hello bit-techs, i've been trying to decide between the Q6600 (G0) and the Q9550 and don't know what to do I have both the chips but currently i got the Q6600 in my rig overclocked to 2.8 under a corsair H70 Now the thing is that i have both the chips and its pretty pointless having both of them sitting around so will be getting rid of one. I dont do any CPU heavy tasks just internet browsing, gaming and watching films So my choices are keep my current Q6600 which i can overclock to the same speeds as a stock Q9550 and sell the Q9950, or keep the Q9550 and sell the Q6600 at half the resale price of the Q9550 (judging by completed ebay listings) now the Q6600 has never left me down and has always been fast enough for me but what about the future? do you think this chip will keep up with future needs? (next 2 yrs?) How much better is the Q9550? and what is this chip like for overcloking if anyone knows? thanks in advance BLACK-TiGER
Q9550 is only a fraction better than the Q6600 (I've owned both). Clock-for-clock the 45nm quads are faster, so to equal the 2.8GHz of the Q9550 you'd need probably 3.2GHz from the Q6600, which wouldn't be (or certainly shouldn't be) too hard with the G0 stepping. And my Q9550 was a stinker, needing 1.4v for 4GHz...but it did get there. To get a decent OC from the Q9550 you'd need a good motherboard capable of the required high FSB, given the limitations of the CPU's 8.5 multiplier. I'd suggest keep the Q6600 because it's not going to make a HUGE difference in games; and the money you get from the Q9550 can be used for another upgrade.
Seeing as you have both chips, drop each one in see how far you can overclock them and then bench them. Compare the results. Choose your winner. Sell the one you don't want.
^^^this^^^ it may be time consumming but it gives you a reason to spend a day or 2 having a bit of fun pissing around with you pc and doing some oc'ing and youll be able to see the difference between the two for yourself
thanks for you answers guys, some good points. i haven't bothered switching chips and doing some tests because i've run out of thermal paste and wont be getting any for a week or two LennyRhys pretty much summed it up for me. think ill just keep my Q6600 and get rid of the Q9550, might finally be able to upgrade from a 4870 then cheers guys, have some rep
You guys aren't reading the first post - why should he keep the one that performs better if he doesn't need performance? lol Sell the Q9550 and get rich
I had a Q6600 which would do 3.3 Ghz on the stock 1.3v, and 3.6 Ghz on 1.45v, both with (good) air cooling. Keep that Q6600 and overclock it a bit, you should be able to push it more than 2.8 Ghz even on the stock voltage
I've been playing about with my Q6600 G0 and i have mine stable at about 3.4ghz on air, i probably could push it a little further but don't need to. I've had this chip for about 4 years and i don't feel the need to upgrade any time soon so id recommend the Q6600.
lots of love being shown for the Q6600, going to keep mine at 2.8 until i feel a need for more which i doubt will be any time soon.
My Q6600 is spinning along nicely at 3.5Ghz using an artic pro 7.....so with the far better cooling your H70 offers who knows how far you could take it.......Think I'd even try lapping your cpu to see how much more you can squeeze out of it...a lot cheaper than up grading.
I had a Q9450 that happily ran at 3.6GHz at less that 1.2v. I've only moved to the Q9650 as it was such a good price skt 2011 is the only think I'm interested in...
Ive only overclocked it a little and it does make a difference i suppose for things like winrar, photoshop, the odd video edit, it was just something to do at the time
