PD2JK wrote on 2024-04-18, 17:18:

Yes. Would you notice it? Not really.

They might notice the much lower power consumption, especially at idle... and some of the extra instructions that might let them run some modern software.

Sombrero wrote on 2024-04-18, 12:07:

Ozzuneoj wrote on 2024-04-18, 05:03:

I wonder how far the Q9550 would have gotten me compared to the 2500K. 😀

I jumped from Q9550 to Haswell Xeon E3-1230 v3 in 2014 which I'm still using as my main rig.

I feel like I could have stayed with Q9550 far longer and been mostly fine, only recently opening multiple tabs at the same time in browsers have made me feel like maybe it's time to upgrade so I honestly think I could have stayed with Q9550 for like 12 years instead of only 6 😆

I jumped from Q8300 to an i7-7700 as my 'main' desktop, and I almost feel like the biggest reason was higher RAM capacity. Hard to go above 8GB on DDR2. And modern web browsers, web-based garbage like Electron, etc, guzzle RAM like mad, so... good luck keeping them fed with 8 gigs.

(I later dug up the Q8300 system out of the closet, put a Q9650 and turned it into a retro system... and then picked up an ivy bridge machine and it went back to the closet.)

Ozzuneoj wrote on 2024-04-18, 05:03:

Hard to believe Core 2 Quads are already so old.

I would argue that's because the C2D and C2Qs basically represent the end of a roughly-decade long insane trend of improvement in the desktop computer sphere. Personal computers were expensive and relatively slow-moving in the 1980s, then something happened around, oh, I don't know, 1994-1996 where volumes of Windows PCs sold massively increased, which drove increased investment in part production which drove down prices and improved performance, which drove the software industry to rapidly add features to software that the older hardware couldn't handle, which, to the frustration of parents everywhere, caused 3-4 year old computers to be hopelessly out of date and in need of replacement.

In, say, 1995, a decent system had 8 megs of RAM, a lower-end system had 4 megs. In 2000, a decent system had 128 megs (and might have gotten upgraded to 256 or more for under $100 if you switched to Win2000). In 2006, a decent system had 2 gigs. By 2009-10, a random store system had up to about 8 gigs of RAM... and here we are, 15 years later, with RAM amounts in comparable systems maybe having gone up to 16 gigs.

You had similar improvements in CPU clock speeds, in storage volumes (my early 1995 system had a 420 meg hard drive, my C2D in 2006 had a 320 gig boot drive...), etc.

That all ended with the C2D, the poor reception of Vista, the stagnation caused by the need to support XP/XP systems until 2013-2014, the fact that the software vendors ran out of compelling ideas that would required higher-performance hardware (I don't think Microsoft has come up with a single feature for, say, Word or PowerPoint that can't run on a C2D), etc.

Simple reality is - if you got your elderly aunt or grandmother a C2D/C2Q system in 2006-7 or when they got really cheap in late 2009 when Windows 7 launched, maybe upgraded her to 8 gigs of RAM (although the late-2009 Q8x00 system from a large OEM probably came with 8 gigs of RAM) and maaaybe an SSD at some point, she could still be using that system running the latest version of Windows 10 today, current web browsers, current version of MS Office, and it would perform just fine for her needs. You can't say the same thing about a Pentium 4/D HotBurst or anything else that came before the C2D/C2Q.

^^ Good points VivienM !

winuser3162 wrote on 2024-04-18, 17:02:

VivienM wrote on 2024-04-18, 00:57:

zuldan wrote on 2024-04-17, 08:24:

Would a Q9650 be any good? I hear they don’t run as hot.

Q9650 or QX9650? The Q9650 is a 95W TDP...

i have a core 2 quad 9650, would that be an upgrade to the qx 6700?

The Q9650 is a 45nm CPU vs a 65nm, its standard clock is 333 MHz higher and cache is 50% more. Yes it's an upgrade (unless the qx6700 is crazily overclocked). Being a 45nm CPU may even leave more room for overclocking, though might be limited by the bigger cache. And it will only be overclockable from FSB as it's not an Extreme

But will you notice? If you have stuff "on the edge" of being usable, it may just nudge it over the edge ...

