Q9450 Hits the Streets

[polobunny]

Originally Posted by RAID

i guess capper just got lucky... 510 fsb
ASUS P5E3 Deluxe WiFi X38 Motherboard Review - Benchmarking

I don't think that proves much really, 510FSB but well under the 4Ghz barrier, and different technology. We'll see what people get when they start getting their Q9450. Coolaler tested one and brought it to 3.2Ghz with 1.25vcore.

[Boy'nBlack]

Why not the X3350 Xeon? You guys have had that available for about 2 weeks now , and looking for availability of the same 9450?

And compare the price ($334) to the 2.66 quad we have now...the Q6700 (over $500)
It's not bad for the money...

Ah heck, who am I kidding!? That's great! Wait 'til you clock it.

As for the 500Mhz barrier? Don't know about the Q9450, but I heard it was a 400Mhz barrier, let alone 500! Yup. Heard it, didn't believe it, and I don't see it on the Xeon with an X48 Premium. It just seems to be a rampant rumor from people not running it, or not liking Intel. The E8400 Doesn't do the same with the same memory but gets it's kicks from shear clock speed...Pick accordingly. The only thing you don't do here is treat the 45nm CPU like a prescott and give it juice. Don't go over 1.4v.

Coolaler is a known name in tinkering. It doesn't take his kind to boot at 3.2Ghz. The myth is busted with 450Mhz, 1.00vCore, and DDR2-800. Cas5 (but that's just a notch up), regular low budget build...set it and boot, running all week. 450x8 is a walk in the park for a P35. X38 / x48 with DDR3? Beyond. The other x3350 is over the 500Mhz mark and up just as much loaded and used. Again...the myth is busted and the prior "news" that these don't clock need heavy questioning. I can't think of a single reason this bad news got out but from people not actually using the units.

If Coolaler needs brought up, it needs mentioning that he's using an ES that is not user friendly. They never perform, and isn't his fault. There is no known wall that's been talked about prior to release.

The 45nm quads will cross 500Mhz. With an 8 multi, that's over 4Ghz for a commoner quad. At low volts? This is what a computer enthusiast wants. The last stop on the bus before the built in memory controller and a whole new build. But I didn't find fault with the 8400 nor the E8400 at 4.5Ghz. What a move from that to a Q600 was really nice with it's use in the apps I use mostly. The Q9450/X3350 was worth it to me...and easier to pull more out of.

[polobunny]

So far X3350 seems to be doing 4Ghz on ~1.33vcore in general. Which is somewhat a lot of voltage, if you ask me.

[Boy'nBlack]

Ya, 1.35v is about the top of the comfy zone. They get really warm with that and 4Ghz. With a very basic water set-up it likes to sit at 55C (here) or so folding 24/7. The fan wants to come up off 70% as the day gets warmer.

To sit there all day and doing what it does, it really needs a better cooling solution than basic. Either that, or back off on the voltage to some more sane level. Hard to justify $350 in cooling parts for a $350 CPU unless it's already on hand when we can just treat them more nicely for free.

Man, I can't remember when 1.0v ran a CPU, let alone these things. Really amazing where we're at in tech.

[polobunny]

Sounds crazy doesn't it? 1v bring you there today, haha.

As for the X3350 & Q9450 out there, I expect most of the people owning them will settle for something around 3.4Ghz, which doesn't take such a high voltage.

[garetjax]

Tank guys selling the Q9450 for $359... Intel projections indicated months ago that the Q9450 would be sold at $316 per 1k units, and the Q9550 at $530 per 1k units. This reminds much in the same way when the Q6600 came out and it took 6-8 months for the price to stabilize at sub $300 dollar levels for the proc.

[Stormcrow]

Mmm...Conroe, I'll never leave ya baby!

[Boy'nBlack]

If you're curious, I paid $314 at Moogr.com for the X3350. Had to enter in a coupon code for $35 off to get that price though. It's the closest to the forecasted price point I could find for those CPU's, and really nice considering it's the usually over priced Xeon.

This is a price I'd expect for the Q9450, but it's just not happening. The desktop version of the same proc is more. Supply and demand stinks I suppose.

[RAID]

http://valid.x86-secret.com/show_oc.php?id=337218

i need to play with it some more and get my NB under water but this was pretty easy to reach. not stress tested but i just wanted to see what it could hit.

and obviously, the x8 multi is really holding this chip back. there's a lot more to get because chip temps are still great under load.

edit: 3.9 looks stable at around 50C load. not bad at all

[Boy'nBlack]

Originally Posted by RAID

i need to play with it some more and get my NB under water but this was pretty easy to reach.

Oh, heck ya...Get it in the waterbed, just because!

That 8x though really doesn't hold it back, it's juuuust about right. The 9x and 9.5x's will get just as far. These will hit the core ceiling with DDR3 (like yours) all around. Thing is, the majority of users are scared of DDR3, stick to DDR2, and then base their opinions and trials based on their self-set limitations. So that's my opinion on why the talk is that the x9 will be better: It's relative to what supports the attempts.

I just posted common build parts that's more than affordable and limited really hard on the DDR2-800. Went way beyond the 400Mhz limit and still stable (I love OCZ...a lot). In all, what I had posted as a build would cost about a grand. Pop it in the x48 with some OCZ3P1600EB2GK (1600/12800) and it stops at about 541 for 4.33Ghz, but not a cheap build. The x9's will surely level out there as well.

If you go further, I'd really recommend paying close attention to bench results and power from 4Ghz and there on. Right about there the results leveled out as power demand started ramping skyward.

Anyway, it goes to show that early speculation and such is seldom more than nasty rumor spreading. Google it, and it's spreading like wildfire that these aren't clockable. A 4Ghz quad core sounds clockable to me. Figure you'd agree with that too RAID.