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POLL: X4 955 vs. Q9*50

Soulkeeper

Diamond Member
Use whatever criteria you see fit (ie: price/performance, performance/watt, overclocking, etc.), debates welcome.
 
X4 955 sits somewhere between Q9400 and 9550. With some overclocking Q should be faster. If you have a socket 775 mobo already it's no brainer.
 
Quite the contrary Azn. I'd def go the Ph2-955.

It's almost guaranteed that AMD will keep prices competitive. It's looking like we can get the uncore fast enough with the new stepping such that it's just as fast clock/clock as the q9x50 series. Couple this with the higher OCability...3.8-4.0Ghz looks guaranteed with a minor bump in vcore.

At this point, if (when) I to upgrade to a Quad, it will make a lot more sense to sell my IP35-E and processor, keep my cooler and RAM, and buy a Ph2 955 and an AM2+ motherboard. I hear the IP35-e's struggle with providing enough voltage reliably to the CPU-- and as you move to quads, you tax the power on the board and the northbridge a lot more. The unlocked multi on the Ph2 955 is very attractive to me, seeing as this board will probably only go to 450Mhz with a Quad.
 
Originally posted by: Azn
X4 955 sits somewhere between Q9400 and 9550. With some overclocking Q should be faster. If you have a socket 775 mobo already it's no brainer.

You're saying that the 955 is slower than a Q9550? Think again. Out of 20 tests done by Anandtech the 955 won 12 and lost 8 and out of the 4 games tested each won 2.

You should say the 955 sits between the Q9650 and Q9550, it has even beaten the Q9650 in a few tests.

But like you said, if you have a socket 775 it's much better to get a Intel quad since performance is so close, it makes no sense going AMD.
 
Originally posted by: Gikaseixas

But like you said, if you have a socket 775 it's much better to get a Intel quad since performance is so close, it makes no sense going AMD.

A LGA775 board that supports 45nm Quadcore that is. This would obviously negate the price advantage of the 955. If you don't have an LGA775 board though, and you are not ready to drop the money on a Core i7, or wait for the Core i5. I would say the Phenom II X4 955 is the best choice, being cheaper than the Q9550 and performing nearly as well as the Q9650, for $80 less.

On another note, where is nvidia's DDR3 chipset for AM3?
 
I think it's pretty much a tie at stock speeds. No idea at overclocked speeds as I don't know the usual OCs of the Intel offering.
 
It seems to me that the current crop of non-i7 quad cores are "upgrade chips". That is, if you already have a compatible motherboards, you can drop a C2Q or PhII in there and go about your merry way. However, if you are building a new system on a budget, the PhII X3 710/720 is the way to go. If you have more $$ to spend, go Core i7.
 
the problem with the upgrade chip theory, is that currently a 2.83ghz Q9550 costs the same -10$ discount as a 2.66ghz i7 (which oces itself automatically to 2.83).
So the old chips are priced the same as a much better newer chip, except the new chip requires replacing the mobo and ram...
 
Originally posted by: taltamir
the problem with the upgrade chip theory, is that currently a 2.83ghz Q9550 costs the same -10$ discount as a 2.66ghz i7 (which oces itself automatically to 2.83).
So the old chips are priced the same as a much better newer chip, except the new chip requires replacing the mobo and ram...

Oh yeah, I agree that the value of the i7 is better than C2Q/PhII X4, but the whole hassle of replacing mobo/RAM, selling the stuff, spending more $$... some people just don't find the thrill in it anymore. I might be inclined to do it, merely because it's interesting.
 
From a standpoint of a new build, they're about the same. It all comes down to rebates and combo prices if I were to do that. However, considering my current state with an Asus P5Q Pro and a Q6700, I'd say both of them are pointless. 😛
 
Voted for Phenom 2. They are pretty close, but I think that AM3 is a better buy in the long term with 775 being phased out. And ddr3 ain't that expensive any more.
 
If you're building from scratch I say PII FTW. You'll see more performance boost from DDR3 and DDR3 is cheap now. I just bought a 6gb of DDR3 1800 $80. Plus with the dragon platform, supposedly you're getting more performance increase. So why stick w/ the old guns, unless you have a 755 board?
 
Originally posted by: Flipped Gazelle
Originally posted by: taltamir
the problem with the upgrade chip theory, is that currently a 2.83ghz Q9550 costs the same -10$ discount as a 2.66ghz i7 (which oces itself automatically to 2.83).
So the old chips are priced the same as a much better newer chip, except the new chip requires replacing the mobo and ram...

Oh yeah, I agree that the value of the i7 is better than C2Q/PhII X4, but the whole hassle of replacing mobo/RAM, selling the stuff, spending more $$... some people just don't find the thrill in it anymore. I might be inclined to do it, merely because it's interesting.

i agree, and for once its actually a necessary hassle because IMC was added... BUT, it is kind of BS that the Q series didn't go down in price any, and that there is no affordable P55 chipset for an i5 nehalem.
 
Where's the i7 option? Those that do heavily parallel tasks or can actually benefit from the i7 arch (video editing/encoding, CAD, etc) - the i7 is hands down the best choice.

That said, I'm still happy with my Phenom II 940 though.
 
Originally posted by: SunnyD
Where's the i7 option? Those that do heavily parallel tasks or can actually benefit from the i7 arch (video editing/encoding, CAD, etc) - the i7 is hands down the best choice.

That said, I'm still happy with my Phenom II 940 though.

well i'm guessing that the PHII directly competes with the Qxxx series so thus no i7 option
 
The pII cause......I got board of building intel intel intel, I think a lot of ppl are glad of something different and good. Plus the AM3 socket has a little more life left in her for the future. I am sure glad for this fresh breath of air!


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PII because you can use the mobo/RAM in the future.
Core 2 = dead. No point in buying a high end part on a dead socket unless you have existing RAM/mobo you can use.
 
Originally posted by: DanK414
If you're building from scratch I say PII FTW. You'll see more performance boost from DDR3 and DDR3 is cheap now. I just bought a 6gb of DDR3 1800 $80. Plus with the dragon platform, supposedly you're getting more performance increase. So why stick w/ the old guns, unless you have a 755 board?

The whole "platform" idea sounds mostly retarded. As far as I can tell, the main advantage of having such a system is that AMD's overclocking tool is a simple way to manage everything. Don't need to reboot the computer to change overclock settings, don't need a separate overclock programs for GPU, don't need separate stability testing programs (AMD claims their OC utility uses the same stability testing they do when developing new processors).

I think the software side is a real advantage. AMD demonstrating how Overdrive works
 
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