Tom's Hardware > Forum > CPU & Components > CPUs > Q9550 or Phenom II 955?
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The price for Q9550 and PII 955 is about the same with Q9550 being slightly cheaper. Which one is better?

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If you are planing to play games, P2 955 is definely better.

------------------------------ Intel i7 920, Gigabyte X58-DS4, 3x1 Corsair DDR3 1333, XFX 260 GTX
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Reply to hefox

It's not "definitely better," clock for clock they are about the same. If you already have an Intel board, just upgrade to the Q9550, if you are building a new system or are upgrading an AMD system, just get the P2

Reply to dna708

I vote for the PHII.

Reply to buzznut

^ +1 almost no difference, upgrade a current intel or start fresh with AMD.

Reply to jennyh

Q9550 performs better, actually. (when OCed that is) Stock vs stock they are more similar with the 955 winning most of the time.

So if you plan on doing a lot of OCing, and don't plan on upgrading your CPU for a couple to a few years then go with the Q9550, if not, the 955 is begging for you to buy it. :)


Message edited by Raidur on 08-04-2009 at 01:13:11 AM
------------------------------ Intel Q9550 @ 3.7Ghz 1.25v / Abit Quad GT IX38 CrossFire / 4870 1GB (4890 for crossfire in the mail!!) /
2x2GB Gskill DDR2-1066 / WD Black 640GB / Corsair 750TX in the mail!!
Reply to Raidur

These two have very similar performance; the main difference between them is the platform. The Q9550's LGA775 socket is nearing the end of its life as it is being replaced by new sockets for i7/i5. The Phenom's AM3 socket has better prospects, as it's new and AMD has a pretty good recent history of supporting old sockets, considering even an old AM2+ motherboard will support all new AMD CPUs in the near future.

Reply to Niktavalos

The 955 is super easy to overclock. Both processors are virtually the same in gaming. The 955 has a better upgradability path though.

------------------------------ P965/Q6700@3.2 8MB HD4850 OC Edition
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Reply to zipzoomflyhigh

Don't even waste your money on a 775 chip when the I5's are coming out next month

------------------------------ E8600 @ 5Ghz 1.475v
8GB DDR3 2000
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XFX 5770 In X-Fire
Reply to PsychoSaysDie

I completely forgot about that.

Listen to Psycho.

------------------------------ Intel Q9550 @ 3.7Ghz 1.25v / Abit Quad GT IX38 CrossFire / 4870 1GB (4890 for crossfire in the mail!!) /
2x2GB Gskill DDR2-1066 / WD Black 640GB / Corsair 750TX in the mail!!
Reply to Raidur

Hi

1. I don't think that I will upgrade my system again in 4 years, so upgrade ability is NOT considered.

2. In addition, many peoples here state that the performance of Q9550 and PII 955 are very close to that of an i7-920 which should be superior to an i5.
Question 1: Hence, Q9550 & PII 955 are at least equal or only slightly worse than i5??????

3. Question 2: Is it still worth getting an i5 if Q9550 & PII 955 are cheaper and with cheaper m/b in my case(no upgrade in 4 years)?
Question 3: If it's not worthwhile, should I get the PII 955 with AM3 m/b even the price of Q9550 with P45 m/b is cheaper?

Please tell me what you guys think asap. Thank you!

Reply to andy5174

Q9550 close to an I7? Not even close my friend. HT > All

------------------------------ E8600 @ 5Ghz 1.475v
8GB DDR3 2000
Intel X25-M
XFX 5770 In X-Fire
Reply to PsychoSaysDie

PsychoSaysDie wrote :

Q9550 close to an I7? Not even close my friend. HT > All


So instead of upgrading to i5/Q9550, I should keep my P4 that come with HT? LOL, joke!

Is HT really so important that Q9550 is totally overwhelmed by the i7 due to it?

Reply to andy5174

andy5174 wrote :

So instead of upgrading to i5/Q9550, I should keep my P4 that come with HT? LOL, joke!

Is HT really so important that Q9550 is totally overwhelmed by the i7 due to it?



Judge for yourself bro

http://i725.photobucket.com/albums/ww252/2MCHBoost/deneb_vs_kentsfield_yorkfield_bloom.png

------------------------------ E8600 @ 5Ghz 1.475v
8GB DDR3 2000
Intel X25-M
XFX 5770 In X-Fire
Reply to PsychoSaysDie



I am noob...

I don't understand what those figures represent. Is the higher the score, the better the performance for all features?

Anyway, i7 in my location is much more expensive than it is in the U.S so I can't afford it.

Would you give me some comment on the performance between i5 and Q9550/PII 955 based on my "Questions"?

Thanks


Message edited by andy5174 on 08-04-2009 at 09:25:14 AM
Reply to andy5174

No one has real world benches or prices for the i3/i5/i7 LGA1156 yet, with HT/without HT, with turbo without...... no one knows, or if they know they can't tell anybody. At this moment in time the PhenomIIx4 955 BE is slightly outperformed by the Core2 quad 9550, but you'd need to benchmark it to tell.

