Should I get Q6600 or Q9300 or Spider 9850BE?

[Xpyrofuryx]

First off, Please everyone keep your AMD hate and Intel love to a minimum.

Alright I am building my friend a new computer, with the budget of $1000, He wants it mainly for gaming, but also for fast general performance, he wants a quad-core, 4gb RAM, RAID HDs, and two GPUs (im a SLI, XFire guy).

My delema is really deciding between the CPUs. Now first off I admit im a AMD fan boy, but my two recent builds i did end up choosing the E2180 and the Q6600, so I am fair. But I need to decide on wether to get the: Q6600, Q9300, or 9850BE. I want the 9850BE because it does offer decent performance, OCing an amatuer could utilize with minimal help needed, Spider platform (paired with two 3870s), and the 790FX chipset, I really looked into the 790FX chipset and the MSI 790FX board and it offers a lot and I really like that board.

So which should I go with?
Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600
Intel Core 2 Quad Q9300
AMD Phenom X4 9850 Black Edition


And also are the 3870s still standing up to the challenge?

 

[godless]

i'd wait a cople of weeks for the 4850 or 4870 instead of 3870. or at least till legitmate benchamarks come out, or the prices for current gen card to drop.

i have had a lot of positive experience withe overclocking and msi k9a2 platinum. my phenom 9500 is overclocked from 2.2 to 2.5ghz all the time and when i need more speed i can overclcok stable to 2.7ghz, but it gets too warm for my taste. anything above that gets unstable. so i'm guessing is you pair that with the 9850 phenom, you will get to overclock it pretty high. and if ur limited on budget, stick wth amd. even with intel you can buld the quadcore for 1000$. i say stick with amd. maybe you can find out when the 790fx will be released with sb750 or 700, for supposedly extra oc ability.

 

[keithlm]

I really looked into the 790FX chipset and the MSI 790FX board and it offers a lot and I really like that board.

You are going to want to wait a few weeks for the 790FX (or 790GX) motherboards with SB750 southbridges. Buying a 790FX with an older SB600 just a few days before the re-launch of the chipset might cause some future banging-your-head-into-the-wall syndrome.

(Plus you get to wait for the new video cards at the other poster mentioned.)

 

[Xpyrofuryx]

Well the thing is we're ordering tonight (needs it for something real soon), so I need to work with whats out right now.

But yeah the 9850BE really does look like a good choice. Not only does it offer similiar performance as the Q6600 but the other advantages of it really make it the prime choice.

 

[godless]

well it sux that you gotta order tonight and you cannot wait a couple of weeks, cause that would definetly be worth it. maybe you can buy some parts and then "send them back and get something newer" if possible. mobo and gpu would have to be replaced in this fasion.

 

[modtech]

Nothing offers the value of the Q6600, it overclocks well too. The Q9300 has less cache and suffers in gaming because of this.

Definitely wait for 4850/4870 to launch and get benchmarked before you buy a gfx.

Also if you're going the phenom path there's a new chipset combo 790GX/SB750 coming up which promises better overclocking. IF I was going the phenom route I'd wait for that.

 

[dg6464]

Hey,

Personally I have never really worked with the 9850BE, so I couldn't really comment on that, but have owned/built many AMD / Intel systems.
I would personally go for the Q9300 with 1066MHz DDR2 RAM. The Q6600 is getting old now, and uses 65nm (starting to get harder to find...), and also uses 1066MHz FSB, opposed to 1333MHz like the Q9300. The Q9300 DOES only have 6MB of cache, instead of 8MB, but it also 2.4GHz, instead of 2.5GHz (stock, obviously). It's a bit more $$, but newer, so personally I would go for that, but that is just my opinion.
Good luck, either way the system will be VERY fast lol.

dg6464

 

[thefumigator]

if you are ordering tonight... the Q6600 for the same price is a better choice in my opinion, despite I'm perfectly happy with my Phenom 9550. The Intel overclocks way higher (I'm not an overclocker btw), but my phenom X4 reachs to my motherboard limit (from 2.2Ghz, now I run it to 2.7 without voltage raise, perfectly stable.)

