Q9550 vs. i7-920

So with a Rendering 3D studio Max & PhotoshopCS4 view:
Q9550 vs. i7-920
What processor is more worthwhile here?
&
What memory performances are gained?
The i7-920 with--8GB Dual Channel DDR3 SDRAM at 1066MHz
or
The Q9550 with--8GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 800MHz

These are current possible configurations thru Dell.

Prices compared are within <$100.

Message quoted 1 times

Add a reply

Register or log in to remove.

I would go for the new technology (core i7)

Reply to alvine

i7 920

Reply to zodiacfml

If the difference is <$100 than I'd go with the Core i7 920 for sure.

Reply to Avenger_K

If you are doing CPU intensive tasks, I'm pretty sure the 920 can handle even the fastest of the Quads. For gaming however, they are more or less tied. Seeing as you want to do "real" CPU work, get the 920 if at all possible. Should be faster then the 9550.

------------------------------ The voice of REASON
Do NOT feed the TROLLS!
Always a DEMON!
Reply to 4745454b

The i7 920, but no way the prices should be within $100.

You don't need a High-End CF/SLI mobo for what you are doing.
The Mobo Alone should be $150-$200 less for the Q9550

Just 6GB of DDR3 is over $150 more than than 8GB of DDR2 on NewEgg.

You are definitely looking at the wrong parts to accompany your Q9550.

The Difference is closer to $300.

Now, the i7 is definitely the better choice.
It's up to you to look at your finances and determine if $300 is worth it to you.

Message edited by zenmaster on 11-17-2008 at 08:37:26 PM

Reply to zenmaster

LOL at the Yoda avatars

I found some benchmarks here:
http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/2 [...] 5-review/7
http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/2 [...] 5-review/4

and TBH I'm not convinced yet that the extra cost is justified. You get 10% or 20% more speed in a couple of applications that love multiple threads, but you also get nothing in the others. Look at Crysis for example, with 39 fps vs 38.3 fps.

Message edited by aevm on 11-17-2008 at 09:06:21 PM

Reply to aevm

Crysis imo is bad for this because its a gpu dependent game....the gpu is limiting it more than the cpu, but a game like Supreme Commander which used a lot of cpu power would be better

Habitat srysly trademark LOL! it might catch on

Yeah, Crysis is weird. Mind you, Far Cry 2 is too. I don't know what kind of programming those guys do but it's not behaving in benchmarks like the rest. Watch this Far Cry 2 result: Phenom 9950 beats the i920, 58 fps vs 52 fps, and the Q9550 beats both with 60 fps.

http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/2 [...] 5-review/5

Reply to aevm

Not rly...if i wanted i7 i could give my current processor to the workstation im building at a discount and buy myself another build. Im waiting till Westmere for the die shrink and whatever that other technology they are putting in was...HK+ or something ill go check Intel's technology
Edit**: I cant appear to find the technology under intel...i read about it but i cant find it now

I came here to see what ppl said ur post wasnt even here until i went to post mine. I wanted to check what aevm had to say....been awhile since i read his posts (dont hang out in Homebuilt as much)

@aevm: thats the weirdest thing ive ever seen.....

Also at to the i7 vs. Q9x50 the only thing i dont like about the new architecture is the ram... The processor is reasonable and so are the boards for such a high end part, but the ram i just dont like the pricing. I mean u can get 4 Gbs of good ram for $45 and DDR3 starts at $170+

Message edited by Silverion77 on 11-17-2008 at 09:40:04 PM

The 920 is faster by 30% then the best core 2

Reply to xNEM3S1Sx

3x1 GB Corsair at $130
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6820145221
just pop a 3x2 in after prices drop.

Reply to dirtmountain

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6820145184
And 2x2GB for $25.

But quibbling over dollar figures is silly.

If you have the cash to get the system you want, go for it.

I dropped over $400 on a DINNER with my wife at a 5-Star Restaurant for a special occasion. Sure it was a great 3+ Hour Dinner, but that was it.
What it REALLY that much better than Appleby's? Not technically.

Is i7 System worth that much more?
Yes, if you have the spare cash.
No, if you dont :>

------------------------------ If its good in theory but not in practice,
its not good theory.
Reply to zenmaster

Simply put, if you have the spare cash, go for the new technology. Its already known that the Core i7 is better.

Now, remember, I said "spare" cash.. Don't go blowing your house payment just get a new pc...

Reply to Hellbound

artistin805 wrote :

So with a Rendering 3D studio Max & PhotoshopCS4 view:
Q9550 vs. i7-920
What processor is more worthwhile here?
&
What memory performances are gained?
The i7-920 with--8GB Dual Channel DDR3 SDRAM at 1066MHz
or
The Q9550 with--8GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 800MHz

These are current possible configurations thru Dell.

