stupid question about power consumption

[noxiousCaitSith]

i was reading through another thread and remembered that i needed to ask a question about cpu power consumption. i'm waiting for the q9450 to come out...hopefully within a week! i dunno. anyway, compared to the q6600 how much less power does the q9450 use? like how much would it effect the power bill? i know that's kinda vague but just wondering if it's worth the extra money for the more energy efficient one.

 

[Idontcare]

Depends on the clocks and voltages if overclocking of course.

But here's a data point for you - a computer system with G0 Q6600 overclocked to 3.3GHz at 1.32V and running 24x7 100% loaded on all cores runs me $15/month.

~2/3's of that system power consumption is the Q6600 (no monitor, I use remote desktop to access).

So I figure if I swapped a Q9450 for my Q6600 and clocked the Q9450 to 3.3GHz (woefully underclocked as far as overclocking a Q9450 would go) then I'd probably cut my CPU power consumption in half...from $10/month to $5/month.

(system level consumption would reduce from $15/month to $10/month)

http://www.xbitlabs.com/articl...ad-q9300_13.html#sect0

 

[noxiousCaitSith]

so over time it seems it might be worth it to spend the extra money on the q9450. also, i really doubt mine will be on for long periods of time unless i happen to be rendering... i'd wait for the price to drop but i was already waiting for the q6600 then i heard about the q9450:shocked:...and have no idea when it will finally be available.

thanks for the reply.

 

[QuixoticOne]

Over a decent period like 5 years I'm sure the Q9450's lower power consumption would pay for itself vs. the Q6600. Actually the Q6600 has very high IDLE power consumption that isn't much reduced even with EIST/SpeedStep turned on. The Q9450 has extremely smaller power consumption at IDLE, so it's even a bigger relative savings in the idle state.

Also you'll potentially save money on the PSU and system cooling solutions since the CPU will be putting out less heat.

The Q9450 is a better overall part and should have the best performance as well as value, the only things that somewhat take away from the 'value' picture are the inflated prices due to the initial scarcity of the chip.

There have been some X3340 (Xeon equivalent of Q9450) CPUs in stock at a handful of retailers lately.

March 24th at least a couple of big distributors and resellers are expecting to get some in AFAIK.

It'll probably be sometime between then and the middle of April when you see supply becoming more plentiful.

 

[noxiousCaitSith]

yeah, hopefully i can get one right when they come out. it's kinda stupid how they raise the prices so much...i wish walmart sold good graphics cards. they'd at least put them at msrp. heh. but i've noticed with the 8800gt that it was kinda cheaper right when they're released then they go way up.

so..what's the basic difference between the q9450 and a xeon thing? i really don't know much about this.

 

[QuixoticOne]

As for power consumption read these:
http://www.anandtech.com/cpuch...howdoc.aspx?i=3184&p=2
http://www.anandtech.com/cpuch...howdoc.aspx?i=3184&p=3
http://www.anandtech.com/cpuch...howdoc.aspx?i=3066&p=2

Sorry the X3340 I mentioned before was incorrect, a typo.
It is the X3350 that is the Xeon model that's the same as the Q9450.

http://www.lagoom.com/Intel_CP...artinfo-id-580363.html

In theory there are no significant differences other than the marking of the chip.
Electrically they function the same.
In software they function the same.
The same exact chip is used to make both.

Some say they sort them a little differently in terms of the allowed VID voltage for one versus the other, but that probably doesn't matter much since with any given single CPU you have no idea of what the VID is going to be anyway and it varies over a wide range, so for the most part the two chips span most of the same possible range of voltages coming from the factory.

Some say that they may do some firmware level tweaks to some of the chip's algorithms that can make the xeon more well 'tuned' to perform for typical server type software operating software, and the desktop model gets slightly different algorithms to tune it to work best for average desktop types of operating software. Things like memory prefetching stragegies etc. Things that don't work perfectly one way or another, it's just sort of a best guess / compromise about what is probably most often a good guess even though you're always going to guess wrong a good percentage of the time depending on the software in use. Personally I've seen no credible backup to suggest that there ARE such differences in firmware/microcode level 'tuning' between the chips. I've seen no credible claims of anyone being able to tell the two chips apart in benchmarks because of these rumored differences, though some people claim that the xeon performed 3% worse on some 'desktop/gaming' oriented benchmark of some sort, but AFAICT that is just a rumor until I see the hard data about the test methodology and repeatibility of the results they get and how often such a difference even manifests itself etc. It could just be a rumor or the result of bad testing methods or software bugs in the actual OS or program and nothing to do with the CPU.

In any case they're to a high degree of approximation equivalent.

 

[noxiousCaitSith]

i see.
also, i guess it would've helped to say this before but i have this motherboard already. gigabyte and it doesn't look like the x3350 is supported unless they decided to not update their website.
and i still have to update the bios apparently cause people have said that my motherboard won't boot up with the q9450. so that'a another question i have. my parents have an LGA 775 processor in their computer. i won't be messing anything up if i take it out and put it in my computer so i can update the bios will i? or is there another way to do it?

 

[QuixoticOne]

Originally posted by: noxiousCaitSith
i see.
also, i guess it would've helped to say this before but i have this motherboard already. gigabyte and it doesn't look like the x3350 is supported unless they decided to not update their website.
and i still have to update the bios apparently cause people have said that my motherboard won't boot up with the q9450. so that'a another question i have. my parents have an LGA 775 processor in their computer. i won't be messing anything up if i take it out and put it in my computer so i can update the bios will i? or is there another way to do it?