I don't really like the ATI 790 series chipset. SB600 is outdated and SB700 is the updated and better version. SB750 is going to be a much better choice.
So I would go AM2+ N-force 750/780 all the way, and do SLI despite Xfire seems to scale better.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131280

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813138108

I love the Biostar mobo, seems very complete.

 

[speedbird]

Before I give my opinion I just want to say I don't hate AMD and I'm not an Intel fanboy. I have mostly used AMD processors in my systems, my last purchased AMD system was a 4400+ X2 and I still use it in fact. Why did I choose AMD? because they offered a good deal of 'Bang for buck' over Intel Based CPUs.
My new system is running a Intel Q6600 and I would of preferred an AMD based system if I'm honest, but the fact is AMD have fallen behind. The Phenom 9850 pretty much matches the Q6600 performance wise (Give and take), it's just not as good an option because the evidence shows it to be a poor Overclocker and it consumes more power.Budget was also a consideration for me and I could find loads of Budget Motherboards that would run a Q6600, but not many budget boards that could handle the Phenom 9850. The unlocked Multiplier looks like an overclockers dream, but with a simple FSB jump my Q6600 was running at 3Ghz stable and could probably go further with a decent cooler. So while I think the Phenom is not a bad processor because it does annoy me when people say it 'sucks', completely unjustified because it doesn't, but it's true Intel lead..it's a fact.

 

[Wisecracker]

+1 for the 790GX - SB750 - 9850BE

If you can't wait, talk him out of the quads and into an e8400.

 

[godless]

If you can't wait, talk him out of the quads and into an e8400.

yeah, when it comes to gaming, ,any faster dual core with kick the **** of out of lower clocked quad cores
maybe you can get the 5000be amd and then overclock it to 3 or 3.2ghz

 

[wardancerx4]

i know people are saying to wait for the new sb750 and the 48xx gpus. i say you will always wait for the next thing. ive been running a sp ider on the same msi k9a2 board except im using 3x 3850s . the 3rd was a recent add on but even with two it ran perfect 1080p on my 42 inch lcd. i could see you spending 1000 or less on a system like mine wit 2 cards instead of 3.

if u WAIT till the sb750 comes outyoull also get its hefty new price. get the msi k9a2 platinum and pair it with the 9850 be and there u go. WALA. end of story.

 

[modtech]

It's not as if sb750 is launching next year. When a new product is around the corner you'll either get lower prices on the previous gen or you'll buy a better product the wait is worth it. Imagine someone buying a 8800GTX at it's old (high) price just before the 8800GT launched and feeling like a total and utter loser for not waiting, this is a similar situation.

 

[B-Unit]

How much OCing are you doing wardancer?

For a stock HTPC box, yea the old SB will work, but there are indications that SB750 is going to allow for 3.2Ghz on a 9850BE.

Modtech makes another good point, it would be different if he had to wait months for this stuff, its just a couple of weeks.

 

[iluvgillgill]

i never try the spider platform myself.but if your friend HAVE to get a dual CPU system then i would recommend CF over SLI.because for that price you will be really struggling.

but the CPU decision will really depend on your budget.and are you planning to OC or not.if you OC i wouldnt recommend anything over Q6600+P35(crossfire capable) and a decent cooler to hit over 3.2Ghz.

$235 for the Phenom and $210 for the Q6600.you get better value if you go with the Q6600.the phenom is not going to OC well with current chipset(SB) so you will have to wait and maybe you will have to pay more for the new stuffs.

there will be price drop in the next coming month or so.Intel is gonna drop the price of its current Core 2 before it EOL,and AMD is gonna drop its price for a counter attack.

if you can wait then wait you will always get better value for money for the current gen if you skip the new things.

 

[jimmysmitty]

If he truly wants a quad the best of the best out of those three is a Q6600. OCs easily to 3GHz, even 3.2GHz, and runs very cool with a good HSF.

If you can a E8400 would be the best for gaming or a E8500.

As for the whol "SB750 will give you a 3.2GHz stock Phenom" I will believe it when I see it. But until that does happen you can't add that to your judgement.

I do also suggest a 4870/4850 over the 3870/3850s as they should be faster and priced decent.

 

[iluvgillgill]

GTX280 priced at 575 atm.no cheap i would say.

http://www.fudzilla.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=7817&Itemid=34

thats in euro by the way.:O