Q9650

[John Connor]

I have this board and want to upgrade to a Q9650. Will it work? I'm most certain it will since they're both LGA 775.

BTW- Is there a CPU better?

Well what da you know. Just found this. http://www.gigabyte.us/support-downloads/cpu-support-popup.aspx?pid=2456

It says Non official support. What does that mean?

 

[myocardia]

That all depends on which board version you have. According to their website, neither of the first two versions support any of the 45nm processors, and the latest version only non-officially supports them, whatever that means. Click on your version at the top, then on the CPU/Memory support tab at the bottom, to find out which CPUs your board supports.

edit: I'm pretty sure that "non-officially supports" means they found that they work fine, but they don't guarantee it, since this board and it's chipset are so old.

 

[John Connor]

I'm not too sure what version of MB I have. I don't think CPU-Z shows that.

 

[myocardia]

No, CPU-Z doesn't show it. You have to look at the board itself. On those boards, it was down in the lower right corner, not too far from the CMOS battery. IIRC, it was upwards on the side, in the lower right corner.

edit: I just zoomed into their picture, and it's exactly as I described above, except on the left side.

 

[John Connor]

Yes, it was on the bottom left near the screw. It's Rev 3.3. So That means I can install that CPU? Providing I update the BIOS.

Edit- I did update the BIOS like two years ago and I think it might be F14. How do I confirm this?

Edit 2- I think I do indeed have F14 since it is showing released in 2009 and I updated the BIOS only two years ago. BTW, what is Xpress BIOS Rescue function?

The specs also say Virtual DualBIOS, but there is only one chip. What's that all about?

 

[anthd56]

I'd say you should be fine. Although the 965 chipset is quite old. The QX6850 is supported which has 1333FSB and 3GHz. The only difference the Q9650 has is that its 45nm Yorkfield.

But yes, as said only Rev 3.3 supports the 45nm processors. You should find it printed somewhere on the board. Although you could find out if its Rev 1.3 or 2.0/3.3 by just comparing the pictures as 1.3 looks quite different. With 2.0 and 3.3, you'd have to find the printed version number on the board somewhere.

EDIT: I'd give it a shot since you have the 3.3 board. But update the BIOS first, I made a mistake before by installing the CPU and forgetting to update the BIOS first and had to put the old one back in to update and then put the new one in!

As with checking BIOS, it should show the version upon booting up. OR I believe the BIOS update file tells you what version you have before you update. Not sure if this is the case for your board.

 

[John Connor]

I don't see a QX6850. Do you mean 9650? http://www.gigabyte.us/support-downloads/cpu-support-popup.aspx?pid=2456

 

[anthd56]

I don't see a QX6850. Do you mean 9650? http://www.gigabyte.us/support-downloads/cpu-support-popup.aspx?pid=2456

Core™ 2 Extreme QX6850 3.00GHz 8MB Kentsfield 65nm G0 130W 1333 F12

I was saying, the QX6850 is pretty similar to the Q9650 apart from ones Kentsfield 65nm and ones Yorkfield 45nm.

So if the QX6850 is supported, the Q9650 should be ok as long as your board takes 45nm CPU's. Because it means the same FSB and Multiplier is supported. Although the Q9650 is 95W and has 4MB more cache, but that shouldn't be a problem.

 

[tweakboy]

These CPUs are still very high priced...

 

[Yuriman]

Do you plan to use ebay to get the CPU? If so there are probably better deals than a 9650. Looks like the going rate (what they have actually been selling for) is around $150 which is absurd when you can get a Q8300 for <$50. For $150 you may as well buy a Sandy Bridge i5 + board.

 

[Name User]

I'm on a Q9550 and your same exact motherboard.

Tips:

Add a redacted little fan to the Northbridge Heatsink, don't skip over this step, do it. I found one from a Pentium 2 that fit. Or just ziptie something blowing in it's general area, makes a huge difference, just try touching it with your own fingers if you don't believe me.

I can get it up to about 3.2Ghz, no more, I've redone the bios settings from scratch dozens of times over the years, it really doesn't matter, 3.3 was unstable, forget 3.4

2 sticks of ram is more stable than 4, but I eventually got it going fine with 4. Also seems like the northbridge heats up more with 4 than it does with 2.

Edit: If you're not using spare parts and are actually spending money on building this system, and you don't live in the third world: stop now. Although to my own surprise this board is still trucking along after all these years, I feel like it's slowly "decaying" and becoming unstable at certain settings, so I gradually have to lower the clocks and undervolt it more and more to keep it usable.

I guess I'm typing on it now and it still works and runs apps and even Arma 3 ok, but uhhh, shit's old.

 

[Name User]

Also I'm now using automotive permatex copper brake grease as thermal paste for the northbridge cause im bad-ass.

 

[VirtualLarry]

The specs also say Virtual DualBIOS, but there is only one chip. What's that all about?

The BIOS makes an image of the Bios chip on the HDD, by creating an HPA on the HDD. This causes a problem with OSes like UNRAID that require the full capacity of the HDDs.

 

[John Connor]

Do you plan to use ebay to get the CPU? If so there are probably better deals than a 9650. Looks like the going rate (what they have actually been selling for) is around $150 which is absurd when you can get a Q8300 for <$50. For $150 you may as well buy a Sandy Bridge i5 + board.

Yes, I plan on buying it on eBay. Yeah, the prices are BS.

I'm on a Q9550 and your same exact motherboard.

Tips:

Add a shitty little fan to the Northbridge Heatsink, don't skip over this step, do it. I found one from a Pentium 2 that fit. Or just ziptie something blowing in it's general area, makes a huge difference, just try touching it with your own fingers if you don't believe me.

