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Q9300 vs q8400

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  • Overclocking
  • Performance
  • Heating
  • CPUs
Last response: in CPUs
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January 22, 2014 7:10:35 PM

which one is better in terms of overall performance, heating and overclocking?

More about : q9300 q8400

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a c 92 K Overclocking
a c 424 à CPUs
January 22, 2014 7:17:14 PM

They're pretty comparable: http://www.anandtech.com/bench/product/75?vs=89
They are both 95W processors: http://www.cpu-world.com/Compare/815/Intel_Core_2_Quad_...
The Q9300 might be slightly better tech. And therefore better for O/C'ing, although I haven't had either one to say for sure.
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a b K Overclocking
a c 902 à CPUs
January 22, 2014 7:19:50 PM

The 8400 can potentially overclock a bit more, before hitting the typical FSB wall of around 400-450, due to the 8.0 multiplier vs the 7.5 on the Q9300.
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January 22, 2014 8:13:09 PM

As a rule of thumb, clock speed > cache. i.e. overclock would be better than more cache, all else being equal.
However, since they are both R0 stepping, The Q8400 maybe a 'die harvested' version of the same chip, i.e. defective areas in the cache that would make it a Q9xxx are disabled. Harvested chip typically have lower max OC, especially on mature, 2nd revision steppings (C2Q yorks 1st stepping was C0, followed by C1 and R0).

I personally would pick Q9300 for reliability, day-to-day use, with mild OC up to 80-90% of max OC.
I will only pick the Q8400 if it's 80% or more cheaper.
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a b K Overclocking
a c 902 à CPUs
January 23, 2014 2:15:14 PM

OP, are you looking to upgrade an existing system with one of those chips? If not, to be perfectly honest, you would be better served getting a Haswell i3 and an H81 motherboard if your budget is really low.
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a c 92 K Overclocking
a c 424 à CPUs
January 23, 2014 3:14:43 PM

Which ever processor you decide on, check to see if you need a BIOS update for the MB to recognize the CPU.
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