E8400 to Quad - Q9550 or full upgrade to Phenom X4?

[BlueWeasel]

Current system:
E8400 C1 @ 3.9Ghz
IP35-E 775 MB
4GB DDR2-800
ATI 4890
Corsair 550W PSU

The E8400 and MB have served me well for 2 years now and I'm itching to upgrade to a quad-core. I have no specific need to upgrade (games work great, etc.) but I just want to!!

Option 1
$100-140 net cost +/- (after selling E8400)
Replace E8400 with Q9550 E0. May not be possible, as I've seen others who claim the IP-35E doesn't support the E0 chips, even with the latest beta BIOS 18.

Option 2
Full system upgrade to AMD Phenom II X4
$225 net cost +/- (after selling E8400, MB, and DDR2 RAM)
- AM3 MB
- Phenom II X4 955 BE (hoping to hit 3.8-3.9)
- 6GB DDR3

I could save a little by going with a AM2/AM3 board and keeping my DDR2 for now, given the lack of performance difference between DDR2 and DDR3.

Not sure about releases in 2010 and their affect on prices, though. If prices are expected to fall significantly, I have no problems holding off for a few months.

Thoughts?

 

[F1N3ST]

Is there a Microcenter by you? My 9550 was like $170 there, and I think that deal is still going.

 

[Arkaign]

If you can get a compatible Q9550, that would definitely make the most sense. Clock for clock, the Q9550 is faster than the PhII X4s, so if the 9550 is clocked at 3.5ghz and the PhII is clocked at 3.8ghz, they'll run about the same speed. So, an extra ~$100 for the PhII makes no sense to me.

Given that you have no pressing need, get the cheaper option, it's just as good considering you already have a working S775 system with good components, your OS, apps and drivers are loaded, etc.

 

[soccerballtux]

I don't like the IP35-E, I had one but the vdroop on it got worse and worse with time. Quad cores affect it a lot more. Makes overclocking difficult.

If you had another board and a q9550 with you that would be a good deal;
but I would go with this deal:
http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2044273
if you can.
Get to keep your DDR2, and you get crossfire.

 

[soccerballtux]

If you can get a compatible Q9550, that would definitely make the most sense. Clock for clock, the Q9550 is faster than the PhII X4s, so if the 9550 is clocked at 3.5ghz and the PhII is clocked at 3.8ghz, they'll run about the same speed. So, an extra ~$100 for the PhII makes no sense to me.

Given that you have no pressing need, get the cheaper option, it's just as good considering you already have a working S775 system with good components, your OS, apps and drivers are loaded, etc.

When you get the L3 cache clock up past to and past 2.6Ghz the difference is pretty minimal. Definitely not worth giving up crossfire potential for. But my main reason would be getting rid of the vdroop issue that board has and the effect it has on overclocking.

 

[Arkaign]

When you get the L3 cache clock up past to and past 2.6Ghz the difference is pretty minimal. Definitely not worth giving up crossfire potential for. But my main reason would be getting rid of the vdroop issue that board has and the effect it has on overclocking.

That PhII X4 deal would be a steal for him if he's near a Fry's.

Not many people really do CF or SLI though, he's certainly not gonna do it with that PSU and 4890 CF.

 

[BlueWeasel]

Unfortunately, I don't have a Microcenter or Fry's anywhere near me. I was thinking of seeing if a forum member would be willing to buy a Q9550 for me and ship it to me (for cost of CPU and shipping plus extra).

That's what makes the Q9550 so enticing. Although, the issues with the IP-35E and a Q9xxx makes the decision harder.

I'm certainly not going to run CF or SLI. I had planning on parting out my current rig to take advantage of the price I could get for it. Ultimately, though I'll probably just wait a few months.

 

[soccerballtux]

That PhII X4 deal would be a steal for him if he's near a Fry's.

Not many people really do CF or SLI though, he's certainly not gonna do it with that PSU and 4890 CF.

I bet we'll see more people doing CF. Easier to just buy another card than try to sell your current one on ebay or these forums and then buy a new one.

For me the killer was that I could move to AMD-- sure I might not get the absolute fastest quad, but the motherboard was brand new, higher quality, supported crossfire, and could unlock CPUs for me. Hence I ended up with my current x3->x4 unlock. Save money on the CPU, buy faster (or two) GPUs.

 

[zerocool84]

The thing to me is that your E8400 is clocked so high, the difference in going Q9550 won't be that large since duals usually overclock higher than quads.

 

[BlueWeasel]

The thing to me is that your E8400 is clocked so high, the difference in going Q9550 won't be that large since duals usually overclock higher than quads.

Yeah, that's a good point.

