Decisions, Decisions...

[Nukem]

if he's going to use it for an HTPC setup, I'm not so sure he would want to OC. I know when I did mine. I wanted stability, not horse power, given the fact that I was going to have non-geek relations using the system while I was underway and not able to fix it when I wasn't around.

but then he might... who knows what might happen later on.

 

[saltynay]

A htpc case doesn't lend itself to good airflow either or massive coolers so air cooling and overclocking in one is not a good idea and watercooling is doable in SFF but expect to spend a couple of hours pushing your fingers to breaking point with agile positions but its the only way your going to bench that mother.

 

[ricanflow]

it does at stock, but the 8650 for sure doesnt.

im not sure on how well the 9300 can OC so i cant comment on it vs 940 when both are OC'd

It beats the Q9300 and Q9400 from what ive seen.

 

[Puddle Jumper]

If you don't mid open box motherboards this i45 is a good deal.

Newegg.com - Open Box: BIOSTAR TPower I45 LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard

The PII 940 seems to be about even with the Q9400 although the Intel is cheaper.

 

[hikaricloud]

If you use the EPP thing, I would go intel, seeing as you get a good CPU up front. But that's my personal opinion. You wouldn't have to upgrade the CPU later, and save a few bucks.

 

[Peter.Cort]

Oh I'm gonna overclock. I've got a watercooling system all ready for it. And it's all being housed in a NZXT Tempst so that's not a worry. I'm really thinking about going AMD and a PII. What I will need is a GPU and a Mobo. Along with a cpu block :/ But I need a good board to go along with it that won't cost me an arm and a leg. Or I might just go with some cheaper stuff and call it a day. I'm not sure what I want to do with all my money, if I want to spend it or save it. I'll probably end up saving it cause I feel that makes sense.. And I'll just get a good AMD setup, or Intel as I already have most of the stuff for an Intel setup, I.E. no need for a new cpu block which can be costly..

 

[philbar71]

my q9300 has seen about 3.5 ghz so that's a 1ghz overclock. i would go with the intel setup. get the ddr3, it would benefit you if you ever get a neahelm setup.

 

[ricanflow]

looking for a gpu??

Ive got an 8800GT i may be willing to part with.

 

[maroon1]

mwave is selling Q9400 for $223

I expect newegg to sell it for around the same price in the next couple of days

 

[BongWizard]

get the AMD and flip out for a Phenom II... the WC setup wont benefit a Q9300 (because the FSB will limit you before temp ever will) and you wont have to shell out for good DDR3... the q9300 is a decent chip, but you'll need alot of patience and a bit of skill to get it stable enough to get good benchmark results... the 940, however, can be OCed to over 4.5GHz on water with a decent level of stability (mind you that's not exactly easy)

so even though you'll probably get better clock for clock performance with the yorkie, the extra speed will more than make up for that gap