X7800 vs X9000

Ok so i have finally got the "monies" together to upgrade the CPU in my 6860 (which was originally going to be for a SSD...but the OCZ core ver1 ended up sucking and i'll have to wait a bit longer for that goodie)

So i an now debating the leap into the extreme CPU style...and lets face it we all want to be in the cool kids club on this forum of the other extreme CPU users.

So the question come... which is honestly better. They are the same basic chip with the same speeds reachable. But is the die shrink of the X9000 and the extra 2megs of cache worth the premium (though not much of one anymore) over the X7800?

How are the temps diffrent, does the x7800 or the X9000 handle undervolting and overclocking better?

ah decisions decisions...

 

what prices are you looking at ?

 

I've got a 400 dollar budget because of wanting the 128gb SSD, so i can get either.

The last time i was looking i found the x9000 for 370 shipped and the x7800 for 290 shipped.

So the price diffrence isnt that big of a deal, but i dont want to throw away 80+ dollars just because the x9000 is new and shiney if its not really worth it.

The truth is i know so little about cache (except its high speed memory) that i have no idea if i will even ever use the extra 2 megs of the stuff.

My biggest concern is running temps. i would like to run either chip at 2.8-3.0 (preferablly 3.0) But i've heard the 7800 seems to start cooking at that clock even with undervolting.

 

bang for buck its the x7800, but it is running hot, and as such i parked it @2.8ghz i dont remember x9000 users doing the same, so you might want to think of it as 2.8ghz 4mb cache vs. 3.0 ghz 6 mb cache.
(you might get lucky as dook and run @3.0 with no issues, but there is only one dook as i see it)


there is a performance difference here, will you notice it ? that depends what u use your machine for. does it worth your money ? thats your call.

i assure you you will be more than happy with the x7800 performance.
and you will be the king of the hill with the x9000. LOL

cant miss here.

 

Yeah i'm just trying figure if 1gHz or 1.2gHz is honestly better.

And i think we're always glad theres only one Dook...the world isnt prepared for more than one.

I know either one will do what i want. I use the machine to game and to generate a world i'm creating (yes an entire planet) So i'm wondering if the extra .2gHz and 2megs of cache will help RTS AI logic engines and help in rendering out planetary diagrams.

Thanks for the help... i think i need to try to figure out exactly what cache does.
Anyone with x9000 experience? (i havent seen johnsss around in a while...)

 

there was that drevan guy from europe maybe you can pm him

 

I agree 3.0 is way too hot for me, and it cannot UV at all for some reason....im stable @1.13, @2.8Ghz never goes over 80, you can get an X7800 for under $300 so just have a look see.

 

LOL. Only one idiot like me, indeed.

TBH, as the others have said, you are probably not going to notice a major performance difference between the two. That being said, it's always good to hear opinions on both sides, so hopefully an x9000 user will speak up and offer some good advice for that side as well. Either is going to kick major anus and bring you full force into the "Cool Kids Club".

 

and of course your not an anyobdy until your in the "Cool Kids Club"

 

Definitely not. We even get EXCLUSIVE group discounts on Big League Chew and Deep Woods Off. Try getting that with the "Looser Club".

 

I got Olympic Suntan Lotion and a Stainless Steel fruit peeler

 

The performance boost due to the extra 2 MB Cache will be significant in CPU-intensive tasks, as the CPU will be able to store more data in the cache and hence will not need to access the main/slower memory (RAM) too often. I don't think it will help much in gaming, since fps mainly depends upon the CPU frequency and bus speed, and the textures etc depend upon the GPU. And the Penryns are said to run at lower temps, so it is better not to stress your notebook's cooling design too much.
Also check out this Review on CPU cache by Tomshardware.

And you Gateway guys really have a kinda fetish (better word: obsession ) for extreme processors (Good)

 

fetish is a nice word, some people are obsessed with worse things you know...
we are 733t and we are proud of it (**** is that correct spelling ? )

 

I even have a fetish for fetishes.

 

What can i say... all the world is vice and i am simply a humble servent of that mistress

That was a pretty good article to. Helps a pretty good bit.

I guess i'm going to shoot for the x9000 as it seems more stable in the machines @3.0gHz.

I just wish there were more people with the x9000 that could posts helpful info. I'll probably stick with the x9000 choice unless i can get an amazing deal on the x7800 when i get home for the purchase.

and i cant waits to gets me some of that big league chew!

 

the X9000 will def run cooler, and more so at 3.0 then the X7800, too bad the chipset limits to 3.0, cant go to 3.2 with it. Thats why I kinda skipped out on the other two extreme models.

 

Is it a chipset limitation or just something coded into the BIOS?

I have seen other rigs that were able to push it to 3.2 and in Sagers even to 3.4. But i was never sure if it was just a firmware hack/upgrade or a physical limitation that our motherboard had.

And just out of curiosity...what other extreme models?