Well I'd wait. Sometimes the motherboard vendors are very slow to update their web sites as to what processors are compatible with what motherboard and bios version.

It is not too uncommon that even if they say you need a BIOS version newer than the one you have to work with a new CPU model/stepping, it will work well enough with the old BIOS version that you can at least quickly boot, maybe change a setting or two in the BIOS if you need to, then boot a floppy or whatever to reflash the BIOS to the most recent version that supports the new CPU. In many cases that will work fine even if that is not what is suggested by the motherboard maker's web site. The only way to find out without trying it yourself is to wait until the new CPU is out and see what people say about whether the old BIOS gives insurmountable problems booting the new CPU or not.

If you're extremely careful about not damaging anything due to scrapes, misplaced wires / connectors / jumpers, bad alignment / reassembly, bad reinstallation of the CPU heatsink, and especially electrostatic static discharge damage you should be able to borrow a CPU from a working system, use it to flash another system, and then reassemble both systems to get everything working again.

You'll need a good supply of new heatsink grease in a tube to change the CPU/heatsink three times needed for the process and probably some extra for accidents or reinstallation. You'll also have to probably get some paper coffee filters or a couple packs of lens cleaning tissues (to clean the heatsink and CPU heat spreader) and maybe a credit card (to scrape the paste around and scrape off the old paste/wax)...Probably a sponge and toothbrush as well though you should only use those on the heatsink and not the CPU to help clean the paste residue..some of the waxy stuff can be hard to get off. You'll also want a bottle of fairly pure isopropyl alcohol from the drug store (like 90% pure alcohol or whatever) to help wipe off the paste and clean the heatsink / heat spreader...

Get an anti-static grounded wrist strap for like $6... set out everything on big overlapped sheets of aluminium foil on a table... keep the PSU turned physically off (assuming it has a switch on the back) but leave the power cable to it plugged into it and the wall so it remains grounded and then you can clip the wrist-strap to the PSU for a ground and of course set the PSU/case on the foil so it is grounded too that way... then don't move around, keep all your stuff right in front of you so you don't need to walk / get up / slide around much or at all so you can stay grounded and not build up any static charges.

When you are ready put the paste on, clean the HS and IHS with your IPA and a lint-free lens cloth / coffee filter until they're perfectly clean and dust free. Don't touch the metal surfaces with your fingers or anything after that. Use a ziplock bag as a glove so you don't touch the paste/metal and spread a dollop of paste on the clean heatsink base and rub it all over until it is all coated. Then wipe it almost all off gently with your cleaning filter/tissue until it is just a transparent hazy residue all over the heatsink with no actual layer thickness to it. Then don't let anything touch that surface. Install the CPU with the in the socket, clean the heatspreader with your IPA / lens tissue and let that dry then squirt out a line of paste about the thickness of a grain of rice from one side of the IHS to the other... then without touching the metal/paste with your fingers use a clean credit card edge to squeegee/trowel the paste from side to side until it is a totally smooth flat even layer the thickness of a piece of paper.. basically as thin as you can make it and still be an even film without holes/lumps. Then mate the heatsink to the CPU IHS and try not to move/twist/slide the metal surfaces at all once they make contact, just fasten it straight down with no other motion as much as possible.

Then install your RAM, check out that you'll be able to reach the power/fan/cable header connectors and pre-connect any that are needed while the MB is still loose, then put the MB into the case (with the right I/O plate already installed in the case first and all the right stand-offs tightened and verified to be in only the right spots in the case) and screw it down with the right screws.... Finish all the cables / jumpers / etc.

Should be no big deal to disassemble / assemble a system... I'd give it about 6 hours if you're being super slow/careful/double-checking etc.

 

[TheJian]

Originally posted by: noxiousCaitSith
so over time it seems it might be worth it to spend the extra money on the q9450. also, i really doubt mine will be on for long periods of time unless i happen to be rendering... i'd wait for the price to drop but i was already waiting for the q6600 then i heard about the q9450:shocked:...and have no idea when it will finally be available.

thanks for the reply.

http://www.lagoom.com/Intel_CP...artinfo-id-580363.html
Same thing for $350 now. In stock.

Or save money with:
http://www.lagoom.com/INTEL_CP...artinfo-id-580394.html
$282.

Now all you have to do is wait for bios updates or people to test them this week as everyone has been ordering them last week. A ton of people will be reporting which boards work this week. Personally I'd wait for it to be listed on a bios update for the board you want but I'm just paranoid. Theoretically it should work anywhere QX9450/9300 are listed. There is no difference except voltage is generally better on the xeons (just as it is with E3110 (1.225v max out of box) vs E8400 (1.36v max out of box). I'd rather have my worst case scenario be 1.225v on the xeon than 1.36 on E8400.

Get them while their hot...LOL. Might be other sites that have them, that's just one I knew off the top of my head.

[EDIT] ooops that was the OEM 3320 I listed. Heres box for an extra $10 well worth 3yr:
http://www.lagoom.com/INTEL_CP...artinfo-id-580394.html

 

[lenjack]

By the way...your question is not stupid.