I can get it up to about 3.2Ghz, no more, I've redone the bios settings from scratch dozens of times over the years, it really doesn't matter, 3.3 was unstable, forget 3.4

2 sticks of ram is more stable than 4, but I eventually got it going fine with 4. Also seems like the northbridge heats up more with 4 than it does with 2.

Edit: If you're not using spare parts and are actually spending money on building this system, and you don't live in the third world: stop now. Although to my own surprise this board is still trucking along after all these years, I feel like it's slowly "decaying" and becoming unstable at certain settings, so I gradually have to lower the clocks and undervolt it more and more to keep it usable.

I guess I'm typing on it now and it still works and runs apps and even Arma 3 ok, but uhhh, shit's old.

I did have a small fan on the NB, but it broke. I can't overclock past 3.2 GHz either. That's on a Q6600. No problems yet though. I used to have 8 GB of RAM, but found out one stick was bad and now I'm on 6 GB of RAM.

The BIOS makes an image of the Bios chip on the HDD, by creating an HPA on the HDD. This causes a problem with OSes like UNRAID that require the full capacity of the HDDs.

What is HPA? And where do I find this on the HDD? I just installed Win 7 in Aug and wonder if the BIOS got copied to it. Do newer Gigabyte boards have two CMOS chips?

 

[DigDog]

Do you plan to use ebay to get the CPU? If so there are probably better deals than a 9650. Looks like the going rate (what they have actually been selling for) is around $150 which is absurd when you can get a Q8300 for <$50. For $150 you may as well buy a Sandy Bridge i5 + board.

i'm amazed that only one person said this :/

dont blow that cash on a cpu which might give you a 10% increase; you got nearly enough for a 3750k.

 

[VirtualLarry]

What is HPA? And where do I find this on the HDD? I just installed Win 7 in Aug and wonder if the BIOS got copied to it. Do newer Gigabyte boards have two CMOS chips?

Host Protected Area. Yes, newer DualBIOS boards have two physical BIOS chips onboard.

 

[Blue_Max]

http://www.gigabyte.us/support-downloads/cpu-support-popup.aspx?pid=2456

Yep. It'll work fine with the latest BIOS. Don't worry too much about the wording. Google results seem to be positive, too.

 

[sm625]

I would strongly recommend agaisnt buying a FSB quadcore for anything more than $50 shipped. Once you go over $100 it is absolutely worth replacign the motherboard and CPU. Consider a used nehalem/lynnfield socket 1156 i5/i7 or xeon. They run much faster than the old FSB based quads.

 

[John Connor]

I looked at first gen i5's and i7's and the motherboard to match. I would be spending money on RAM, a new case, hard drive, CPU and mother board. That goes well over $150. I'm trying to maximize the performance with what I got. Would like a new build though.

i5's and i7's don't have a FSB?

 

[ChronoReverse]

They have integrated memory controllers so the idea of FSB doesn't apply.

And yeah, don't get gouged for a C2Q. If you REALLY want to get one, look in Buy/Sell forums (whether here on AT or on another one like HardOCP) or craigslist. You'll see the prices for the Core 2's are rather low now.

 

[soccerballtux]

I'm on a Q9550 and your same exact motherboard.

Tips:

Add a shitty little fan to the Northbridge Heatsink, don't skip over this step, do it. I found one from a Pentium 2 that fit. Or just ziptie something blowing in it's general area, makes a huge difference, just try touching it with your own fingers if you don't believe me.

I can get it up to about 3.2Ghz, no more, I've redone the bios settings from scratch dozens of times over the years, it really doesn't matter, 3.3 was unstable, forget 3.4

2 sticks of ram is more stable than 4, but I eventually got it going fine with 4. Also seems like the northbridge heats up more with 4 than it does with 2.

Edit: If you're not using spare parts and are actually spending money on building this system, and you don't live in the third world: stop now. Although to my own surprise this board is still trucking along after all these years, I feel like it's slowly "decaying" and becoming unstable at certain settings, so I gradually have to lower the clocks and undervolt it more and more to keep it usable.

I guess I'm typing on it now and it still works and runs apps and even Arma 3 ok, but uhhh, shit's old.

that's the vdroop killing the system. just keep giving more voltage.

 

[ChronoReverse]

My old Gigabyte s775 motherboard had a setting in BIOS to reduce Vdroop. See if your mobo has it (i.e., don't use Intel spec).

 

[Blastman]

You're currently running a Q6600 at 3.2Ghz?

I don't think a Q9650 is going to be very much of an upgrade clock/clock over a Q6600. Unless you can get that Q9650 to ~ 3.6Ghz you're not going to see much improvement. And given what I've read in this thread so far, 3.6Ghz is not looking too likely on that MB.

I suppose if you could sell your Q6600 for $100 and get a Q9650 for $150 you would only be out $50. Then might be worth it to get a little speed increase.

 

[Yuriman]

I looked at first gen i5's and i7's and the motherboard to match. I would be spending money on RAM, a new case, hard drive, CPU and mother board. That goes well over $150. I'm trying to maximize the performance with what I got. Would like a new build though.

i5's and i7's don't have a FSB?

Putting that $150 aside for another few months is probably better in the long run. Or better yet, hold onto it and keep your eyes peeled for deals.

I picked up an i7 920 + HP motherboard + 6GB of DDR3 + 500GB hard drive + 9800GT 1GB from the classifieds about 2 months ago for $150. Then you could sell your 775 board (they go for a premium these days because nobody makes them anymore and they are all starting to die) and other equipment and probably damn near break even.

 

[John Connor]

So I decided to go with an i7 2600k. Surprisingly enough they are cheaper on eBay than Newegg.

I created a thread here. http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?p=35643282#post35643282