Choosing a processor

[Zachariah Peterson]

I'm trying to decide between Intel® Core™2 Quad Processor Q9000 or a Intel® Core™2 Extreme Processor X9000.

I currently have a core 2 duo at 2.2ghz 2m L2 cache


- I goofed, I meant to compare Intel Core 2 Extreme Mobile X7900 to the core 2 quad

 

[ittimjones]

Neither.
Get a new mobo and an ivy-bridge CPU for the same price, and it'll be lower power and faster performance...

 

[unreal9400]

Intel® Core™2 Quad Processor Q9000

 

[Zachariah Peterson]

Neither.
Get a new mobo and an ivy-bridge CPU for the same price, and it'll be lower power and faster performance...

It's for a laptop =/

 

[unreal9400]

The quad core will really help in multitasking.

 

[JD88]

Wait, wouldn't with the amount of money you would be spending on putting one of those very outdated processors into a very outdated laptop be better spent just buying a new one?

 

[Chicano]

It's for a laptop =/

EDITED
The question would be which is more important, Mhz Speed, L2 Cache or transistor count.. maybe someone with the necessary experience can clear it up for us?. I could be wrong but I personally tend to believe speed is more important because a faster CPU would depend less on Cache Memory, therefore I would choose the one with better balanced specs between clock speed/transistor count to L2 Cache... also bus speed and number of cores.

Intel® Core™2 Quad Processor Q9100
(12M Cache, 2.26 GHz, 1066 MHz FSB)
http://ark.intel.com/products/family/37361

Intel® Core™2 Extreme Processor X9100
(6M Cache, 3.06 GHz, 1066 MHz FSB)
http://ark.intel.com/products/series/34451

All four CPUs comparison chart:
http://ark.intel.com/compare/35431,34443,37033,40480

 

[Zachariah Peterson]

It's for a laptop =/

EDITED
The question would be which is more important, Mhz Speed, L2 Cache or transistor count.. maybe someone with the necessary experience can clear it up for us?. I could be wrong but I personally tend to believe speed is more important because a faster CPU would depend less on Cache Memory, therefore I would choose the one with better balanced specs between clock speed/transistor count to L2 Cache... also bus speed and number of cores.

Intel® Core™2 Quad Processor Q9100
(12M Cache, 2.26 GHz, 1066 MHz FSB)
http://ark.intel.com/products/family/37361

Intel® Core™2 Extreme Processor X9100
(6M Cache, 3.06 GHz, 1066 MHz FSB)
http://ark.intel.com/products/series/34451

All four CPUs comparison chart:
http://ark.intel.com/compare/35431,34443,37033,40480

Yeah i would be worried if I got the Core2 Quad that since my mobo is rated at 800mhz and its rated at 1066mhz that the processor would be limited anways.

 

[Chicano]

Yeah i would be worried if I got the Core2 Quad that since my mobo is rated at 800mhz and its rated at 1066mhz that the processor would be limited anways.

Yes, and a 1066 Mhz CPU may not even work in your laptop... Also check if the BIOS meets the maximum volts to supply the CPU you want.

 

[JD88]

What are you doing on this laptop that the C2D you currently have isn't cutting it in that the two extra cores would matter? If it's gaming, are you sure a CPU upgrade is going to help you? Any rig that old is probably going to be limited graphically.

 

[Zachariah Peterson]

What are you doing on this laptop that the C2D you currently have isn't cutting it in that the two extra cores would matter? If it's gaming, are you sure a CPU upgrade is going to help you? Any rig that old is probably going to be limited graphically.

Well I have my GPU Oc'd allowing me to play most of my games on the mid to higher end, i would like to upgrade my RAM but what I'm looking for is just too expensive because of it's scarcity, so I figured next best is an upgraded CPU, or a solid state.