Q6600 > or < Q9450???

[Unbroken]

Hey guys I'm in the market for a new processor and I trust u guys more than I trust a random review or newegg reviews. At this point I've decided I definitely want to go quad core.

From what I've researched so far, the 9450 runs cooler b/c of is 45nm technology, but I also know the clock multiplier on the 6600 is 9 vs. the 9450's 8, but I've read that doesn't matter too much b/c the 9450 has a faster stock clock.

FSB doesn't matter too much b/c I'll probly clock it to 1600 anyway (unless stock FSB does make a diff.). The cache is a bit bigger (12 vs. 4x2) which is pretty much what is gonna make my decision. Is it worth the ~100 extra bones?

Let me know what u guys think, personal experiences/clock speeds/temps and suggestions. Thanks.

Sry if there's already a thread for this

[Dopefish]

My recommendation:

Hold off and save your money. Nehalem is around the corner with a release date around December or January (estimate). It's good to wait because if you just start setting money aside from now until the release date, you can probably have enough saved up for a new Nehalem processor, motherboard, and RAM.

If you decide you don't want to buy a Nehalem processor, then I'd still wait. When the processor does come out, you know Intel is probably going to be cutting prices on all of their older processors.

[DennyCrane]

I'd talk to Hunt3r. He's intimately aware of everything involved with the Q6600. In fact, there's some thread here somewhere about his adventures overclocking his.
Personally, I'd go for the 9450. You get a little future proofing and get the benefits right away.

[basso4735]

I just built a rig with a q6600, I think it is a great deal for what you are getting. I have mine oc'd to 3.4ghz, stable with prime for 8 hours, figured that was enough. With the 9450 you'll probably get 4ghz though. But is it needed for the price increase?

Also, either one you get, definitely get an aftermarket heatsink. The stock one sucks.

[Yang88She]

LiL Yang rox a q6600 and I rox a q9450...

we get similar OC's, but I can do it w/ less voltage...I'm sure I can run it higher too

I am currently running @ 8 x 453 1.465 voltage w/ out any issues...LiL yang on the other hand is running @ similar speeds but over 1.6+ voltage...yikes!

so you can't go wrong w/ either...but keep in mind when nehalem comes out, they are coming out w/ the top end processors first...and you will be stuck getting DDR3 which has very little advantage over DDR2 and is godly more expensive

[basso4735]

1.6v? lil yang is killing that thing!

[Dopefish]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Yang88She

so you can't go wrong w/ either...but keep in mind when nehalem comes out, they are coming out w/ the top end processors first...and you will be stuck getting DDR3 which has very little advantage over DDR2 and is godly more expensive

DDR3 has huge advantages when it comes to overclocking. Overclocking RAM has been very iffy prior to DDR3. DDR3 really shows its strength once you start overclocking it.

And like I said... rather than waste that money now, if you just set it aside and save up more money, when Nehalem comes out, you can do a full upgrade. If you don't feel like or can't afford a full upgrade still, then you know that when they do release Nehalem, they will drop the prices of all their current processors. You'll be able to pick up even better processors for cheaper.

But hey, it's your money.

[basso4735]

I find its not usually my ram that limits overclocking, but more temps and volts for the cpu.

[Dopefish]

I didn't mean the RAM limits your ability to overclock. What I had meant was actually related to overclocking the RAM itself, separate of the rest of the components.

[basso4735]

Oh ok.