Prices compared are within <$100.

I am not experienced with the performance factors of your applications, but I assume that they are multicore optimized, and can make use of lots of ram.

The 920 should win on the cpu functions, and the option for massive ram up to 24gb in triple channel mode.

What are the specs of the Dell offer?
I suspect that you may be able to do better by building it yourself.

Reply to geofelt

Studio XPS
Windows Vista Home Premium Edition SP1, 64-Bit

Intel® Core™i7-920 Processor(8MB L2 Cache, 2.66GHz)

Memory 8GB Dual Channel DDR3 SDRAM at 1066MHz - 6 DIMMs

Monitor Dell 24 inch Consumer™ S2409W Flat Panel, Adjustable Stand

Video Card 512MB ATI Radeon HD 4850 AT4850 [320-7704]

Hard Drives 500GB Data SecurityRAID 1 (2 x 500GB SATA 3Gb/s7200RPMHDDs)
Adobe® Acrobat® Reader 9.0 Multi-Language
Optical Drives Single Drive: 16X CD/DVD burner (DVD+/-RW) w/double
Sound Card Integrated 7.1 Channel Audio IS
Network Integrated 10/1000 Ethernet IE
Microsoft Works 9

$1,668.00

Reply to artistin805

Studio Mini-Tower

Intel® Core™ 2 Quad processor Q9550 (12MB L2, 2.83GHz, 1333FSB)

Windows Vista Home Premium Edition SP1, 64-Bit

Memory 8GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 800MHz - 4DIMMs

Hard Drive 500GB Serial ATA Hard Drive (7200RPM) w/DataBurst Cache
Monitors Dell S2409W 24" Full HD Widescreen Flat Panel Monitor
ATI Radeon HD 3650 256MB supporting HDMI
Integrated 16-in-1 Media Card Reader
Integrated 10/1000 Ethernet IE
Adobe Acrobat Reader 9.0
Optical Drive 16X DVD+/-RW Drive
Sound Card Integrated 7.1 Channel Audio IS
Microsoft Works 9.0

* Note the Less Hard Drive & Decent Graphics Card* Not available in this config.

$1,558.00

Reply to artistin805

How do they manage to deliver 8GB in 6 DIMMs???

Dell monitors are very nice

These specs are worth $25 in total:

Quote :

Adobe® Acrobat® Reader 9.0 Multi-Language
Optical Drives Single Drive: 16X CD/DVD burner (DVD+/-RW) w/double
Sound Card Integrated 7.1 Channel Audio IS
Network Integrated 10/1000 Ethernet IE

Reply to aevm

The first config (with the i7 and the gaming video card) is worth a lot more than the second one (with the Q9550 and the home-theater video card).
That is, at those prices, and no other choices being available, I'd definitely go for the first option.

The problem is that the second config is very overpriced. You can build it with parts from Newegg for much less.

Message quoted 1 times

Reply to aevm

What about these? I ordered the Q9550 6 days ago from Dell but can cancel up until tomorrow and order the new one (XPS730x) for shipment 12/20. I will be using the PC for gaming and basic multimedia/video. From what I've researched, the new i7 doesnt provide that big of a difference in those departments. Let me know what you think:

Model: XPS630
Processor: Q9550 (12MB,2.83GHz, 1333FSB)
RAM: 4GB Dual-C DDR2 800MHz (4x1)
Video Card : nVidia GeForce GTX 280 – 1024MB <-----Clearly this is a better card, but is it worth it for the lower processor?
Hard Drive :750GB - 7200RPM, SATA 3.0Gb/s, 16MB Cache
Sound Card: Integrated 7.1 Channel Audio
Price: $1,814.11

Model: XPS730x
Processor: i7-940 (2.93GHz, 8MB cache)
RAM: 3GB Tri-C DDR3 at 1066MHZ (3x1GB)
Video Card : nVidia GeForce 9800GT 512MB
Hard Drive : 500GB - SATA-II, 3GB/S, 7200RPM, 16MB Cache
Sound Card: Soundblaster X-Fi XtremeGamer (D), PCIe
Price: $1,941.73

Either one will have a new Dell 24" UltraSharp 2408WFP monitor connected.

Thanks!!

Reply to CrossfireSL600

I think you made the right choice. The setup you ordered will do better in all games except FSX.

