Tom's Hardware > Forum > CPU & Components > CPUs > E8500

E8500 @ 4.1 ghz vs. stock Q9550

Forum CPU & Components : CPUs - E8500 @ 4.1 ghz vs. stock Q9550

Tom's Hardware: Over 1.4 million members in 6 different countries available to answer all your high-tech questions. Sign up now! Its free!
Ask the community Add a reply
Word :    Username :           
 
salabarria   01-20-2009 at 02:25:24 PM

right now i have a e8500 at 4.1ghz and i was thinking of upgrading to a Q9550 but is it worth it? and will it be a big performance difference...also i play gta iv at 1900x1200 along with my other games

Add a reply
Sponsored Links
Register or log in to remove.
gamerk316   01-20-2009 at 05:00:39 PM
- 0 +

Depends on what you do. On non-threaded applications, the 4.1 GHz will beat the Quad for performance. In anything thats threaded, the Quad wins. GTA is heavily coded for Quads, but I doubt there will be a performance change in either direction...

Reply to gamerk316
The_Blood_Raven   01-20-2009 at 05:16:10 PM
- 0 +

The Q9550 would win at 3.8-4.0 Ghz though...

Reply to The_Blood_Raven
pr2thej   01-20-2009 at 05:48:09 PM
- 0 +

why are you comparing a heavily overclocked chip with a stock chip?

if you dont intend to OC the Q9550, sure stick with the dual. Im sure you will OC though, so get the quad.

------------------------------ Currently Playing:
1. Eve Online
2. MW2
3. Uhm...Eve Online alt
 Reply to pr2thej
salabarria   01-20-2009 at 07:59:39 PM
- 0 +

i asked a simple question which one should i get

Reply to salabarria
Stupido   01-20-2009 at 08:28:33 PM
- 0 +

simle answer is: get the quad...

Reply to Stupido
werxen   01-20-2009 at 10:58:31 PM
- 0 +

its not simple at all. the dual will outperform in any department besides synthetic benchmarks ( which dont mean crap ) and video and audio encoding ( which the average user does not do ). my E8500 will eat quads alive in most applications and games. my verdict: dual.

Message quoted 1 times
------------------------------ E8500 oc'd 4.5 @ 1.44 vcore with 92mm Zalman
ATI 4850 oc'd 680/1158 with aftermarket Zalman
Asus P5Q Pro mobo
2 gigs 800 Corsair ram @ 4-4-4-12
Reply to werxen
quantumsheep   01-20-2009 at 11:26:30 PM
- 0 +

As has been said - if the Q9550 is stock it'll be worse. Overclocked it'll be better. Simple answer.

Reply to quantumsheep
someguy7   01-20-2009 at 11:43:16 PM
- 0 +

Not worth it. And as pr2 said. Its stupid to compare a 4ghz dual core to a stock clocked q9950. If you overclocked the dual. You should overclock the quad.

Reply to someguy7
The_Blood_Raven   01-21-2009 at 02:29:13 AM
- 0 +

The Q9550 is better, especially overclocked. But you have an E8500 at 4.1 Ghz man. HELL NO it is not worth it to plunk down another $300 when you already have a great CPU.

Reply to The_Blood_Raven
The_Blood_Raven   01-21-2009 at 02:32:28 AM
- 0 +

werxen wrote :

its not simple at all. the dual will outperform in any department besides synthetic benchmarks ( which dont mean crap ) and video and audio encoding ( which the average user does not do ). my E8500 will eat quads alive in most applications and games. my verdict: dual.

 

My mother's Q6600 @ 3.8 Ghz will eat your dual alive in a lot of things actually... Most quads would... They will be the same in most gaming with a select few titles going to the quad. The difference is that while she is getting the same performance she can also convert videos without a FPS drop. Of course the thought of my mother gaming is a funny one... :lol:

 

Please don't distort truths, I know we all want the best smelling crap, but hey I'm using a dual too and I admit it so why can't you?

