i3 or Q9550?

[VirtualLarry]

Just curious, whether or not an i3 would be a good upgrade alternative to a Q9550, if I were to purchase either one and overclock it to the max. Is a Q9550 @ 4Ghz (or close to it), considered faster than a Core i3, overclocked to it's max, or not?

Dang it, I cannot remember whether or not i3s have HT. Are they missing HT, Turbo, or both? I need to create a secret decoder ring for all of Intel's new CPUs, their nomenclature is certainly unintuitive, and I think creates a certain amount of confusion. (1156/1366, and IGP or non-IGP should be indicated in the model name string, I think.)

 

[justinm]

I'd say save yourself some cash and get the 9550... I believe the i3s do not have Turbo but do have HT.

 

[tno]

So, the i3 has HT, so you'll have the same number of threads, but it is a dual core chip? And, as always, the real question is, what are you doing with it? If you're gaming, and you're not having trouble running any of the games you're currently playing, then a platform change is probably more trouble than it's worth. If you're doing some serious encoding/transcoding work, then you DEFINITELY want to stick with the Q9550. I asked a similar question earlier this week, and even got Anand to chime in in the comments on his review, most people will really be better off waiting for Sandy Bridge.

tno

 

[VirtualLarry]

Core i3 doesn't support Crossfire??

"in the case of Core i3 parts the memory controller is packaged with the GPU rather than CPU portion of the device (which increases latency) while the PCI Express controller used here has no SLI or CrossFire support. "

http://www.elitebastards.com/index....ticle&id=1106&catid=31&Itemid=27&limitstart=1

Is that up to the CPU to support, or the motherboard? Because the ASRock H55M Pro claims support for Crossfire, and i3 CPUs.
http://www.ewiz.com/detail.php?name=MB-H55M-PR&c=CJ
"Slots: 2x PCI-Express x16 2.0 Slots (Support ATI CrossFireX/ Quad CrossFireX Technology); 1x PCI-Express 2.0 x1 slot; 1x PCI Slots "

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

Why do you want to upgrade?

 

[dguy6789]

Q9550 absolutely destroys any i3. Q9550 is among the fastest quad cores in existence. The only processors that are better are the Core i5s and Core i7s. Core i3 is just a dual core, it is the best dual core, but it's still only a dual core.

 

[cbn]

I would get the Q9550 by all means.

 

[Hey Zeus]

Core i3 doesn't support Crossfire??

"in the case of Core i3 parts the memory controller is packaged with the GPU rather than CPU portion of the device (which increases latency) while the PCI Express controller used here has no SLI or CrossFire support. "

http://www.elitebastards.com/index....ticle&id=1106&catid=31&Itemid=27&limitstart=1

Is that up to the CPU to support, or the motherboard? Because the ASRock H55M Pro claims support for Crossfire, and i3 CPUs.
http://www.ewiz.com/detail.php?name=MB-H55M-PR&c=CJ
"Slots: 2x PCI-Express x16 2.0 Slots (Support ATI CrossFireX/ Quad CrossFireX Technology); 1x PCI-Express 2.0 x1 slot; 1x PCI Slots "

The Clarkdale supports SLI and Xfire on a P55 board. On an H55 board it doesn't