grated parmesan,
Just for comparisons, my Nephew is gaming on a Q9650 overclocked to 4.2 GHz on an Asus Rampage Extreme X48 motherboard, 8 GB DDR3 1600, two SSD's in RAID0, and an overclocked GTX 1060 6GB.
Here's his PassMark CPU score O/C'd @ 4.2 compared to newer processors at stock clocks with similar scores:
i5 6400 - 6,550
i5 3450 - 6,448
i5 2500K - 6,438
i5 4440 - 6,404
Q9650 @ 4.2 - 6,342
FX6300 - 6,330
i5 2500 - 6,232
i7 975 - 6,214
i5 3340 - 5,998
3DMark Time Spy - 3,929
3DMark Fire Strike - 10,321
As you can see, these scores show this is still a decent 1080p gaming rig, even though the CPU somewhat bottlenecks the GPU. I have built and overclocked several Q9650's and have owned one. This is just an example of the performance that a good LGA 775 motherboard paired with a Q9650 is capable of delivering when pushed to the upper limits.
The Q(x)6xxx CPU's are 65nm microarchitecture with 582 million transistors and typically O/C to 3.6 GHz.
The Q(x)9xxx CPU's are 45nm microarchitecture with 820 million transistors and typically O/C to 4.2 GHz.
Compare Specifications -
http://ark.intel.com/compare/34692,30789
Also to be considered:
QX9775: C0 Stepping, 150 Watts TDP @ 3.2 GHz
QX9770: C0 Stepping, 136 Watts TDP @ 3.2 GHz
QX9650: C0 Stepping, 130 Watts TDP @ 3.0 GHz
Q9650: E0 Stepping, 95 Watts TDP @ 3.0 GHz
Of these CPU's, the Q9650 is the least expensive, has the latest E0 Stepping, the lowest TDP and is the easiest to cool. Among other BIOS settings, overclocking to 4.2 GHz is achieved by setting the Front Side Bus (FSB) to 467 MHz and Vcore to about 1.375. (467 FSB x 9 Multiplier = 4,203 MHz)
Here's a YouTube:
My OC Settings on P5Q Deluxe with Q9650 for 4.2GHz -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CyGdVur13sI
Your BIOS settings will of course vary depending on your motherboard and the quality of your particular CPU sample. Keep in mind that all CPU's are unique in their voltage tolerance, thermal behavior and overclocking ability. Nonetheless, all of the half dozen or so Q9650's I've overclocked have successfully achieved 4.2 GHz, however no two CPU's used the same settings. The same is true with the QX9650, of which I've overclocked two.
Here's a good article from Tom's sister site, AnandTech, where they achieved an amazing overclock of 4.6 GHz:
Overclocking Intel's new 45nm QX9650 -
http://www.anandtech.com/show/2404
There are also several Q9560 Overclocking Guides available: -
https://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=overclocking+Q9650
If you decide to instead go with the less expensive Q9550, then 4.0 GHz is about the best you can expect due to it's 8.5 x multiplier. (471 FSB x 8.5 Multiplier = 4,003 MHz) Also, Front Side Bus (FSB) stability becomes more difficult to achieve as FSB clock speeds approach 500 MHz. Since your Intel Extreme Series DX38BT motherboard has an X38 Chipset instead of the later P45 or X48 Chipsets, FSB overclocking may be somewhat more limited.
As such, if you have the funds, then a QX9650 may be the best bet as it's easier to overclock. However, don't forget that the QX9650 is 130 Watts, so high-end liquid cooling is recommended. Conversely, since the Q9650 and Q9550 are 95 Watts, mid-range air cooling is adequate.
If I knew back then what I know now, I never would've sold my Q9650 rig.
CT
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram