Q8400 or Q9550 for a gaming rig?

[ehcastro3]

Is there a significant difference in performance (especially in a gaming rig) between these two?

My local supplier already has a Q8400, but he would have to order from another company in order to get me a Q9550.

Or would a Q9550 processor an overkill for my gaming rig? (my rig consists of 4gb ram, DG45ID, HD4890, 320gb, yeah my rig sucks but I'm not in the US and no online company ships here...thats the best hardware I can get from him at the moment)

Thanks in advance for any inputs.

 

[orangegator]

If the price difference is small, get the q9550.

 

[ehcastro3]

well i can afford the q9550, but the problem is me and my local supplier will have to go through hoops to get the q9550...

so its worth all the trouble to get the q9550?

 

[jsc]

Unfortunately, you need to decide. With a good cooler, it's easy to OC a Q9550 to 3.4 GHz - raise the FSB to 400 MHz. and increase the CPU voltage a little. And you can push most higher. A Q8400 is more work.

I work in Saudi Arabia, so I have some similar problems. CPU prices aren't too bad, but there is limited choice. Motherboard prices are 30 - 50% more than US prices. Upper end graphics cards are 50 - 70% higher.

 

[Mousemonkey]

so its worth all the trouble to get the q9550?

Oh yes, for the difference of 8mb cache alone.

 

[Gulli]

The Q9550 is far superior, without a doubt.