Well i read a review form PCmag on the 9600 compared to the Q6600 and it didn't do too well but that was when it was just out and the motherboard was having serious issues. Have they improved any since then?
Well with my phenom 9500 i have it OCed to 2.4 which is what is the Q6600 comes at stock. The 3DMark06 scores are about even, however you can OC the Q6600 and it leaves the Phenom in the dust. But however you also got to factor in cost my cpu/mobo combo was cheaper than the Q6600 cpu alone and that was before this new price drop.