Message quoted 1 times
Message edited by The_Blood_Raven on 01-21-2009 at 02:33:14 AM
Reply to The_Blood_Raven
salabarria   01-21-2009 at 03:13:20 AM
- 0 +

thanks for all the answers i think im gonnna keep my dual until more game start to take full advantage of all 4 cores once that happens ill upgrade

Reply to salabarria
werxen   01-21-2009 at 04:54:14 AM
- 0 +

The_Blood_Raven wrote :

My mother's Q6600 @ 3.8 Ghz will eat your dual alive in a lot of things actually... Most quads would... They will be the same in most gaming with a select few titles going to the quad. The difference is that while she is getting the same performance she can also convert videos without a FPS drop. Of course the thought of my mother gaming is a funny one... :lol:

Please don't distort truths, I know we all want the best smelling crap, but hey I'm using a dual too and I admit it so why can't you?



yeah cuz 'a lot of things' are made for quad cores these days, right? the only game that utilizes quad core technology is gta4 and we all saw how crappy that runs period. most apps are single threaded besides some video and audio encoders. please, tell me specifically, what programs would a Q6600 ruin my wolfdale in? i really want to know. seeing how little to no programs utilize 4 cores and my wolfdale is faster clock for clock im VERY curious.

------------------------------ E8500 oc'd 4.5 @ 1.44 vcore with 92mm Zalman
ATI 4850 oc'd 680/1158 with aftermarket Zalman
Asus P5Q Pro mobo
2 gigs 800 Corsair ram @ 4-4-4-12
Reply to werxen
The_Blood_Raven   01-21-2009 at 05:19:29 AM
- 0 +

3D Studio MAX using Mental Ray Renderer
Adobe Premiere Elements v3.0.2
AutoGK v2.40
Cinema 4d Rendering
Dr. DivX v2.0.0
DVDShrink v3.2
Lightwave 3D
Nero Suite 7.x
Noise Ninja v2.13
Sony Vegas 7.0e
TMPG XPress v4.2.3.193
Winrar v3.70
x264 v0.55.663
Xvid 1.1.3
BOINC
Folding@Home
Maya
WMM
Adobe After Effects CS3
Adobe Premier Pro CS3
Lightwave 3D
DPAD Muon1
TMPG XPress v4.2.3.193
Prem Elements v3.0.2
3DStudio MAX
VRAY
Eyeon Digital Fusion
Acronis TrueImage
Luxology's modeling
Deep Fritz
Hiarcs 11.1
Rybka mp 2.2
Deep Shredder
SuperPrime
maxwell render
Cinema 4D
e-Frontier Poser 7
Apophysis App

^ A list from 2007...

Lost Planet Extreme Condition, Supreme Commander, Crysis, and F.E.A.R. use quadcore that I know of. Gaming is irrelevant after about 3.6 Ghz since it is GPU bound. That said, mid-high to high end multi GPU setups LOVE quadcores over duals. Add all this into the fact that dualcores are NOT faster clock for clock as they are virtually the same with quads generally having larger caches.

Why are so many people in denial about the quad vs dual core thing lately? I thought it was pretty much acknowledged that quads are the better CPU in most cases...

Reply to The_Blood_Raven
werxen   01-21-2009 at 05:50:05 AM
- 0 +

FEAR came out in 2005. you are telling me a game that came out in 05 utilizes quad core technology? lol.

btw: notice on your list ALL those are for image / video design. nice try though.

------------------------------ E8500 oc'd 4.5 @ 1.44 vcore with 92mm Zalman
ATI 4850 oc'd 680/1158 with aftermarket Zalman
Asus P5Q Pro mobo
2 gigs 800 Corsair ram @ 4-4-4-12
Reply to werxen
someguy7   01-21-2009 at 06:50:09 AM
- 0 +

Again with the larger caches. Out of the two cpus in this topic the cache means nothing. They are equal. Dual has 6mb. Quad has 2x6 NOT a shared 12mb. And werzen's beloved wolfdale cpu has the cache advantage vs the q6600 in any app that doesnt use more than 2 cores.

The q9 series is clock for clock the same as e8 series in single threaded apps. The q6 series is slower clock for clock than the wolfdales in single threaded apps.

You thaught wrong. In most cases people dont overclock and dont use apps that utilize quad cores.

Reply to someguy7
Ask the community Add a reply
Tom's Hardware > Forum > CPU & Components > CPUs > E8500
Go to:

There are 1163 identified and unidentified users. To see the list of identified users, Click here.

Forum map
Bestofmedia Forum ©
2000-2009 Bestofmedia Group
Page generated in 0.331 seconds
Please mind

You are about to answer a thread that has been inactive for more than 6 months.
If you still wish to proceed, please ensure that your posting is original and does not duplicate or overlap any prior responses to this thread.

Add a reply Cancel
Sponsored links
  • Ask the community now
  • Publish
Ad
Related Topics
See all relatives topics
They won a badge
Join us in greeting them
How do I win badges?