Q9450 has a significant power advantage

[orion456]

If I read this article correctly, Anantech has shown that the QX9650 can achieve 3.0 ghz putting out only 44 watts on full load when adjusted for the lowest possible stable voltage. If we can extend that result to Q9450's, then it seems a significant advantage over the Q6600. Low voltage and reasonable OCs may make the Q9450 a king after all.

The 24/7 power savings over 3 years might well pay for the up front cost differential; plus you get a bigger cache, more efficient processing and SSE4.

http://www.anandtech.com/cpuchipsets/showdoc.aspx?i=3184&p=2

Can anyone reproduce the 44 watts result with a Q9450? I assume you will need a power meter.

 

[largon]

Too bad you can't really get one.
Yorkfield = paper launch.

But anyways, my Q6600 does just fine, I'll wait for Nehalem.

 

[ZircularLogic]

How much more power does a Q6600 consume above a yorkfield? I have played with the idea of getting one to fold/cunch with since prices are becoming so reasonable, but I like the quiet and low power consumption of the CPU that I already have. Needing to spend $200 on water to OC the "cheap" 65nm quad would make it not so much of a good deal anymore. Not to mention that I like being able to fold 24/7 on $10 per month or less.

**EDIT**
The article talks about a 30% difference between comparable processors.

 

[Albuquerque]

I don't think these numbers should surprise anyone; one of the big driving factors in smaller and smaller lithography processes is to allow your circuit to draw less power. The same thought process also applies to the large SOI / Hi-K industry -- allowing you to use less power to get more out work of your silicon.

And of course, both of those also equate to less heat, which drives down cooling cost and raw materials needed for said cooling (huge copper cooling blocks, big fans, et al).

 

[Audioaficionado]

Too bad you can't really get one.
Yorkfield = paper launch.

But anyways, my Q6600 does just fine, I'll wait for Nehalem.

The Xeon X3350 2.66 Ghz (Yorkfield) is the same processor but a bit less expensive. Still scarce as well.

If you're in the market for a quad, a 45nm core might be a better deal unless you are just looking for the cheapest way to build a render box or folding/seti farm layers.

My Asus Commando 965P will support Yorkfield and I don't have a quad yet so I'm considering getting the latest technology rather than the much cheaper 65nm quad.

When Nehalem finally gets here and then has its first or second revision for errata fixes, I'll build another dual socket workstation.

 

[Albuquerque]

Just FYI, today is the last day I'm listing my Q9450 in the sale forums

Back to topic though: Yeah, they're getting hard to find, but not impossible. The problem is trying to find one for a reasonable price because they're so scarce... You can find them for about $400, but that's kinda pricey as they should be going for around $350 instead.

I really like mine, but I don't have much of anything that uses four cores. However, I could probably sell my gem of an E8400 for $100 less and be done with it, which is what I'm strongly considering...

 

[freeagent]

How much more power does a Q6600 consume above a yorkfield? I have played with the idea of getting one to fold/cunch with since prices are becoming so reasonable, but I like the quiet and low power consumption of the CPU that I already have. Needing to spend $200 on water to OC the "cheap" 65nm quad would make it not so much of a good deal anymore. Not to mention that I like being able to fold 24/7 on $10 per month or less.

**EDIT**
The article talks about a 30% difference between comparable processors.

it draws alot more power.. i cant tell you how much the cpu will pull, but at 475x8, 1.58v set in bios, my tower pulls in about 460w running p95 heheh. even 450x8 pulls about 410-420w, depending on wich test in prime is running!

they are pigs! but yum, i like pigs

 

[Kuroimaho]

So one could run it fanless at 3G and even a bit faster, sounds like a dream come true.

 

[d94]

microcenter has these for $299