Q9650 Or E8600?

[Guest Nick_N]

My apologies, I totally did not notice the difference at first between the 2 model names. That price is definitely a killer though. When you say much higher stable clocks, what numbers are we talking about here? Thank you.

4050MHz, no problem on the right motherboardRequires 450MHz FSB 333 STRAP and on DDR2 1066 memory which will clock stable at 1081 5-5-5 @ 2.1vTypically vcore between 1.28 and 1.33v and a FSB termination voltage of 1.25-1.28vMust have a good CPU cooler too. 75c max on a 1hr OCCT stress test. FSX will never run the proc that hot

[Guest D17S]

If you are thinking of O/Cin' , you're gonna need a good CPU cooler, like here: http://www.directron.com/u120e.htmlThat money has to be spent, in any case. Your existing Q6600 will go to 3.6Ghz. Install the heatsink. Increase the FSB to 400, vCore to 1.45. Leave all other bios setting at default. You're done. Boot and run. orBuy the Q9 for ?$ and get and O/C it to 4.0Ghz. Your FSB will need to go beyond its 400 Mhz rated speed so be aware the system may be less stable. However for that increased $$ expense and (potentially) decreased system stability, you will get an additional 10% Real performance increase (3.6Ghz to 4.0Ghz). For another ~ $1500, you can get another 20% beyond even that Q9@4.0Ghz. That'd be an i7@3.8Ghz. That's always the way it goes. $50 for the 1st 50%, then thousands for those extra 10s%. I'd go for the O/C'd Q6, then treat myself to a steak at Dennys!

[happyflyer53 0]

Thank you all for your comments.I will go with a Q9560.HFOups!...Q9650 that is...

[Sharrow 0]

Thank you all for your comments.I will go with a Q9560.HFOups!...Q9650 that is...

Excellent choice. Do yourself a big favour and do a "overclocking the Q9650" google search. There are some excellent resources out there.Just one last thing: Considering your 24" monitor I would seriously give the GTX260 Core 216 a look. You may not see much difference in FSX but you will see one with other AAA titles. So if you game regularly give this some thought...

[Guest simjunkie]

Thank you all for your comments.I will go with a Q9560.HFOups!...Q9650 that is...

You won't be disappointed. I used to have a Q6600 clocked to 3.6GHz and I thought it was the bees knees. Then I got the Q9650 and right now it's clocked to 4.15GHz (9x460) on 1.30 vcore. The Q9 smashes that poor little Q6 and sends it crying home back to Intel. It's worth every penny. The Q9650 is an underclocked-from-the-factory 4GHz cpu. If your motherboard is an X48 you will hit that 4GHz and then some without breaking a sweat. There are a few other simmers here who have it and can help you with that clock. Get a Vendetta2 or TRUE to go with it.-jk