For one thing, it has more RAM.
http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/2 [...] y-better/1

For another, a faster CPU doesn't always help much in games:
http://www.legionhardware.com/docu [...] id=775&p=2

A faster GPU, on the other hand, is almost always the key to better fps. For example the same system, with a GTX 280, got 36 fps in Crysis at 1920x1200 and only 30 fps with GTX 260. With a 9800GT I guess it would have been under 25 fps.
http://www.anandtech.com/video/sho [...] i=3415&p=4

The seconds setup would compress videos faster, if it had two separate hard disks for source/target. With a single HDD, it would be bottlenecked big time, just like the Q9550 system, and both would do the job in the same time. Even my Q6600 is only used at half-capacity if I mess up and put both source and target on the same drive.

Message edited by aevm on 11-18-2008 at 06:31:57 AM

Reply to aevm

Are they fairly priced (I get a discount with Dell through my employer) compared to the option of building my own system? I have never done it and the warranty/hassle-free/time-saving is worth a great deal to me.

To note: In the case of the 630 I am spending extra money on the GTX 280. I can always replace the video card in the 730x when the 9800GT becomes useless.

In buying the 730x, I am spending the extra money on the i7-940. Do you not find it wiser to have the option of upgrading more with the i7-940/newer technology?

I'm leaning towards the 730x and waiting the month for it to arrive. Unless, however, you think it is pointless given my limited use of the benefits of the i7 and the fact that in a year from now, it won't matter which one I chose because they will both be outdated...lol

Message quoted 1 times

Reply to CrossfireSL600

920 at 3.8ghz rips the 9550

------------------------------

http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h138/4rothrocks/WarpedSystemsAnimation-1.jpg

Reply to dragonsprayer

I'd go with the i7

Reply to cjl

Yeah, though it depends if you have the money right now to buy it, they could lower the price a little bit.

Reply to universedo

CrossfireSL600 wrote :

Are they fairly priced (I get a discount with Dell through my employer) compared to the option of building my own system? I have never done it and the warranty/hassle-free/time-saving is worth a great deal to me.

To note: In the case of the 630 I am spending extra money on the GTX 280. I can always replace the video card in the 730x when the 9800GT becomes useless.

In buying the 730x, I am spending the extra money on the i7-940. Do you not find it wiser to have the option of upgrading more with the i7-940/newer technology?

I'm leaning towards the 730x and waiting the month for it to arrive. Unless, however, you think it is pointless given my limited use of the benefits of the i7 and the fact that in a year from now, it won't matter which one I chose because they will both be outdated...lol

I wouldn't worry that the i7 940 will be outdated in a year. Or the Q9550 for that matter. My own Q6600 is still doing its job very happily after a year and a half and I don't have the slightest need to upgrade it yet. The i7 940 or Q9550 run circles around it too. Besides, you can learn to overclock by the time you need more CPU power, and gain another year or so that way.

Fairly priced? Let's see:
CPU: Q9550 (12MB,2.83GHz, 1333FSB) $320 at newegg
RAM: 4GB Dual-C DDR2 800MHz (4x1) $50
Video Card : nVidia GeForce GTX 280 $400
Hard Drive :750GB $90
Sound Card: Integrated 7.1 Channel Audio $0
Price: $1,814.11

Add:
$150 motherboard
$150 case+PSU
$25 DVD-RW
$100 Windows DVD
$450 24" monitor

The parts would cost $1735, give or take $100 or $200, IMO. You pay $1814, i.e. Dell's profit is around $100. They do the assembly and take care of mail rebates and install Windows for this money. Yes, it's quite fairly priced, I'd say. Mind you, just look at Dell's stock price, you can see they're not very profitable these days.

Reply to aevm

aevm wrote :

The first config (with the i7 and the gaming video card) is worth a lot more than the second one (with the Q9550 and the home-theater video card).
That is, at those prices, and no other choices being available, I'd definitely go for the first option.

The problem is that the second config is very overpriced. You can build it with parts from Newegg for much less.

LOL, here I am quoting my own post to say I was an a$$ Nope, it's not very overpriced. I had forgotten to factor in the case, PSU and motherboard. It's actually a good price, all things considered.

Reply to aevm

Wait a second, don't discount your earlier remarks so fast LOL. The prices I gave DO NOT include the monitor. So now you must look at it as $400-$500 more than building it myself. Again, I don't mind spending this money given my inexperience and lack of knowledge on how to build a system.

Message quoted 1 times

Reply to CrossfireSL600

CrossfireSL600 wrote :

Wait a second, don't discount your earlier remarks so fast LOL. The prices I gave DO NOT include the monitor. So now you must look at it as $400-$500 more than building it myself. Again, I don't mind spending this money given my inexperience and lack of knowledge on how to build a system.

If you know enough to ask these questions, you know enough to build it yourself.

