Q9550 SLB8V/E0 - opinions please

wolvers · 22 Sep 2009 at 15:58

I have the opportunity to buy a Q9550 that's a guaranteed SLB8V/E0 but it's £180 all in. OcUK have theirs at £172 but it's not stated what the stepping is and neither are the ones on other sites (some even cheaper).

Some people have said that they got E0s from OcUK recently but my question is this, is it worth paying the extra for a chip that is guaranteed to be the stepping of choice? Also bearing in mind that I can order a chip of unknown stepping for £162+del.

cmndr_andi · 22 Sep 2009 at 16:06

You could always send OCUK a webnote to confirm the stepping. The Q9550 has been out for a long while now and they changed to E0 pretty early, so there is a very good chance of it being E0.

However, £172-180 is a lot to pay for a last generation chip. What is the motherboard and RAM you are currently using? As it may be worth your while looking to an i5/i7 upgrade as it is current tech and overclocks like a dream.

Nocky24 · 22 Sep 2009 at 16:07

I'd say they'd all by E0 by now surely? I'd call or email them though just to make sure.

wolvers · 22 Sep 2009 at 16:51

cmndr_andi said:
You could always send OCUK a webnote to confirm the stepping. The Q9550 has been out for a long while now and they changed to E0 pretty early, so there is a very good chance of it being E0.

However, £172-180 is a lot to pay for a last generation chip. What is the motherboard and RAM you are currently using? As it may be worth your while looking to an i5/i7 upgrade as it is current tech and overclocks like a dream.

I'm not really keen to upgrade the whole lot as I don't see the performance warrants the outlay.

I don't think OcUK would say which stepping they had would they? I mean if they had just E0 then they might say but if it's both then they wouldn't cherry pick.

A rival has them listed as C1s.

jbloggs · 22 Sep 2009 at 16:53

The chances of getting a C1 instead of an E0 are very small to say the least, almost so that you can discount it I would think...but as already mentioned if you want to confirm that the E0 is what you'll be getting, just send a webnote to them.

Clairvoyant · 22 Sep 2009 at 16:58

If its not a E0 as long as you dont open it you can. Return it under the DSA with in 7 days.

wolvers · 22 Sep 2009 at 17:09

OK, I've sent them a note. Lets see.

If they won't say then I'll get the one I know for sure is an E0. It's only 8 quid more.

wolvers · 23 Sep 2009 at 07:24

Here's the reply

Unfortunately not, if they were the E0 stepping, they would be advertised as such, and I don't believe were going to be getting this batch of chips in to our warehouse. Apologies for any inconvenience caused by this, and thanks for the web note.

Regards,

Trunks9486 · 23 Sep 2009 at 08:05

It sounds like they don't know what they have to be honest

wolvers · 23 Sep 2009 at 08:11

I reckon it means they've got both but won't cherry pick. :rolleyes:

Clairvoyant · 23 Sep 2009 at 09:47

I cant believe really that there would be any C1s left. OcUK have ran out of stock before and had new stock. So I would say E0, and the last couple of reviews on the chip say E0 stepping.

Buy one if the box code is wrong. Send it back under the DSA.

McstylisT · 23 Sep 2009 at 11:34

The truth is the c1's are not entirely bad though.

The E0 versions just seem to clock better. Every setup is different. I could only stably clock @ 3.6ghz with my old Q9550 c1 , however a good friend had the same on a basic gigabyte board and managed 3.98ghz stable. They require slightly more voltage but nothing mad.
But i guess if you can buy an assured E0 from another source then its got to be considered unless funds are really tight.

Good luck

McT

linktoinsanity · 23 Sep 2009 at 12:03

You could also try looking on the MM. I've seen a couple of Q9550s on there recently going for £140ish and they are often advertised as E0 or if it's not advertised you can often ask the seller.

wolvers · 23 Sep 2009 at 12:16

Got one from the bay for £150 inc. Listed as new and SLB8V.

Just hope it's not a blatant lie.

I've had a C1 and it clocked OK but they're too hot running for my HTPC. With decent cooling it'll do 3.8ghz 24/7 on very respectable vcore. I wouldn't be surprised if it did 4ghz. I'm hoping the E0 will run much cooler.

jbloggs · 23 Sep 2009 at 12:26

I've had both C1 and E0 and they really clock about the same, but the big differance is that the E0 does run considerably cooler.

Clairvoyant · 23 Sep 2009 at 13:44

wolvers69 said:
Got one from the bay for £150 inc. Listed as new and SLB8V.

Just hope it's not a blatant lie.

lol

is this you e***s (34)

£150.00 Accepted 1 23-Sep-09 10:18:19 BST

if yes I just got the other one for £149.95 inc lol

Lets both hopy they are E0s. lol

wolvers · 23 Sep 2009 at 14:02

LOL, yeah that's me.

Also LOL at the guy who tried to buy both for 150 sheets and the other one who got turned down for 150 quid for one! Strange.

Clairvoyant said:
Lets both hopy they are E0s. lol

They'd have to refund if they're not as that's what they've listed them as.

Clairvoyant · 23 Sep 2009 at 14:05

Yeah very strange.

What did you first offer as you changed it.

Have you paid yet.

And now do I keep my TRUE or get a H20

cmndr_andi · 23 Sep 2009 at 14:09

Clairvoyant said:
And now do I keep my TRUE or get a H20

If you have a lapped TRUE i'd say stick with what you have - its a great cooler and the performance difference between it and a H50 will be tiny.

wolvers · 23 Sep 2009 at 14:13

Clairvoyant said:
What did you first offer as you changed it.

Have you paid yet.

I offered 150 first and it accepted straight away so I offered 140 to see if I could get the other one cheaper, which it declined so I withdrew that one. Paid up so they can get on with delivery.