bit-tech Shopping: Intel Core 2 Quad Q9450 Quad Core Processor

Rating: 10

Time with product: 3 Months

Strengths: Intel, Quad, 12MB of L2 cache, FAST.....

Weaknesses: None.

Summary: Runs cool with an Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro CPU Heatsink on an ASUS P5K Deluxe/WiFi-AP mobo in an Antec Sonata III ATX Mid Tower Computer Case 500W Power Supply. Last cpu was a Pentium 4, and this thing looks like light speed by comparison!

Rating: 8

Time with product:

Strengths: Fast; cool; overclocker

Weaknesses: Expensive; stock cooler not sufficient

Summary: I upgraded from a Q6600 CPU. Didn't really need to, as it was a great performer, but I decided what the heck! :-) To be honest, with the stuff I do, I didn't notice any performance difference. I had to use a Zalman heatsink versus the bundled stock fan, as the CPU was just getting too hot. Be careful that your motherboard supports this new 45nm processor. You might need to flash the BIOS, and you'll need another processor installed to do that.

Rating: 8

Time with product: 3 Months

Strengths: 45nm fabrication makes power consumption amazingQuad core really helps with encoding video and audioGreat overclocking potential

Weaknesses: Temperature Sensors are commonly stuck or give back incorrect data on these processorsCost is kind of highIncluded cooler isn't very good

Summary: This has been an outstanding processor. It overclocked to 3.2 GHz straight out of the box with no increase in voltage. The processing power of four cores is amazing when an application actually takes advantage of it. The huge 12 MB cache on this processor really helps speed some of that up as well.I highly recommend an aftermarket cooler for this processor. It isn't that the included cooler is bad, but it certainly wasn't good. It was kind of noisy and doesn't keep the processor very cool under prolonged periods of heavy use.All in all, I would highly recommend this processor to anyone looking for a good quad core processor. You can find this as low as $250 on special occasions, but you should almost always be able to get it for close to (if not under) $300.

Rating: 10

Time with product: 2 Days

Strengths: 45nm (higher efficiency), 12Mb cache, Quad core

Weaknesses: Price (although it is coming down)

Summary: This is my first Intel processor since the Pentium I days, after years of AMD beating them on price and performance year after year. Going from an AMD Opteron 185 dual core (the fastest socket 939) I can really tell the difference in speed. From what I hear it's a good overclocker, I haven't tried OCing yet. Don't spend 3 times as much for an Extreme series when you can get comparable performance with this.

Rating: 10

Time with product:

Strengths: 12MB L2, Easy to OC, Uses Less Power Than 65nm Quads

Weaknesses: Odd Temperatures

Summary: I bought this CPU to replace an OC'd E8400. While I don't notice any speed increases in day to day tasks, video encoding is dramatically faster and I have yet to see the CPU go to 100% on all cores except for encoding. I overclocked the processor from 2.66GHz to 3.2GHz by taking the FSB up from 1333MHz to 1600MHz. This is the point where no overclocing of my memory is needed so I thought it was a good place to leave it. I only had to increase the stock 1.2V to 1.25V. The temperatures are slightly high though, idling in the low 40s, reaching low 60s when benchmarking, this is in a warm CA room though. I have tried reseating my heatsink and I get the same numbers (using a Zalman 9700). Even at these temperatures it is in the safe zone for 24/7 usage.Definitely a great buy, when SSE4.1 apps come out this will blow the Q6600 out of the water while using a lot less power.