Difference between Extreme and regular Quad-Core 45nm CPU

[Shaitan00]

I am looking into purchasing a new computer system and started by researching/shopping for the Processor (CPU) ? of course the 45nm Intel Quad Core CPU?s are what interest me at the moment but I was a little unsure of the price tag for the QX9650 (> $1,000) so I did was research to see what else we could expect from Intel in the first quarter on 2008 and saw the following chart posted by a lot of people:

QX9770 3,2GHz 1600MHz 2x 6MB 136W Q1 '08 $1599
QX9650 3,0GHz 1333MHz 2x 6MB 130W 12-11 $999
Q9550 2,83GHz 1333MHz 2x 6MB 95W Q1 '08 $530
Q9450 2,66GHz 1333MHz 2x 6MB 95W Q1 '08 $316
Q9300 2,5GHz 1333MHz 2x 3MB 95W Q1 '08 $266
(of course ? someone please correct me if these numbers look wrong)

Immediately my eye caught on the Q9550 at almost half the price ? but it also raised a couple of questions I did not have any answers for and was hoping someone could help fill in the gaps.

Specifically what is the major difference between the QX9xxx (extreme) and Q9xxx series? I see a major difference in power (130W vs 95W) for a small difference in CPU (3.0GHz vs 2.83GHz) so what does the EXTREME line carry that makes it so much more expensive ? or alternatively what would I be loosing out if I only got the Q9550 instead of QX9650?

(sucks that I do not see any news about a Q9650 anytime soon ? guess the best non-extreme version will be the Q9550 for now).

Of course ? any other comments or information would be much appreciated, I?m hoping to see the Q9550 in the next couple of weeks ? any feedback about my choice would also be helpful.

 

[Extelleron]

The only thing that separates the Extreme CPUs from regular CPUs (in the Core 2/Quad lineup) is an unlocked multiplier, higher clockspeed, and bragging rights.

The 130W TDP of the QX9650 is way off. It never really uses over 100W.

 

[GuitarDaddy]

They should all easily clock to the 3.2ghz 9770 speed. Just get a Q9450 and clock it to
fsb400x8=3.2ghz, with ddr2-800 ram it will run at stock on a 1:1 ratio. You can likely do this without increasing CPU voltage and on stock cooling.

 

[21stHermit]

To my mind, the biggest difference is that you can purchase the two Extreme Quads today, the other three Quads you cannot purchase. Unlikely you'll see them for a couple more months. So how big is that itch?

 

[Shaitan00]

Does anyone have a clue when Intel is supposed to release the Q9550 or Q9450 45nm Quad CPUs? I know there is a lot of talk about Q1 2008 and I even noticed some stores are already pre-selling it - has there been any word on an actual release date? Or any word on possible delays to Q2 or more? (I'm pretty much waiting for these to become available but won't if I find out it won't be available until something like June/July.

 

[tenax]

search the first 2 pages of the cpu section and you'll find tons of discussion about arrival date, what may delay etc (dual cores will be on time, the new quads, delayed to somewhere between feb and march)

 

[tallman45]

These are the 2 to focus on

Q9550 2,83GHz 1333MHz 2x 6MB 95W Q1 '08 $530
Q9450 2,66GHz 1333MHz 2x 6MB 95W Q1 '08 $316


The ?? is for $214 the Q9450 is a WAY better buy, in a BIG way over the Q9550

O/C of .17 Ghz is so little it may not even be classified as OC at all and you keep the $214 vs giving it to Intel

 

[BrownTown]

Yes, well if your gonna overclock it really never makes any sense to get the most expensive parts unless you are going for the unlocked multipliers. That being said, the high multiplier of the Q9550 will mean that it will get higher overclocks on most motherboards, but yeah obviously not worth the money.