Good quad core that's decent improvement over P9700 and cost?

I have a Sager NP8662 with P9700 Core 2 Duo. So far I'm quite satisfied with its performance. I'm just curious what would be a good quad core upgrade for this, that won't cost an arm and a leg. It looks like I can get ~ $300 from selling the P9700 on eBay, so I'd be willing to go another $200-$300 over that for a quad as long as it's a decent upgrade.

Only options I see are Q9000, which is virtually on par with a P9700 (see my comparison thread in sig). Then the Q9100, Q9200 ES (is this even compatible) and QX9300 which is probably way too expensive ~ $850 to $1000!

 

You can get the q9000 and overclock it too 2.7 ghz the quad extreme is too expensive but the extreme processors have a unlocked multiplier and also easier to overclock.

 

Look here m8, get the QX9300

 

Yea, I was able to get my Q9000 up to 2.76GHz, but that's primarily because the W90 is a good overclocker in general.

IMO, I'd go with the Q9100 for the extra cache.

Sometimes the QX9300's come down to the $400-$500 range (for ES).

 

I just got a Q9200 for $300, and I'm selling my T9800 to offset the cost.

 

I would advise to go for the Q9200 or the QX9300 from the link someone added above.

 

IMO, a q9000 would be a downgrade from the P9700. Unless you're trying to benchmark and squeak out higher numbers why not stick with the lower power high freq proc.

 

I would agree that a Q9000 is not the way to go. I would get a Q9200 (you can get one under $300 on ebay, I have seen under $250.

 

They won't be able to overclock the Q9000 on that laptop.

 

Q9200 are not OEMs. However, there are a few people with them in this board that are running them with no problems. Myself, I got the Q9100 oem for $300 shipped off ebay.... and I am loving it so far. Difference of .16 ghz in the Q9100 for an OEM is worth it for me.

By the way, I can't overclock any CPU on a NP8662. I guess that is how clevo/sager built it.

 

if you dont mind with ES chips get the Q9200 or QX9300 (you'll have to pay almost double for the QX9300 for a mere +.13Ghz though)

if you want to stick with OEM get the Q9100 unless you can find a huge deal on a used retail QX9300

 

Wow, wonder if they're still in stock. That post was from August of last year, but on the site it still shows it, just have to call for availability. I'm not ready to order yet though. But we'll see.

Sorry, I asked in another post, but might as well respond to my own post to keep it together. I am assuming ES = Engineering Sample? And I see QAVR / QAVS / QAJF chips. What's the difference? Is there anything wrong with an ES chip?

Since I can't overclock, I may consider the QX9300 if I can actually get it from HP for ~ $500.

 

Q9200 off ebay, nothing wrong with an ES chip.

 

Like this one?:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=260551139133?

 

Yep, and it's from Shirlyfu too, you can't go wrong with that seller, I would snatch it up if I were in your position.

I just sold my Q9200 to Roymathieu recently and it works like a charm in his 8662, undervolts well also.

 

Yup. That's where I got mine, last week. Great CPU.

I'm pulling higher FPS than I did with the T9800, in all of my main games (Dragon Age, Mass Effect 2, Risen, Dawn Of War 2, etc...).

I sold my T9800 to an NBR member, to offset most of the cost.

 

I guess, what's everyone's take if I wait six months to do the CPU swap as far as pricing and availability?

Also, how's the battery life affected between the P9700 and Q9200? It almost seems like an even swap in price for $300 for Q9200 and probably get about same for P9700. I guess the tradeoff is battery life for performance?

From what Kevin_Jack2.0 says sounds like it's a definite improvement in most cases for games. In particular I'm thinking of Battlefield Bad Company 2 for the time being.

I may just wait to see how Bad Company 2 performs first before making a decision. I have some free money from tax return, but kinda running myself kind of thin with everything I'm considering buying. So I guess an even cost swap would be good.

 

In terms of battery life, I've lost about 15-20 minutes when I moved from the P to the quad. I still think this is a big hit because my laptop already struggled to reach the 2h battery life limit with the P.

 

Shoot, there's a guy in the WTB forum right now looking for a P9700. Hit him up.

 

Thanks. Someone else approached me too looking for a P9700 to QX9300 trade + cash (from me). Don't know details of the QX9300 yet though, how old, new, used, if O/C'd. Should I care about stepping or anything?

 

I'm sure they still sell it, was looking at it a couple of weeks ago. Phone them , you might be surprised. That's the best deal you can get AFAIK.

 

Thanks. I got with them through online chat. They said you can order it no problem, but didn't have an estimate when I would get it. I just don't want to order and then have to wait two months.

 

200$ is a bit expensive for 130mhz don't you think? especially when you wont notice the difference, and you'd have the Q9200 in a few days after ordering.

 

the qx9300 would be worth it in an overclockable laptop, but not in your NP8662 in my opinion... that's why I ended up getting the Q9200

if you chose to get the Q9200 make sure it is a QAVR or QAVS

i havent done much benchmarking but I've noticed a slight increase in temperatures (about +3-4C CPU temp) and decrease in battery life from P9700 to Q9200. But if you dont care about battery life i would recommend the move for sure... it's pretty much a free upgrade, you can sell the P9700 for 300$ and buy a Q9200 for 300$.

 

Yeah, that's what I'm toying with. I don't unplug that often, but when I do, I don't want to be stuck with 90 minutes of battery life. Granted I'm getting the M11x for the times when I know I'll be unplugged for extended periods.

This is actually pretty amazing, basically a free upgrade for a quad core, and probably cost me about $80 for a quad core upgrade on my desktop.

 

I have a Q9200 QAVS shoot me pm if you're interested.