Hi im sorry if this has been asked before, but i tried looking and couldnt find a real explanation, im building a new pc ( http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/ [...] -ever-help  help appreciated if you have the time give it a look )
 
and i have a quick, short, question about this 2 (Q9300, Q9450)
 
ive read a lot and know the Q9450 would be a far better choice, with the higher multiplier being easier to oc and achieving higher clock levels, but for somoene NOT planning to overclock, what would be a better choice (taking in consideration the price difference)
 
Core 2 Quad Q9450/2.66Ghz/12MBL2/FSB1333 $319
Core 2 Quad Q9300/2.50Ghz/6MBL2/FSB1333 $270
 
(these are rough estimates, the prices will actually be much higher but i bet the price difference will remain at $50ish)
 
is the extra 160mhz clock speed and 6mb of cache (double...)  worth the $50 difference?, from a non overclocking point of view wich of these 2 would be a better buy? would there be a serious performance difference?

The Q9450 will be about 10% faster overall. Is a 10% faster processor worth an additional $50? You decide.
 

For 50 bucks the upgrade is pretty much worth it and you could still easily do a small oc on stock cooler. now seriuosly if you have a good mobo ocing is really easy these days

You would only really notice the difference in benchmarks. Put the $50 to a better gfx card if you can find a GTS in your new price range, and that will make much more difference (atleast in gaming)

Thanks so much for the helpful replies, if the Q9450 would only give me a ~10% improvement i dont think its worth $50 extra.

i was under the impression it would be a much bigger improvement mainly because of the extra L2 cache,  6mb extra for a total of 12 sounded like a lot, and i do remember reading cache helps in gaming and other areas, so i asumed Q9450 having twice as much would translate to a much better performance.

ill check for deals on the GTS, anyone knows a reliable low priced site that offers pre-test of hardware outside directron?

A Q6600 will suffice for alot less money, from an overclocking and a non-overclocking POV.

i would go with the q9450 better processor overall for not that much more in price.

 
If you are cost concious I would definitely think Q6600.
Especially with it dropping in price quite a bit come April 20th.

The Q6700 is dropping to Q6600 prices on April 20th too, with the Q6600 dropping further than it already is.