Q6600 or Phenom9950

Z

zelhar

n00b
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Sep 12, 2008
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Hello honorable members, this is my first post here.

I am seeking advice about which CPU-Moboard combo is best for me. I plan to overclock the cpu to 3000-3500ghz using air-cooling.
I have came up with two options both are pretty much of equal price:
#1: Q6600 on GB EP45C-DS3R moboard and a HD3560 discrete graphics card.
#2: Phenom quad 9950 on MA790GP-DS4H moboard which comes with onboard
HD3300 vga card.

* Both moboards support 16GB of DDR2 1066mhz but the #1moboard also supports 8GB of DDR3 (but not both at the same time).

* Both support ATI's Crossfire

I suppose that the phenom 9950 should outperform the Q6600 however the EP45C-DS3R moboard should allow for better overclocking, am I right?

What's you advice ?
 
The Intel setup is the better choice, but swap the motherboard out with the Gigabyte GA-EP45-DS3R. There's no need to use DDR3 at this time; you could use DDR2 800 to push the Q6600 to around 3.4GHz-3.6GHz (depending on the processor, YMMV).

Additionally, get a good aftermarket CPU cooler for your setup. A popular choice here is the Xigmatek HDT-S1283 with the ACK-I7751 retention bracket.

Out of curiosity, may I ask what you are using this build for?
 
The Q6600 out performs the 9950, so definitely go with the intel chipset. Stick with DDR2, DDR3 doesn't offer any advantages atm.

+1 on the S1283
 
I concur with the above responses.

Also, the EP45C-DS3R is a hybrid DDR2/DDR3 motherboard, which as a rule is less stable than a DDR2-only or a DDR3-only motherboard.
 
Thanks allot for your input guys !

Out of curiosity, may I ask what you are using this build for?
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For general use and also for compiling and running virtual machines, so I want decent processing power but I won't need it for serious video editing, gaming and 3d graphics so the GPU is less important (even though I'd probably upgrade it in the future).

your probably paying alot more for the intel motherboard
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Yes but The Phenom 9950 costs allot more than Q6600 so both combinations comes at almost equal price.
 
I've been saving up for a Q6600 for a while now... I was having some problems with my old mobo and decided to move my upgrade plans forward... But intel setups are expensive, especially since any of their half decent mobos are like $150+

I got a 9850 BE from fry's for like $150. Great chip at great price and I don't at all regret not going intel. If you can get an AMD setup for cheaper, I would at least consider it. Get whatever is best for the price IMO.

From most reports, Q6600 will almost certainly be a better overclocker though. I've gone up to 2.8 on my 9850 BE with no issues, have not tried higher because everything I play already runs extremely well and the proc is already running warm with stock heatsink and my poor cable management etc.
 
You can get a Q6600 for around $170, and a good mobo (P35) for under a hundred, so it's not that much more expensive but the performance is definitely worth it.
 
Q6600, no questions asked. It's still the king of CPUs these days overall... so much power, so little cost, so many possibilities.
 
Where I am going to buy, the Q6600 is considerably cheaper than Ph9950, However the GB Mobo+HD3560 are more expensive than a GX integrated graphics mobo. I could save some money by opting the 9850 but then I'd probably be disappointed from the poor overclockability.

So I guess Q6600 it is then...
 
It's better hardware, with better performance, and it's worth every damned penny. And, yes, if you choose to bump it up a notch to something like 3 GHz, that's a piece of cake for a Q6600 even using the stock HSF from Intel without any issues at all. 25% more power for a few bucks more? Hell yes it's the choice... ;)
 
Joe Average said:
It's better hardware, with better performance, and it's worth every damned penny. And, yes, if you choose to bump it up a notch to something like 3 GHz, that's a piece of cake for a Q6600 even using the stock HSF from Intel without any issues at all. 25% more power for a few bucks more? Hell yes it's the choice... ;)
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I concur 100% with this.

Also, why do you even need the HD3650? If you're not gaming at all, just go for the cheapest PCI-E card you can find like the HD3450.
 
Danny Bui said:
I concur 100% with this.

Also, why do you even need the HD3650? If you're not gaming at all, just go for the cheapest PCI-E card you can find like the HD3450.
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I still want to watch HD movies, and be able to game once in a while, games like HoM&M-x and Civilization-x, and Starcraft.
 
zelhar said:
I still want to watch HD movies, and be able to game once in a while, games like HoM&M-x and Civilization-x, and Starcraft.
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The HD3450 is more than enough to watch HD movies. Also, if those are the only games you play (old school ones), the Hd3450 is still a good choice. It's better than the onboard video that the MA790GP-DS4H came with.
 
i am going to go agaisnt the mob and say 9950. why? because i like to be different =P


haha no srsly though, go intel

buying the amd would be like rewarding the slow kid in the class for getting a trivial question right just to make him feel better. :D
 
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