I7 920 or Q9550

Which of these cpu's would be the best choice to go for, for gaming and 3d design work.

I know the i7 is new architecture, but how well will it rate against the Q9550?

Which is more future proof?

When you look at the plain specs the q9550 seems the better choice, but hidden beneath?

Thanks in advance

Even though the i7 will cost you extra money for the X58 platform, it's a good investment for your needs. If you review the 3d design benchmarks, the i7 consistently scores higher in most due to being able to process eight threads. A 920 overclocks well, and the socket will be around longer than the C2Q, which means you'll have more upgrade options in the future.

The i7 smacks the Q9550 with a stick, especially if it's overclocked. Take a look at some benchmarks. Of course the motherboard, CPU, and RAM (you gotta go tri channel) are more expensive than going with an LGA775 CPU like the Q9550. If you have money to burn, go with the i7. If you have a lower budget, then go with the Q9550 or take a look at an AMD setup. Just remember if you go with the Q9550 there won't be any new LGA 775 CPUs released so there isn't much room for a CPU upgrade.

clock for clock core2 @ 1ghz = i7 @ 400 mhz

i7

no comparison

Sorry if it seems like a dumb question, but I have heard a lot of speculation about how the i7 is really not that much of an improvement as such whereas I ahve also heard the otherside of the table.
And then I have fanboys ¬¬, which is why I asked the question.

Also because I am deciding which to get a performance desktop or laptop, but i7 laptops cost a bomb, so maybe it'll be desktop rig.

True but for now my Q9550 is only what 10 frames a second slower than a 920 in most real world benchies and I didn't have to spend an arm and a leg for it and lots of nice memory. It's also not really good new processor technology, paired with still expensive new DDR3 memory operating in dual channel mode. To me it's just stupid, but I digress and I actually hope AMD comes out with something. I'm getting tired of Intel's i3,i5,i7 socket 1156, and socket 1366 BS. Oh and yes i7 ftw if you have the money.

overclocked 9550 is way better than a stock i7 920

were starting to see more and more new games take advantage of the i7 with big leads, it started out with GTAIV

the only place the Q9550 is close is when your running benchmarks from 1999 on a chip made for 2009+ -wrong benchmarks for a modern day chip whos potential hasnt been fully seen yet.

Starting your own thread over here in Homebuilt might get you a lot more help than hijacking this old one.