I'm not one of those that play the latest games -- 90% of the games I play are at least 12 months old. I know that a C2Q running at the same speed as my C2D will give me no performance gain for non-multithreaded games.

Doesn't mean I can't upgrade, though.

It comes down to this:

Would you:
1) Make one final upgrade to my 775 system in the form of a C2Q (assuming that it does work).
2) Sell my current rig and upgrade to a Phenom II X4.
3) Wait several months and see if the prices of the upgrade to AMD drops?
(I doubt the Q9xxx prices will be dropping anytime soon)

 

[F1N3ST]

I'd check the FS/FT forums for a 9550. Some people probably doing like $190 for new chips or maybe 150 for used.

 

[EnzoLT]

If you have no reason to upgrade other than an itch, why upgrade? Just save your money for a complete overhaul to i5/i7. You still have a nice system and like you said, you are not really going to use a quad to its full extent so I suggest just save up some more for an i5/i7 and maybe even six core Thubans.

 

[soccerballtux]

If you have no reason to upgrade other than an itch, why upgrade? Just save your money for a complete overhaul to i5/i7. You still have a nice system and like you said, you are not really going to use a quad to its full extent so I suggest just save up some more for an i5/i7 and maybe even six core Thubans.

Cause it's fun . My setup is very similar to the OP's...I just wanted a quad. I had an IP35-E and C0 e8400 @ 3.9Ghz.

 

[zerocool84]

Yeah, that's a good point.

I'm not one of those that play the latest games -- 90% of the games I play are at least 12 months old. I know that a C2Q running at the same speed as my C2D will give me no performance gain for non-multithreaded games.

Doesn't mean I can't upgrade, though.

It comes down to this:

Would you:
1) Make one final upgrade to my 775 system in the form of a C2Q (assuming that it does work).
2) Sell my current rig and upgrade to a Phenom II X4.
3) Wait several months and see if the prices of the upgrade to AMD drops?
(I doubt the Q9xxx prices will be dropping anytime soon)

I know how you feel. I had an E6300 @ 2.9 and wanted quad cus I play a lot of RTS's and got my Q9550 2 weeks ago. Not a huge jump but it helps in RTS's a lot.

 

[BlueWeasel]

I found someone in FS/FT who's got a Q9550 for $170. After selling the E8400, the upgrade would only be $60-$70.

Claims it will run 3.4 at stock voltage and up to 3.8Ghz.

 

[happy medium]

I found someone in FS/FT who's got a Q9550 for $170. After selling the E8400, the upgrade would only be $60-$70.

Claims it will run 3.4 at stock voltage and up to 3.8Ghz.

I seen that one. I'd grab it. I got mine for 150$ from the for sale forums.

 

[F1N3ST]

I found someone in FS/FT who's got a Q9550 for $170. After selling the E8400, the upgrade would only be $60-$70.

Claims it will run 3.4 at stock voltage and up to 3.8Ghz.

Mine runs 3.4 at stock voltage, I'd believe it.

 

[EnzoLT]

I agree its fun. Nonetheless just pick up that q9550, sell the e8400 and be happy!! i know i am, my q9550 is at 3.8ghz at stock volts

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

Yeah, my Q9550 rig is hard to give up cause they are soo nice.

 

[Arkaign]

I bet we'll see more people doing CF. Easier to just buy another card than try to sell your current one on ebay or these forums and then buy a new one.

For me the killer was that I could move to AMD-- sure I might not get the absolute fastest quad, but the motherboard was brand new, higher quality, supported crossfire, and could unlock CPUs for me. Hence I ended up with my current x3->x4 unlock. Save money on the CPU, buy faster (or two) GPUs.

Oh yeah, I've been really impressed with the mobos available for AM3 at the $100-$120 price points. Easy to get two full 16X PCI-E 2.0 ports, onboard HMDI w/Audio, all kinds of nice stuff.

 

[TekDemon]

I'm in a similar boat and can get a friend to go to Microcenter to pick one up, but I've basically decided to just wait it out a little longer and see what happens in a couple of months since I realized I don't really do enough multi-threaded stuff that would see much of a benefit, and my video card basically stops me from running any game where my CPU wouldn't be more than enough already.

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

Don't fall into upgraditis.

 

[BlueWeasel]

Assuming a C2Q E0 at 3.6-3.8Ghz and a Phenom II X4 (955 BE) running at 3.6-3.8Ghz, which one uses the lesser power and runs cooler?

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

Just a guess but Intel.

 

[happy medium]

Assuming a C2Q E0 at 3.6-3.8Ghz and a Phenom II X4 (955 BE) running at 3.6-3.8Ghz, which one uses the lesser power and runs cooler?

About the same.

http://www.anandtech.com/cpuchipsets/showdoc.aspx?i=3619&p=8