Reply to dirtmountain

dirtmountain wrote :

No one has real world benches or prices for the i3/i5/i7 LGA1156 yet, with HT/without HT, with turbo without...... no one knows, or if they know they can't tell anybody. At this moment in time the PhenomIIx4 955 BE is slightly outperformed by the Core2 quad 9550, but you'd need to benchmark it to tell.


so you are saying that Q9550 is better than PII 955 while also some people stating that 955 is better.

I guess it's due to their performance are very very close to each other.

Reply to andy5174

It's really a matter of preference--performance wise, both CPU's trade blows with each other on a pretty even scale--whether you want AMD or Intel; cost wise, they're about the same. There will be no further upgrades for LGA 775 CPU's, which shouldn't be an issue since you won't be upgrading for a while. As for the Core i5, until the CPU comes out and people are actually able to test it, there's no knowing of how well it'll perform.

Reply to johnyeah

Those two CPUs are pretty darn close. The 955 would probably clock a bit higher, but the 9550 has a better IPC, so there wouldn't be a significant difference, all things considered. Since you don't care about upgrade path, the dying socket isn't an issue either. Honestly, I'd lean towards whichever is cheaper for you.

------------------------------ Asus P6T deluxe
i7 965 @ 4.2GHz (200*21), 1.384V
12GB Corsair Dominator DDR3-1600 CAS 7
Reply to cjl

cjl wrote :

Those two CPUs are pretty darn close. The 955 would probably clock a bit higher, but the 9550 has a better IPC, so there wouldn't be a significant difference, all things considered. Since you don't care about upgrade path, the dying socket isn't an issue either. Honestly, I'd lean towards whichever is cheaper for you.



You didn't give any comment on the i5. Is it due you having no clue of it?

If so, should I wait for 1 more month to see what will happen?

Reply to andy5174

The Q9550 won't be faster at stock speed but it overclocks higher than the ph2 955 which will make it beat it, not to mention that the Q9550 has a lot more cache. ;)

 

Ok people here says that going with a AM3 socket motherboard will make it easy to update in the future. But let's say you aren't upgrading for 3-4 years, then it doesn't matter if you choose a dead platform or a future platform. Because if you were to take a Ph2 955 now and a AM3 socket motherboard... In 3-4 years your motherboard will be too old to support newer cpu:s anyways, so it's just bullshit :pfff: to say "Hey it allows you to run new cpu:s in future omgz omg get tha new ph2 955 and then upgrade l8er!!!! do it or you stink!!!!". If I upgrade my cpu, I ALWAYS upgrade my motherboard so it will run better. The old motherboard may support the new cpu, but it will deffinetely not allow me to overclock it as high as a new motherboard :kaola:

 
andy5174 wrote :

If so, should I wait for 1 more month to see what will happen?


It would be wise to do so... ;)


Message edited by UltraO on 08-04-2009 at 10:47:51 AM
Reply to UltraO

I'm sure he will change this mind when he will see 6-core 32nm on AM3. :)

------------------------------ Intel i7 920, Gigabyte X58-DS4, 3x1 Corsair DDR3 1333, XFX 260 GTX
Samsung 750Gb F1,Samsung DVD-rw, Hiper Type-M 880W, Coolermaster HAF 932, Logitech Z-5500
Reply to hefox

hefox wrote :

I'm sure he will change this mind when he will see 6-core 32nm on AM3. :)


The Q9550/PII 955 system will cost me at least about $1400 USD in NZ which is a lot for me as a student. Hence, I won't switch to a new system soon even if I want to as I can't afford it.

Reply to andy5174

andy5174 wrote :

You didn't give any comment on the i5. Is it due you having no clue of it?

If so, should I wait for 1 more month to see what will happen?


I didn't comment on the i5 because most of what people know about it right now is speculation. If you don't need a system immediately, it would probably be worth waiting to see if it is significantly better than either of your two current options though.

------------------------------ Asus P6T deluxe
i7 965 @ 4.2GHz (200*21), 1.384V
12GB Corsair Dominator DDR3-1600 CAS 7
Reply to cjl

cjl wrote :

I didn't comment on the i5 because most of what people know about it right now is speculation. If you don't need a system immediately, it would probably be worth waiting to see if it is significantly better than either of your two current options though.


Ok, I will wait then. Thank you!

It would be great if the price for the i5 system is equal to the current Q9550 price or the price of Q9550 drops to that of the E8400. ;p


Message edited by andy5174 on 08-04-2009 at 11:16:59 AM
Reply to andy5174

I would wait for the i5. I am guessing it will be close to the i7 920. The thing that worries me about it is the new socket you need for it, but since you don't plan to upgrade that should be fine.

If it isn't then you don't really lose anything, and prices might have dropped on some of the components anyway.

Reply to San Pedro

not sure you should maybe play the piano instead

Reply to softwarefiend
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