If your use is for gaming, spend first on the vga card. A GTX280 or similar will run any game out there very well. A cpu capable of 3.0 or better will drive it appropriately.

The i7 920 at 2.66 will also do the job because it is faster, clock for clock, and can speed up some with turbo boost. All before any overclocking. The added price of the 940 is very steep for the small gain. If your game is multicore optimized, and CPU intensive, like FSX or supreme commander, The i7 with hiperthreading will shine.

Spend any savings on a very good monitor. You will be looking at it for several generations of PS.

Building it yourself, you still get the manufacturer's warranty.
You will get no pre-installed "bloatware"
Support from these forums is probably just as good as from Dell.

Reply to geofelt

Antec 900 Black ATX Mid Tower..$109.99
GA-EX58-UD5 LGA 1366 X58 Motherboard..$288.99
Intel Core i7 920 2.66GHz Quad-Core..$294.99
G.SKILL PI 6GB(3 x 2GB) DDR3 1600..$249.99
Western Digital 500GB 7200 RPM SATA..$74.99
SAMSUNG 22X DVD±R Burner SATA Model..$27.99
HIS ATI HD4870 1GB 256bit video card..$224.99
CORSAIR ATX 12v 850W Power Supply..$139.99
Vista Home Premium SP1 64-bit..$99.99

Total..$1,511.91 newegg.

minus keyboard mouse monitor.

Reply to ati7

what about a difference of $145 (for a 920 over a 9550) - we are now in mid '09, and the cost gap is closer between the two processors - is the I7 920 worht an extra 145 to a user of video editing applications?

Message quoted 1 times

Reply to idic5

idic5 wrote :

what about a difference of $145 (for a 920 over a 9550) - we are now in mid '09, and the cost gap is closer between the two processors - is the I7 920 worht an extra 145 to a user of video editing applications?

The question really is, are you serious about using video editing apps intensively? That's your answer.

Another note to add, previous gen quads are out of the picture already.

Core 2 duo or I7 for serious users, that's what it comes down to.

Reply to habitat87

I wouldn't be so quick to eliminate the older quads from consideration (or the Phenom II, for that matter). You can get a good 775 motherboard for fairly cheap, and the Q9550 is still $70 cheaper than a 920, give or take. That's a hell of a deal, considering how well the 9550 tends to overclock (~3.7-3.8GHz). Now, it won't keep up with i7, but it doesn't have to with that price advantage.

Message quoted 1 times

------------------------------ Asus P6T deluxe
i7 965 @ 4.2GHz (200*21), 1.384V
12GB Corsair Dominator DDR3-1600 CAS 7
Reply to cjl

I am having the same video-editing question (i7 920 vs Core 2 Quad Q9550 or 9650). My camcorder uses AVCHD and software like Pinnacle Studio and Sony Vegas both seem to require a pretty beefy machine. I certainly do not want to buy a new computer and not have it powerful enough to edit the HD video I am taking.

Message quoted 1 times
Message edited by saltyorange on 07-11-2009 at 06:17:26 PM

Reply to saltyorange

saltyorange wrote :

I am having the same video-editing question (i7 920 vs Core 2 Quad Q9550 or 9650). My camcorder uses AVCHD and software like Pinnacle Studio and Sony Vegas both seem to require a pretty beefy machine. I certainly do not want to buy a new computer and not have it powerful enough to edit the HD video I am taking.

Sony Vegas tends to favor AMD - not so sure about Pinnacle Studio. An i7 920 would be great but a Phenom with a nice little bump will get some work done

BUT your 'best practice' with AVCHD would be to minimize any conversion of the footage (which I believe is possible with Vegas Movie Studio Platinum 8 and Vegas Pro 8 and up). You should be able to edit and output without a complete encode.

Any added menus, 'transitions' or 'effects' would be processed and encoded at output.

From Anand:

(Hint Hint )

Reply to wisecracker

cjl wrote :

I wouldn't be so quick to eliminate the older quads from consideration (or the Phenom II, for that matter). You can get a good 775 motherboard for fairly cheap, and the Q9550 is still $70 cheaper than a 920, give or take. That's a hell of a deal, considering how well the 9550 tends to overclock (~3.7-3.8GHz). Now, it won't keep up with i7, but it doesn't have to with that price advantage.

I still disagree. After Core 2 quad, the upgrades go nowhere on the 775 platform. In some situations, even a dual core is an upgrade. Why not get a e8400 for $50 less? Those do 3.6 ghz on stock voltage and are known to do 4.5+ ghz.

Reply to habitat87

Forum CPU & Components : CPUs - Q9550 vs. i7-920