About the Q9650

[hajime]

Hello. I am thinking of getting the Q9650. Do you expect there will be price cut on this cpu immediately once the Nehalem cpus are out and hopfully on Nov 10? Will there be faster quad core LGA775 compatible cpus coming up within the next four months? I have been looking for review/benchmark on this cpu but google always point me to the review by TechwareLabs. Are there any other sites that compare the performance between the Q9650 and Q9400? Thanks.

 

[eklipz330]

q9650 is a guaranteed E0 stepping, which for some people might be a benefit... apparentyl E0 and C1 have very subtle, if zero differences at all

the q9650 doesn't have a price drop slated for the near future... sorry =[ (im waiting for it too)

it has a higher cache than the 9400, which is good for games...you can get a q9550 and hope for a E0 stepping, and just overclock it to q9650 speeds, shouldn't be too difficult on stock settings

and no, there are no new quads being released for lga775... intel is moving on... q9650 is the last, best, non-extreme quad you can get now

 

[Zenthar]

There is always Tom's chart. I don't know how prices will be affected by Nehalem release, but I don't think Intel has any plans to release anything past the Q9650 for LGA775.

Depending on what you want to do, getting a Q9550 (saving ~300$) and putting that money elsewhere might give you better results.

 

[shortstuff_mt]

+1 for the Q9550. I just can't see how the extra 170MHz is worth the $230 price difference.

 

[Kari]

^^+1 especially when you can easily overclock it to the same speeds anyways

 

[br3nd064]

+1 for the 9550. A lot of people are getting the E0 stepping, so you have good chances of getting it.

 

[Craxbax]

The higher multi combined with EO stepping does make a difference in getting over 4ghz. Q9550s generally get to 3.8-4.0ghz...with 3.8ghz more common; Q9650s are much easier to get to 4-4.4ghz, So is 200-400mhz worth 300 FRNs? Still a little steep IMO but I don't have to have the best. Your call.

 

[hajime]

Thanks for the info. What is E0 stepping? What advantages/disadvantages does this bring? Do I need to change the bios? I am sitting in front of the computer waiting for results each day. 200-400mhz does make a different for me. I am considering to upgrade my desktop cpu which has a Q9400.

 

[Zenthar]

If you already have a Q9400, I don't think you will gain much by upgrading. You could just get a better HSF, OC what you got and wait for Nehalem or Deneb (AMD).

 

[hajime]

If you already have a Q9400, I don't think you will gain much by upgrading. You could just get a better HSF, OC what you got and wait for Nehalem or Deneb (AMD).

Excuse me. Could you please tell me what HSF is?

 

[descendency]

Excuse me. Could you please tell me what HSF is?

heat sink and fan.

 

[br3nd064]

HSF is a heatsink and fan. Steppings are the different versions of the same cpu. E0 is better at overclocking than C0 is.

If you already have a q9400, it's not worth it to upgrade.