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Q9550 or X4 940?

M

mtx

Gawd
Joined
Sep 27, 2005
Messages
717
Q9550 $250 CAD
X4 940 $230

Yes, I understand this is an Intel forum :D.
 
If your question is really about upgrading your existing Intel system or building an AMD system from the ground up, I think it's obvious. :p
 
Q9550 is a drop-in upgrade and it's faster than the Phenom II 940 so go with the Q9550.
 
Q9550. A current chip can reach 4GHz on aircooling, and even if you could get a 940 to those speeds, the Q9550 is still faster clock for clock.
 
mtx said:
How about mobo? Any sub $100 mobos?
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Your current mobo is fully compatible with the Q9550. IMO, it isn't worth it for you to upgrade to such a cheap board considering it wouldn't be substantially better than what you've got. The minimum I would suggest is something like the ASUS P5Q Pro Turbo or the Gigabyte GA-EP45-UD3P, which cost a bit more than $100.
 
FYI I've had to repair two Biostar motherboards this month. One had a blown cap and is less than a year old. Biostar doesn't use 100% solid caps, it's a mix of solid caps, and obviously cheaper electrolytic caps. Also there are no MOSFET sinks, you're probably going to have to buy an aftermarket MOSFET cooler. The other board, the AM2 bracket broke, but then again that could have happened on any AM2 board since there's only one tab to hold down the heatsink on each side.
 
I have the Q9550 and I love it.

But if I were buying now, I think I might lean towards the AMD Phenom 2. Mostly because there probably won't be much left in the Intel 775 platform, with no real upgrade options left after the Q9550 (not like you'll upgrade to a Q9650 later).

Where as with the Phenom 2, you can grab a decent AM3 motherboard with some DDR3 memory and have a fresh platform that should support more CPU upgrades later without having to replace the board and memory.
 
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I have the Q9550 and I love it.
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Same here. I got mine last November for around $400 US for a Q9550 + ASUS P5Q PRO + 6GB of quality DDR2 + Antec 650W 80 plus (with the help of live.com and their 30%+ ebay cash back on Black Friday).

But if I were buying now, I think I might lean towards the AMD Phenom 2. Mostly because there probably won't be much left in the Intel 775 platform, with no real upgrade options left after the Q9550 (not like you'll upgrade to a Q9650 later).
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You have a good point there. The Q9550 is a little faster and is a little more energy efficient but I do not see any new 775 chips being produced and I know there will be new AM3 chips. Definitely 6 core AM3 chips and possibly even 32nm versions.
 
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