Ok so the whole Intel Purchase Program thing I've been ranting about for the past couple months is finally given a date and prices. On June 2nd we will be allowed to buy one of the following (or potentially one of each depending on your ranking):

Lenovo IdeaPad Y510: $499
Core 2 Quad QX6700: $199
Core 2 Quad QX6850: $239


I have all of the following parts (I just need the CPU):

Apevia X-Navigator Case
XFX MB-N780-ISH9 780i Tri-SLI Motherboard
Patriot Viper 8GB (2GBx4) DDR2-800 4-4-4-12 w/Heatspreaders RAM
BFG 9800GTX OC (x2)
Zalman CNPS9700NT 110mm LED CPU Fan

So the question becomes this: What do I do about the processor? Firstly when I do the purchase program I will get the QX6850. Its a 65nm Extreme (meaning unlocked multiplier) on a 1333 FSB with 8MB L2 Cache at 3.0 GHz. Normally this thing retails for $999. Their are other options though. For example I could buy a Q6600 and OC it to a 1333 FSB giving it the same specifications as the QX6850. Or even better I could buy a Q9450 which has a larger cache of 12MB and OC it to a 1600 FSB for a final clockspeed of 3.2 GHz, better specifications than the QX6850. If I do either of the latter cases I will of course sell the QX6850 and recoop a large portion of the cost it has taken to buy my computer parts. But would it be a better idea to keep it? Is the unlocked multiplier really all that great? Its also a 65nm CPU and the reason I got my motherboard is for Tri-SLI and 45nm CPU support. To me, the idea of the Q9450 and selling of the QX6850 is best because at the 1600 FSB I'd be running it at it would (at least on paper) beat out the QX6850 in FSB speed, cache size, power consumption (45nm), and final clock speed. Even if I were to lower the multiplier of the QX6850 and increase the bus speed, I've heard Extreme processors are very picky about bus speeds. So, what in you guys opinion the best thing to do?


On a side note, this is killing me having all these parts and not being able to test this thing out (itll be my first PCIe system!) do you guys have any recommendations of a cheap Core 2 Duo that overclocks really well that I could use until June 2nd? Or should I go check out eBay?

If you cant wait until june, just get the cheapest processor you can find itn eh mean time.. The 7200 is nice and cheap. Its only got 3M cache but it only runs on a 1066 FSB and is 2.53Ghz@stock, so you can easily get a nice OC on it. Did I mention its cheap too, $135 at Newegg. Then you can try to sell it, or keep it around as a spare if you need it.. I couldnt sit there and just watch my hardware getting dusty while waiting for June 2nd.

The QX6850 for $240 is great value. I think you could sell it for $500-$700 easy. It's not really worth the $999 anymore since the QX9650 (45nm) sells for the same price.

The cost re-coop is a good plan but at $240 I'd keep the QX6850 and buy a good cooler for it. 3.6-4.0GHz with a 400MHz FSB should be fairly easy to reach.

The waiting around is annoying indeed. The E7200 in good hands :
http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/foru [...] 0mhz-booya

Yea the thing I am wondering about is performance vs the Q9450. If I got the Q9450 and overclocked it, it would be running at a 1600 FSB @3.2 GHz. On top of that it has a 12MB L2 Cache plus its a 45nm CPU. The reviews I've read of the QX6850 say they can't get it past about 1400 FSB and that would be at 3.12 GHz. I don't know if you can rasie the multiplier after OCing on the FSB. Plus the QX6850 has a 8MB L2 cache. So after overclocking, it looks like the Q9450 is a better deal:

-1600 FSB (possibly higher) versus 1400 FSB
-45nm versus 65nm technology
-3.2GHz versus 3.12 GHz
-12MB cache versus 8MB Cache

On paper it seems like the best way to go is to re-coop some costs of this system and on top of it get bettter performance. Is there something I'm missing?


Oh on the "hold-me-over-processor" thing how does the E2180 sound? It's sub-$100 and kinda wimpy on the L2 cache but at least its not a Celeron. The E2160 can easily over clock to near 4GHz levels but the E2180 sounds to be more promising with a higher binning and a 10x rather than 9x multiplier. Pop that sucker on a 400 FSB and you are looking at 4.0GHz. What do you guys think? I think its an awesome deal while I wait a month

Alright I just bought an E2180. Great price, 10x multiplier. If I hit an FSB wall I'll just drop the multiplier to 8 (which is E2160) and increase the bus to 800 so I can have 1:1 for CPU:RAM ratio. It's gonna rock! Then I'll just sell the QX6850 and basically I've built my computer for about 50-100 bucks. Nice!

Better read the fine print before selling anything bought through the Intel Purchase Plan, especially if you are an employee.

If you sell an item just bought through the program, you can be terminated. It's there, in plain sight. I believe it states that you can buy items and give to family and friends, but cannot sell them for 3 years after purchase.

Just an FYI.

Drool, .... man would I like either Unlocked Quad. For that price, go for the QX6850.

Ahh you are right nmdante....too bad. Oh well, at least I'll have a decent chip to hold me over for the month until I can get my hands on the quad core monster. Thanks again for pointing that out nmdante, I'd hate to lose my Retail-Edge stuff.

No problem. I've seen a few people with the same idea of selling for a profit, especially with the Extreme CPU prices in the Intel Purchase Program. You aren't the first, and you won't be the last, that's for sure. LOL. Even I thought about it.

I would hate to see someone lose their job, because they sold something they didn't know they were not allowed to sell.

What's the price for a QX9650 ? I'd buy that over a QX6850 for say ... $300
However nothing really takes advantage of the Q9xxx features over the Q6xxx so it'd be lower value. Most task show no difference betwen QX6850 an QX9650 (at stock). The extra cache is also not really a difference maker at this point.