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q9550/q9650

In almost every way they're exactly the same as each other. The q9550 has a x8.5 multiplier, the q9650 has a x9 multiplier.

x8.5 annoys me because I like round numbers. However at the time the price difference was about £150 so I bought the worse chip.

If you're not overclocking, the answer is to get a better heatsink and clock the q6600. At equal speeds the ones you're looking at are about 10% quicker than the q6600. So if you're not overclocking yet, take the q6600 up to 3.2ghz and you're laughing
 
Q9650 will reach 4GHz with 445fsb 9x multi, whilst Q9550 will manage 3.78GHz with 445fsb 8.5x multi, my advice would be to read up on your current motherboards 45nm Quad overclocking potential before buying either. Imo 'if' your running that Q6600 @ 3.6Ghz then I'd suggest to think again, unless you plan to overclock beyond 4GHz, but even then...
 
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since u already have the Q6600, you wont notice vary much difference upgrading to any of those cpus. But if ur not overclocking, the Q9650 is faster but the price difference is quite steep
 
DarkWhisper said:
am using a q6600
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DarkWhisper said:
at 3.6 wc
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Hey DarkWhisper,

welcome to OcUK forums! :)

You must be a speed freak if an 8MB cache Quad-Core running at 3.6GHz leaves you wanting more! :p

The Yorkies are better CPU's I think and may be fun for you to tinker with but in your boots I would stay put for the time being . . . theres loads of new kit being released over the coming months so maybe worth your while holding off until you see whats on offer! :cool:
 
i was running 3.6 ghz q6600 swapped for q9650 running at 3.6 did not see any differences. my motherboard could not handle 445 fsb with 8 gig of ram so had to upgrade to new motherboard now happily running q9650 4ghz on air. but still deference is not that big. just it runs cooler and uses bit less power.
 
I switched from a 3.8ghz q6600 to my current q9550, no real difference in performance but it does run a lot cooler, i just fancied a new cpu to mess about with tbh.
 
I went from a Q6600 to a Q9550 (both at stock) for free (long story) and the difference was noticeable. And after doing some tests and benchmarks the difference was very evident. Having said that, Since you are running your Q6600 with a solid overclock there would be very little difference unless you got the Q9550/9650 over 4GHz - and even then I doubt you would really notice it.
If you are going to pay the norm retail price I say its not worth it - wait around for the i5's or grab an i7, or even a new GPU when they are about if that moneys burning a hole in your pocket.
 
As already said, unless you just want a new toy you are unlikely to see much gain.

Also as suggested, check your mobo's overclocking potential with the q9xxx.

I went from a 3.8Ghz Q6600 to a Q9650 running at 4.6Ghz which has indeed given me a boost in encoding and benchmarks but no noticable gain in games.

It also had the added bonus of running cooler which meant my whole waterloop is cooler but that's it really.
 
Main difference, is that with air Q9550 will probably max out at around 3.8GHz and Q9650 will clock a little over 4GHz, of course you do get some good and bad CPU's as always so results may vary. ;)

I ended up with

[email protected]
[email protected]
i7 920@4GHz

Notice a patern? lol

Also agree with Greebo, I've gone from Q6600 to Q9550 to i7 920 and with all of overclocked to simalar levels you won't notice much difference between them for general use or games, if you run benchmarks you will pickup on the differences but thats about it to be honest.

We need faster graphics cards right now, not CPU's imo. :)
 
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It's a waste of time upgrading from a Q6600 to anything but i7. On another note, the Q6600 should get an award (and so should the 8800GTX) for being such an excellent sweet spot for such a long time.

I went from a q6600 to q9550. No obvious difference at all except temps, so my CPU fan is quieter.
 
Greebo said:
I went from a 3.8Ghz Q6600 to a Q9650 running at 4.6Ghz which has indeed given me a boost in encoding and benchmarks but no noticable gain in games.
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Doing anything special to that Q9650 to get it to 4.6Ghz?

I'm tempted to get a cooler running Q9650 and retire my Q6600 to another machine.
 
I went from a dual 2.67 conroe to the q9550. For gaming i get a lot more performance in company of heroes because of the extra cores.

In your case I dont think 500mhz is worth a £200 upgrade, unless you plan to OC, which is where the cooler temp comes in.

On another note, my q9550 idles 3-5c cooler than my 2.67 dual conroe!
 
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