Q6600 ($200) vs Q9450 ($300)

- I am a gamer
- I only upgrade CPU every 4 years.
- I like to be future proof, but not at the expense of unjustified premiums. Especially, if in the long run there is really no real world difference in the 2 products.

Questions:

- Which would u buy and why?
- Is Q9450 worth the $100 premium over the Q6600?

good advice.
 
Please read the other threads on this topic ... there must be at least 15 by now ... use the search box at the top of the forum page.
 
Hope this helps.

hmmm well if the Q9450 will significantly be more future proff than a Q6600...maybe the $100 is worth it....arg...but if the perforamnce difference is only like %5...i dont see why ppl would spend 100$ for it.  

If you are talking raw performance / price, you can't beat the Q6600. Yes the Q9450 is faster, but no, its not as good price to performance. In the end its up to you if the extra cache and core improvements are worth the 100 bucks. I know that doesn't make it any easier for you, but, if it was me i'd take the Q9450, those 45nm chips run very cool even in comparison to a G0 Q6600.

Find a cheap QX6 series chip if you can, if not buy the Q9450, has the same number of transistors as a dual core, that's why the price is alot lower than a QX chip. Intel wouldn't allow you to pay half price for the same thing.

 
lol thats better.
 
- I don't encode
- I only OC a little...3.2-3.4
- I am not worried about heat.
 
Q6600...i think is winning now. =)

yeah Q6600 is best bang for buck...but its hard to tell if the benefits of the Q9450 over the Q6600 will make me significantly more future proof...

I guess...the 45 vs 65nm wouldnt matter...peroformance-wise.
I guess...the speed won't matter since, they both OC enough for me

The cache DOES matter....if there is a real performance gain from it...

Anything else different between these 2?

Well if you are doing just a cpu upgrade, id say go with the q6600, the price performance is great, however, with nehahalem coming out at the end of the year, perhaps you should hang on to what you have and upgrade at years end.

what is the expected price of the nahahalem?
 
i upgrading for Age of Conan btw...it gets released in 3 days..

offtopic:

I am going to buy one of these cases in the next day or 2. The price isn't a real issue, since I plan to reuse the case for many years. Please help me select the best one. Which would you buy and why?

Thermaltake Armor Series VA8003BWS ($120): http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6811133021

Thermaltake Armor+MX VH8000BWS ($135): http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6811133062
The TT Armor+MX physically looks the best to me, however, I wish it had more fans...

Antec Nine Hundred ($80): http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] ntec%2b900

XCLIO A380PLUS-BK($120): http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6811103014
The case fans on this case are crazy

cosmos s is good but $250 >.<

Have you considered this:
Based on the Kill-a-Watt readings, there is a tangible difference between between the Power Consumption of a Q6600 vs Q9450 even at idle. This difference gets more pronounced at load, more so when you OC, and especially noticeable in your monthly bills if you keep your PC on 24/7.
 
You may quite possibly end up paying more than $100 in electricity costs over 4 years (48 months) ($2/mo; less than $0.10 per day).
 
If you are not responsible for the electricity bills, then go with whatever is more cost effective as both chips are excellent. Otherwise, look into the electricity usage. =)

Yeah, the price per KWH can add up over time. I think I am paying $0.20 per KWH in NYC.
 
Anywaste, regardless of power consumption:
 
Pure gaming ==> Q6600
Video editing / encoding ==> Q9450

I have a cosmos s and basically I havent ever seen a better case. It's ready for water cooling for provision for 3 fans up top and area for radiator, has a massive side panel fan and holes with gromets for piping and is ATX extended. The psu goes down the bottom and has its own washable dust filter. Sure you can get cheaper cases, but really when you get everything the cosmos s offers, its super value for money, my advice is go and check one out in person. It's tooless, very very sexy and the hardrive cage has its own fan etc etc etc etc. Too much to mention.

They're both quad cores and they can both be overclocked.  Given the bargain basement price of the Q6600 ( http://www.microcenter.com/single_ [...] id=0257938 ) it's hard to justify the Q9450's $$$ premium unless your time is truly money and the more time you save the more money you make.  Otherwise, I think the performance increase of the Q9450 is luxury...but there's nothing wrong with luxury if that's how you want to spend your $$$.  I did.

how much better performance would u said I can get out of an OC 9450 vs an OC 6600? I do not video edit...just gaming and normal stuff.

i really like the antec 1200..but thats $220....my price range on a case max is like $150...

Well the Q9450 runs at 1333 vs 1066, thats a ~25% gain. If you match it with 1333 ram thats another ~25%. One runs at 2.4 the other at 2.66. One has 8mb cahce the other 12mb. It runs cooler, have alook at all these posts with people complaing about 65nm tempreatures. Problem? Yes. The Q9450 has a locked multiplier of 8, which means you need to put more volts through it for a gain ie 450 mhz x 8 for 3.6. Some boards do this well and some don't, you have to research this and buy good ram. If you don't think a stock Q9450 is worth an extra $100 you need a brain transplant.

Q6600 @3.2 vs Q9450@3.2  ...now can someone tell me the % performance difference in games and normal use? (not video encoding)

I would image 5-7%...if that is the case ill save my $100.