Q9300 or Q9550?

D

davidmyers

n00b
Joined
Jun 12, 2008
Messages
13
I'm about to purchase a cpu for a gaming rig I've been working on.
I've got:
  • Asus P5E-VM HDMI
  • 4GB 1066 Dominator
I plan on overclocking the cpu and the ram to some extent. The 9300 is $250 at newegg: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115043
and the 9550 is currently $309: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115041

I want to know if you think that the price is worth it to jump to the 9550 instead of the 9300. I know the 9550 has twice as much L2 and is clocked slightly higher, but will I really benefit from that if I overclock and only use the machine for general use and gaming?

Thanks for the help!
 
The Q9550 also has a 8.5 multi wile the Q9300 is 7.5, keep that in mind since you will be OCing, that's why I went with the Q9550.
 
I hadn't realized it had the larger multiplier, although that makes sense. Thanks for the info. Does anyone have either of the two? What have your experiences been with them?
 
If you get an E0 Q9550, you have a very good chance of hitting 4GHz. With a C1 chip, you'd probably hit 3.8GHz. Q9300s on the other hand generally top out at around 3.5GHz. Which CPU you choose really depends on how high you intend to overclock.
 
9550 for all the reasons stated above plus the fact that it has twice the L2 cache as well.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top