 

It's a BIOS thing most likely. And if you have the extra cash and are willing to spend it, I say go for the ole 9000 and call it a day. I will envy your temps at random times throughout the day.

Oh and BTW, I am currently creating your "Cool Kids Club" ID card and have initiated the paperwork for your discounts. You'll be scarfin on some Big League Chew in no time. Not to mention the free fruit peeler and suntan oil that bars managed to requisition.

 

I really hope it is just a BIOS limitation, because then a flash should be able to fix it (assuming i can find it) or if i can ever get the Phoenix Editor to finish in the torrent i can attempt to find it and change it myself (got to love 1 byte downloads) though this is a much riskier move as i have NO BLOODY IDEA how to actually go about editing BIOS... i just know all strings have to be the same size

Cause i would love to get teh x9000 and crank it up to 3.2 or 3.4 and see what the temps are looking like there. Probably enough to cook a turkey...but at least i'll have my "cool kids club" sun tan lotion to keep me a golden brown instead of burning red

mmm mmm i can taste that big league chew now... plus the ability to have freshly peeled kiwi

 

you cannot access the BIOS, you cannot flash anything to the BIOS, it is untouchable. Unless you have that editor and you know what your doing with it, so if your anything short of a programmer its not happeneing. Good luck though

 

I guess you could try out Crystal CPUID, and see if the FID (multiplier) and VID range is unlocked (for ES CPUS only). I had a X9000 ES in a D630 (with a modded BIOS), with the multiplier unlocked to 25x in Crystal CPUID, and 28x in the BIOS.
And have you guys tried bumping up the FSB ??

 

we cant, these BIOS' limit everything, theres nothing we can do, except go in, and change from stock, to 2.8, to 3.0, thats it.

 

They are that hard locked... Thats very harsh. I wonder why they locked down the system so tight. For such a good system it still never will stop amazing me the weird things that gateway does to these rigs.

We really cant flash our BIOS?!? I never noticed it i guess due to not having a need to... but thats just weird

Yeah i'm no where near being a programmer, but i just thought it would be cool to have the editor. Eventually i might get brave though

 

I had the editor, we tried for a week or so to get it to work, but it iwll not happen.

@Andy, mine says " Original OEM" so i guess it confirms mine is retail. It says SLA6Z on it and not "ES" but in CPUID it says ES.

 

I posted this over at BIOSMAN a couple days ago. No response yet, but we'll see what happens. I'm not holding my breath, however.

 

yeah i'm not going to hold my breath either...seems to be a pretty dead forum all things considered.

But maybe we'll get lucky and someone can figure out what to do.

I wonder if we could manupilate...i mean sweet talk some of the gateway employees getting laid off to do us a solid and tell us all of the grubby little secrets about our machines.

You know i never even considered this an issue and now for some reason i want to fire bomb gateway just on principle alone. Its weird when you find out something that never once crossed your mind how it makes you irritated just for knowing it.

But i guess 3.0gHz should be enough...i was just hoping for 3.2 or so though. 3.0gHz is only 1.666 times more powerful than stock, but 3.2 is 1.777 times as powerful as stock, and we all know the baby jesus wants us to have all 7's in a number instead of all 6's

 

Indeed. Everybody knows overclocking is highly reliant on baby Jesus. Also, consider this. When you throw that bad boy in there at 3ghz, you are going to be 1.2GHZ above the 5550. THATS quite a step up. It was like night and day and the T5550 is no slouch either!

 

yea at 3.0 its close to double my T5450, plus the extra cache

 

Speaking of quick, I think this fly that keeps buzzing my head just upgraded to an X9000. I've been tryin to kill his as$ all day.

 

when you run SYMCMOS on the bios with the symbol switch on, you can see a menu that allows o/c up to 3.6 or 3.8 (cant remember), i guess finding the actual switch will require deep investigation.

just wondering why would anybody want to put this wonderful machine into flames ?

 

Yeah 1.2 gHz is like getting an extra processor in my system its such a diffrence in power...but you know like i said its all about making the 7lbs 6 oz baby jesus happy

But yeah i guess 3.0 will be good enough. Its a HUGE step up from my 1.83 I currently have...though undervolted to 0.95 and my custom cooler it runs at about 20degrees

Thats intresting...though i couldnt imagine trying to get a laptop to run at 3.8...bloody hell that would catch fire. I was just looking for 3.2

 

Dook can, my temps at 3.0 suck, he has the best cooling by far.

 

I dunno, that's pushing it. I'd sure the F try tho.

 

Sorry for reviving old thread, but I wish to know where to get the modded BIOS for Dell D630. I will have X9000 ES in D630 too next week.

 

probably should try the dell forum, as this is the gateway forum

 

This is the only thread i manage to find after googling for days that someone mentioned about "modded D630 bios". So i do hope Andy can read this. I will start a new thread in dell forum too.