I run a modded Xeon L5420 in my VHS video capture machine (ASROCK AM2NF3-VSTA).
It uses the Radeon X800 GT All-In-Wonder (AGP version) and does its job perfectly.
The CPU runs cool (50W), is easy and cheap to get (5€) and is more than sufficient for the task. There is even an Xeon L5430 out there, but i was too stingy.
Sometimes other things are more important than speed.

To come back to the original topic of the OP:
- collectable? sure
- rare? rather uncommon
- valuable? cash-wise probably not, but who cares? Just enjoy that you have it 😉

B3 revision of QX6700 can be also easily undervolted and in most cases will work just as cold as G0 revision. But if you're using ASUS board you will need to sacrifice energy saving features.

VivienM wrote on 2024-04-18, 23:19:

winuser3162 wrote on 2024-04-18, 16:57:

for sure, the Q9550 is still a very capable CPU to this day for its age. i know people who still daily drive those chips. too bad the price has gone up so much.

How much is 'so much'? I remember picking up a Q9650 on eBay last year... I forget how much it was, maybe CAD$30-40, which didn't strike me as unreasonable.

my mistake i was thinking the QX9550 in my head. those processors can go for outrageous prices. the q9550 and or q9650 are still in the good books. lets hope these prices don't raise too high with the aging of windows XP and LGA 775 as more and more people set out to build their "dream windows XP pc"

H3nrik V! wrote on 2024-04-19, 05:52:

winuser3162 wrote on 2024-04-18, 17:02:

VivienM wrote on 2024-04-18, 00:57:

Q9650 or QX9650? The Q9650 is a 95W TDP...

i have a core 2 quad 9650, would that be an upgrade to the qx 6700?

The Q9650 is a 45nm CPU vs a 65nm, its standard clock is 333 MHz higher and cache is 50% more. Yes it's an upgrade (unless the qx6700 is crazily overclocked). Being a 45nm CPU may even leave more room for overclocking, though might be limited by the bigger cache. And it will only be overclockable from FSB as it's not an Extreme

But will you notice? If you have stuff "on the edge" of being usable, it may just nudge it over the edge ...

I thought so too, wanted to get a few extra opinions. Thanks!

winuser3162 wrote on 2024-04-19, 18:19:

my mistake i was thinking the QX9550 in my head. those processors can go for outrageous prices. the q9550 and or q9650 are still in the good books. lets hope these prices don't raise too high with the aging of windows XP and LGA 775 as more and more people set out to build their "dream windows XP pc"

Dream XP PC really should be Sandy/Ivy Bridge, which at least for now remain very plentiful...

Someday, and the Great Windows 11 Unsupporting of 2025 may speed that up, I expect that supply of Sandy/Ivy Bridges will dry up and LGA775 will have a certain retro renaissance as the next best thing. That being said, I don't think any LGA775 will ever reach legendary retro status like, say, Voodoos... or even PIIIs.

VivienM wrote on 2024-04-19, 20:59:

winuser3162 wrote on 2024-04-19, 18:19:

my mistake i was thinking the QX9550 in my head. those processors can go for outrageous prices. the q9550 and or q9650 are still in the good books. lets hope these prices don't raise too high with the aging of windows XP and LGA 775 as more and more people set out to build their "dream windows XP pc"

Dream XP PC really should be Sandy/Ivy Bridge, which at least for now remain very plentiful...

Someday, and the Great Windows 11 Unsupporting of 2025 may speed that up, I expect that supply of Sandy/Ivy Bridges will dry up and LGA775 will have a certain retro renaissance as the next best thing. That being said, I don't think any LGA775 will ever reach legendary retro status like, say, Voodoos... or even PIIIs.

i feel like a dream XP build is completely dependant on the past, the system someone saw as a teen all those years ago but never got to build. thats the beauty of (like you said) the plentifulness of sandy/ivy bridge right now. these parts aren't old enough to be considered retro but they are darn near close, close enough for many people to desire them from past experiences being an enthusiast.

i don't think anything will ever reach the likes of the p3 or voodoo since there was really nothing like those CPUs, the timing in which the technology was released definitely plays a huge role in their legacy.

Just an answer to the original question: A production spec QX6700 just sold over at cpu-world.com for US$35 within an hour after being up for sale; so kinda collectible/valuable, I would say:

https://www.cpu-world.com/forum/viewtopic.php … =asc&highlight=