 still holding it's own). Thought about just getting the Q9650 so I wouldn't have that voice nagging me further down the road... I really should see a shrink about that voice. __________________ Contritium praecedit superbia.

06-09-09, 03:31 PM	#4
Wolfehunter Crusty Capt. Join Date: Sep 2007 Posts: 2,752 Downloads: 40 Uploads: 25	How much different is the price? I've been using the Q9550 for months solid now. If the Q9650 is affordable go for it. Every little bit helps. __________________

06-09-09, 03:50 PM	#5
Arclight Navy Seal Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Land of windmills, tulips, wooden shoes and cheese. Lots of cheese. Posts: 8,467 Downloads: 53 Uploads: 10	Ah, too late, the voice of reason has spoken and the order has been placed. AVG is right, what's another 200mhz? By the time I'm done with it, it should be running at 3,4GHZ; that darn well better be enough. Besides, can't break my own rule: don't go for the cheapest (Q9450), but don't get baited by the most expensive either (Q9650). Offcourse there's the Extreme editions, but those things are just ridiculously expensive, I'll stick with mainstream, thank you very much. (Core 2 Quad Extreme QX9650 = E881,- Core 2 Extreme QX9770 = E1221,-) Darn, there's that voice again! Blast you, Wolfehunter! __________________ Contritium praecedit superbia.

06-09-09, 08:19 PM	#6
SUBMAN1 Rear Admiral Join Date: Apr 2005 Posts: 11,866 Downloads: 0 Uploads: 0	For that kind of money, why not buy a faster AMD Phenom II X4 955? Or a Core i7 920 is even in that price range! WHere are you buying your CPU's? I'm torn between the Core i7 or 955, but they are both the CPU to get for the amount you are talking. I saw i7's the other day for about $260. THat will stomp the old Q9550 or Q9650. Massive cache and single threaded core throttling. Its a great CPU. No one should be looking at yesterdays tech in that price range! -S __________________

06-09-09, 08:31 PM	#7
SUBMAN1 Rear Admiral Join Date: Apr 2005 Posts: 11,866 Downloads: 0 Uploads: 0	Not only will the i7 and 955 do well in games (The Q9650 will do equivalent and even slightly better in some cases in the games department, but nothing you can comprehend since they are so close, so it is a wash in the games department between the 955 and Q9650), it is the menial tasks you will see your greatest return on investment from. Check out the i7 920 scores!**** The downside with i7 is that it costs a bit more than the 955 to implement. But the return on investment is worth noting: How many time have you compressed a file for example? Probably the biggest reason for buying a quad right here - Dvix compression: __________________

06-09-09, 10:34 AM	#1
Arclight Navy Seal Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Land of windmills, tulips, wooden shoes and cheese. Lots of cheese. Posts: 8,467 Downloads: 53 Uploads: 10	Q9550 or 9650? Quick question: Go for C2Q Q9550 for 240,-, or fork over 290,- for Q9650? Both 2x6MB L2-cache, 1333 FSB, E0 stepping. Q9550: 2833MHZ / 8.5x multi Q9650: 3000MHZ / 9x multi Well, same chips really, but Q9650 has slightly higher multiplier / standard clock. Running air-cooling, so I'm not gonna take it to it's limit, likely end up running it on 1600 FSB, synced with 800MHZ DDR2. __________________ Contritium praecedit superbia.

06-09-09, 10:42 AM	#2
AVGWarhawk Lucky Jack Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: In a 1954 Buick. Posts: 27,343 Downloads: 90 Uploads: 0	I seriously doubt you will notice a speed difference in the two. Save you dollars go for the 9550. __________________ “You're painfully alive in a drugged and dying culture.” ― Richard Yates, Revolutionary Road

06-09-09, 08:49 PM	#8
SUBMAN1 Rear Admiral Join Date: Apr 2005 Posts: 11,866 Downloads: 0 Uploads: 0	Oops. Posted some stuff in the wrong thread. Will move here. -S __________________

06-09-09, 11:30 PM	#10
Arclight Navy Seal Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Land of windmills, tulips, wooden shoes and cheese. Lots of cheese. Posts: 8,467 Downloads: 53 Uploads: 10	For I7 or Phenom II, I'd have to get a new board. I have a friend who would be very happy if I did , but I'm not quite finished with this one yet. Besides; new board > ddr3 > new CPU cooler > perhaps new PSU, etc, it's gonna keep adding up (trust me ). Once Core2 is ancient and the system can't keep up anymore, I will move on, but for the moment plugging in a fast quad will make sure it has a respectable lifespan. Besides, gaming will be the main purpose, and at the moment even my current C2D is still overkill for most. There's only 1 game I know that is CPU limited on this thing. Video-encoding is done once in a blue moon, and I don't care if it takes 5 min more than on an I7; I've got 5 minutes to spare. Same for compression. Thanks for the input, graphs and bars can be very tempting. :rotfl: 7ghz?! That's retarded! 3:10 RAM ratio, unbelievable. Something's up with his GPU though. 160 core, 250 mem can't be right for HD4800. BTW, I get my parts from a local (NL) webshop. Cheaper than over the counter, but still a bit pricy. Everything over here is. Though I see the Q9550 at newegg for $230,- (~165 euro, E75,- cheaper), there's no mention of which revision it is. At my usual shop I can get anything, not just what they have lying around and are trying to get rid off at the moment (probably C1). Buying from shops that purchase in bulk can be cheap, but in this case I have to insist on the latest revision of the chip. __________________ Contritium praecedit superbia.

06-12-09, 07:52 AM	#12
Arclight Navy Seal Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Land of windmills, tulips, wooden shoes and cheese. Lots of cheese. Posts: 8,467 Downloads: 53 Uploads: 10	I'm not really buying it for either gaming or compression/encoding, to be honest. It's more like a "get (close to) the biggest CPU the board can handle" thing; plug in one of those suckers now, and don't worry about upgrading untill I build my next system (hopefully 1.5 or 2 years or more down the road). Even so, quads have benefits, all of which I will thoroughly enjoy. I didn't know you could downclock a card that far. On mine I can't set clocks lower than 50% stock, but it probably depends on what software you use (rivatuner, in this case). Makes sense that they'd want to cripple it like that to squeze out a little more volts for the CPU. 7 GHz :rotfl: Wonder what would happen if the cooling failed? __________________ Contritium praecedit superbia.